How brands can gain attention despite information overload

1. show attitude - you are what you stand for

The flood of information leads to more uncertainty. Who is trustworthy, who is reliable, with whom can I identify? Particularly in times of uncertainty, rapid change, and thus also changes in values, the attitude of a brand takes on a central significance. The buzzword is brand purpose. Around 90% of all younger target groups take the purpose of a brand or a company into account when making their consumer decisions. Today, customers and employees want to know what a brand's raison d'être is and what contribution it makes to society and its transformation.

However, this must not be about a populist jumping on value issues, but must prove itself in actions and attitudes in the real world. Ben & Jerry's, for example, was very successful in the media during the LGTB Pride in Poland in 2018. Opponents of the Pride burned down an erected rainbow sculpture several times. Ben & Jerrys - supporters of the LGBT community for years - then installed the "unbreakable rainbow". An installation of light and water that could not be destroyed and set a sign for tolerance and diversity.

Tip: Define your brand purpose, your brand's contribution to society.

2. use new channels - go on the learning curve

One positive effect of digitization is the immense growth in channels and opportunities to reach new target groups. Admittedly, not every channel is relevant for every brand. But sometimes it pays to break out of familiar patterns and enter the much-cited uncharted territory. For example, e-sports and gaming have enormous growth rates - and not only in times of home offices. Why not address potential customers in the environment of an online game?

This is what the American fast food chain Wendy's did, for example, when it used the game Fortnite for its own purposes - completely free of charge - and destroyed the freezers in the burger restaurants with an avatar. The message: Wendy's never serves frozen burgers and for this reason has no sympathy for burger restaurants with freezers. The action resulted in tremendous media coverage, high likeability ratings, and encouragement from the gaming community.

Of course, not every brand has to develop games or play them, but the environment of these communities can and should be used. Similar to sports sponsoring, you can develop offers or campaigns for the target groups in the environment of successful platforms and reach them where they actually are.

Tip: Welcome new channels and their users and conquer the environment.

3. have courage - there shall be guaranteed problems

Everyone would like to land on the front pages. It doesn't always take much, sometimes just courage and daring. Not because there can be problems, but because you have to consciously factor them in for the sake of provocation.

A convincing example is the viral campaign "Photography ban" of the mountain village Bergün in Graubünden. A law was passed by the municipality that forbids taking photos of the area and the community. The reason: studies had shown that people become distressed when they look at pictures of beautiful places where they themselves cannot be. The absurd ban was communicated to the media and led to a flood of inquiries with worldwide coverage of Bergün and a resulting media equivalent of about 9 million Swiss francs. The budget of the entire campaign in comparison: dwindlingly small. The courage to deal even with the negative reactions and to pass a completely absurd law: Priceless. Of course, the "ban" was corrected after a few days and the campaign was explained.

The frequent objections that effective and daring ideas incur high costs and are not feasible were refuted by the example of Bergün. However, such viral campaigns require not only a good idea, but also precise planning and implementation.

Tip: Who dares the extraordinary, wins - but only well planned.

4. acting with tomorrow's logic - relationships create added value

Peter Drucker put it in a nutshell: "The fatal thing that can happen to us is to confront the world of tomorrow with yesterday's logic. The keyword here is customer centricity. In the marketing of industrial logic, the product is at the beginning of the value chain. Products are produced in a customer-oriented and efficient manner in order to convince as many customers as possible. In the network economy, the value chain begins with the customer. Their expectations, needs and their relationships are the starting point for marketing measures. Value is created by building relationships with these customers, in networking these customers with other customers and suppliers, and also in providing and networking them to suitable products and services. This way of thinking and the matching digital possibilities lead to completely different customer journeys and to new business models, as we know them from Airbnb and Uber.

The marketing of the cult Ibexes' second children's book "Gian and Giachen" illustrates this way of thinking: Advance sales were exclusively available only to grandparents. They could only purchase the book online or in stores with proof of grandparenthood and thus give their grandchildren a treat. The campaign did not focus on the product itself, but on the target group's network of relationships. In addition, it focused on the emotional benefit of grandparents: maintaining the relationship with the grandchildren and the family. A sought-after added value that catapulted the book to No. 1 on the bestseller list on the very first day and led to the first edition selling out after 12 days.

Tip: Start thinking of their value creation in terms of their relationship with their customers.

5. Make the brand fit and robust - Invest in brand brilliance.

The approaches outlined are proven instruments for asserting oneself in the competition for attention. But they are of no use if the brand does not have a strong foundation. The prerequisite for this is a brilliant brand: a strong brand identity that is convincing and unmistakable in all points of experience. This is still the most sustainable recipe for anchoring in the minds of followers and customers.

Like the quality criteria of a diamond, a brilliant brand is characterized by five "C's."

• ClarityThe brand has a clear positioning at its core. It communicates internally and externally in a pointed and comprehensible way what it stands for and what it does not stand for. The purpose mentioned above must be part of this definition today.
• Consistency and Continuity: The brand appears as free of contradictions as possible in its experience points and holds on to its brand core, its idea, in the long term, but always tells it in a new and attractive way.
• In addition, the brand appears credible and delivers what it promises its customers. Credibility.
• Commitment: The brand is communicated internally and lived seriously on a daily basis. Since the brand is a valuable asset, it must also be constantly invested in. Because only living brands are attractive, are perceived and generate value and cash flow. This is all the more true in times of crisis. Those who take advantage of the crisis and prepare for the time thereafter will have pole position in the upswing.