ABOUT ROSABEL
Rosabel Tao is an accomplished corporate communications strategist with two decades of experience creating integrated, multi-disciplinary communications programs and building communications organizations from the ground up. She’s worked with a broad portfolio of companies in a full range of growth stages-from global brands to start-ups, including of Bank of America, Microsoft, HP, Levi Strauss, Safeway and Spot Runner.

Q: As brands evolve, so do their audiences. What are some tactics companies use to ensure brands remain aligned with their core audiences or adapt to new audiences as market forces change?

A: First, brands need to be very clear about who their desired target audience is and focus on serving that audience. This is more difficult than it sounds – I’ve seen many companies try to be all things to all people for fear of not capturing everyone who could possibly want their product/service. Oftentimes, this results in an offering that is too broad to appeal deeply to any one audience and prevents the brand from truly taking root. It’s best to build a core, loyal audience first and expand from there.

Disneyland, for example, has historically catered to families with children. Over time, the theme park has added new rides and shows and expanded some of its marketing to appeal to a broader audience, but at the heart, it continues to remain true to its core demographic.

Starbucks is an example of a company that built a loyal core audience for its coffee drinks and the experience of its stores. There was period of time when it expanded very quickly and got into music, food, ice cream, merchandise and more – and it lost focus of its core customer and started losing marketshare to a wide array of competitors. Since then, it has recommitted itself to its heritage of coffee and the store experience.

Q: If brand relevancy is partly based on perceptions (i.e. the perception of the market, media, customers and partners), what do think are some of the main challenges to managing customer perception? Can you give one or two specific examples of brands that have been successful or unsuccessful in changing and/or managing perception with regard to brand relevancy?

A: The challenge is that many factors influence customers’ perception of a brand, some of which are controllable and some of which aren’t. What is controllable is the direct experience they have with the company, such as quality of the product and customer service. What is not controllable is what they hear about the product – from their peers, the marketplace, press, blogs, etc. While these factors cannot be controlled, they can be influenced. Sometimes a brand that is in a stagnant or challenged state can be turned around with a game changing “moment in time” that in essence, acts like a defibrillator. This is a gamble, but it can work IF it is followed up with a longer term, sustained approach that delivers on a new promise.

John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as his vice presidential candidate wasn’t enough to win the election. But one’s loss is another’s gain . . . Saturday Night Live became hot again with Tina Fey’s skewering portrayal of Palin. Fey’s first Palin sketch became NBC.com’s most watched viral video (at that time) with 5.7 million views by the following Wednesday and the October 18, 2008, show had the best ratings of any SNL show since 1994.

Last year, when Conan O’Brien was being pushed aside for Jay Leno, he published a heartfelt manifesto to the “People of the Earth” that immediately cast him as the underdog hero, rallied his supporters and swayed a lot other people – particularly younger audiences – to Team Coco.

Time Warner attempted to change its old media perception with its merger with AOL. The marriage of those brands didn’t ultimately work out so well but AOL’s acquisition of HuffPost might.

Q: Technology plays an important role in helping brands to create unique customer experiences that build brand relevance and loyalty. For example, the ability of a brand to customize a customer experience based on their specific likes, dislikes, needs and desires. Can you give one or two specific examples of brands that have used technology and the digital experience to build brand relevancy with their customers?

A: I’m a big fan of the Pepsi Refresh Project. I’m sure everyone knows the story, but in 2010, they opted out of airing a TV ad during the Superbowl and announced they would create contests to give away millions of dollars in grants to fund good ideas that make the world a better place. They conducted an amazing viral campaign that spread like wildfire – and the campaign continues to feed itself through technology – contestants submit their ideas online, the approved ideas are publicly posted online where people vote for their favorites and contestants have to use social media, mobiles apps and texting to rally votes for their cause – thereby exponentially spreading the Pepsi brand.

Another good example of a company that has leveraged technology very well to establish brand loyalty and relevancy is Amazon. Amazon started as an online book seller and expanded its core offering to many other e-commerce categories to meet the growing needs of their audience. With its use of technology to personalize the shopping experience (i.e., recommendations engine, public customer reviews, etc.), along with competitive pricing and superior customer service – it made e-commerce a serious competitor to bricks and mortar stores and was a major force in shifting the dynamics of retail sales forever.

Myspace recently relaunched as a social entertainment destination for Gen Y – which is entertainment with a social media layer. It’s using technology to create a rich, highly personalized experience for people to discover content and connect with other fans who share similar interests. Users actually personalize the experience for themselves by expressing interests, sharing tastes and knowledge around particular topics, and scouting out up-and-coming subcultures.

WATCH FOR MORE FROM THE LIQUID BRAND SUMMIT 2011
We’ll soon be publishing more content from the Liquid Brand Summit, including additional video interviews with our expert session leaders, as well as key findings from the Summit’s 10 sessions.

Also, check out this year’s top tech brands, as named by the the Liquid Brand Impact Report 2011.

For more on brand transformation, visit Liquid Agency.