As we continue to make progress in medical technology and develop a better understanding of our bodies we have made significant strides in extending human life. Our brand lifecycles unfortunately don’t have the same luxury, with lifecycles shrinking ever shorter. That’s not to say we don’t know what is causing length of brand life to suffer. The list is long and obviously contextual, lack of a clear focus for the brand, increasing diversity and varying emotional needs of consumers, pressure from distribution channels, economics and many more. Survival of brands is solely a function of focus! This can sometimes create a whole new challenge how does one balance the relevance of the positioning across a population that can now live longer and longer?
As brands position and reposition to increase appeal beyond their primary targets on to their secondary and strategic targets how should brand manage the risk of alienating the prime prospect? Brands like to stay Young, Fresh and Interesting, but the scope of Young, Fresh and Interesting is function of the age. Brands like Unilever’s AXE makes innuendoes to sex appeal as it attracts the Gen X & Ys, Procter’s Tide appeals to the quintessential mom that identifies herself self-esteem in how clean her kids clothes appear, Loreal’s Revitalift speaks of ageless beauty for the Boomer in helping her age gracefully.
Since survival of consumer brands is so heavily dependent on the volume the question on the table is how does a brand strategize targets? How does the brand stay relevant? How does the brand differentiate itself not just by “Who am I ?” but “Who should I appeal to ?”. Me too is a great strategy if the brand wants to follow the leader, but if you want to be the leader, the brand needs clarity. Positioning is a brand metaphor in the consumer’s mind and metaphors are contextual generations and age clearly affect what is meant and how it is interpreted. A strong and robust brand architecture and support for the brand portfolio can take the brands to new levels of leadership!
