People think big brands’ marketing activity is so cynical. That everything they do is purely self-serving. Clearly the majority of marketing undertaken is simply to shift product, why should it have any other role? Well, there is a change a-foot. What if brands could engage in marketing activity that, not only sells product, but also fundamentally benefits the life of their consumer?
So why would a brand want to add this social component? Well let’s go back a step, successful brands create relationships with their customers. These relationships in turn, drive value and loyalty with their consumers, this much you know. We have found that adding a new social component creates a faster means of establishing these deep customer relationships and driving behaviour change. We have called this method Social Relationship Marketing. We have implemented a number of campaigns that have seen some very positive results with this technique.
EA
EA: Big in the Game The first was for Electronic Arts, the computer games publisher. They came to us to create a programme to transcend individual game titles and establish EA as a “seal of approval” that would give consumers the confidence to try more of their products. We identified a number of groups to target with a Social Relationship Marketing programme - the first was urban youth. We spent time working with the target audience to create a nationwide programme called Big In The Game, which provided skills training in activities about which they were passionate.
The programme was designed to make a genuine connection with the target audience around hip hop culture. It consisted of expert workshops, which toured the country, building skills and confidence around the five pillars of hip hop – DJing, MCing, graffiti art, production and dance. Each session began with trial of a particular EA title, which went on to be the creative inspiration in each of the workshop disciplines.
The programme connected with this very difficult to reach target audience, not only at a grass roots level but also with the major players within the UK’s urban music scene, many of whom were keen to get involved.
Alliance & Leicester Inspired Choice
Alliance & Leicester came to us wanting to create a bank account that would appeal to 16-21 year old young workers. Rather than just create a simple gift with purchase mechanic, as all banks do, we instead developed a fundamental component to the account that would continue to give benefit to account holders in the long term.
Through our networks we gained a deep understanding of young workers needs and then identified a clear opportunity for A&L to take the high ground by genuinely adding value to their customers’ lives. We discovered that young workers are ambitious about their earning potential but often lack direction on career options and how to fast track within their careers. As a bank, A&L are well placed to offer advice to customers about their career prospects and associated earning potential. We developed a mentor programme that account holders could tap into. Working with 10 celebrity mentors we offered account holders the opportunity to learn from the best in their profession and get tips about how to achieve real success. Our Inspired Choice programme has driven a 225 % increase in bank accounts year on year and created a fundamentally different relationship between A&L and its young customers.
Orange Rokcorps
We’ve also seen some great examples of other brands adopting a social component to build relationships with customers. Orange’s recent association with RokCorps is another example. They put on a gig at the Royal Albert Hall, featuring Busta Rhymes, John Legend, The Automatic and more. But tickets were not for sale. Instead, attendees had to earn tickets by giving 4 hours of their time to a voluntary project. Through this programme, Orange have enhanced their corporate social responsibility profile, fully engaged with young people who have actively participated in the project and achieved significant media coverage.
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