LET’S TALK ABOUT BRAND

IDENTITY

REPUTATION

EXPECTATION

“Your brand is what other

people say about you when you’re not in the room”

Jeff Bezos, CEO Amazon

• Brand is a strategic beacon• Brand is a shortcut to a decision • Brand can craft the customer experience • Brand differentiates in a grey market• Brand can create value

Brand is …

“Brand is a customers gut feeling about a

product, service or company”

Marty Neumeier, Author ‘ZAG’

CONNECTION?

RESEARCH…?

5

WHAT IS A BRAND

CONNECTION?

Brand connection is really important

Considera-tion Purchase

Pay a premium

No brand connection High brand connec-tion

79%64%60%

2%5%15%

Surely perceived ‘business value’ makes the brand connection?

Don't see business value See business

value

Agree with statement: "This brand will help us achieve business goals"

DisagreeAgree

Agree with the statement: “We will definitely consider this brand in the future”

81%19%

26%

74%

But sadly business value is not a differentiator

Average agreement with the statement: "This brand could help us achieve our goals"

US professional service sector…

85%

And buyers can’t see or don’t believe the suppliers “unique benefits”

YESNO

Q: Do you see a real difference between suppli-ers and value the difference enough to pay for it?

86% 14%

Personal value trumps business value every time

Business ValuePersonal Value

43%21%

• Functional benefits• Business outcomes

• Professional benefit - career en-hancement

• Social benefits - popularity• Emotional benefits - confidence • Self image benefits - pride

The Rider: The conscious rational thinking brain

The Elephant: The automaticvisceral emotion-albrain

EMOTIONS MAKE STORIES STICK

THEY’RE LIKE NEON SIGNS TELLING YOUR BRAIN“REMEMBER THIS”

WHEN EMOTIONS ARE TRIGGERED,DOPAMINE FLOODS THE BRAIN

LOGIC DOESN’T BRING ON THE DOPAMINE WHICH IS WHY IT DOESN’T STICK

?Smoking harms

nearly every organ in the body and is the leading

cause of preventable death in the US

RATIONAL MESSAGING AND TACTICS (Targeting the rider brain)

AGN Brand factor: Excellence and Connectedness

Functional benefitsConnectednessEvidence quality of serviceEvidence quality of people

Business outcomesClient case studiesClient quotationsPerformance enhancementThought leadership

EMOTIONAL MESSAGE AND TACTICS(Targeting the elephant brain)

AGN Brand factor: Personality

Professional benefit - career enhancement

Social benefits – popularity

Emotional benefits - confidence

Self image benefits - pride

AGN - Why bother?

• Reduced relevance and respect

• Intense competition• Audit commoditised• Innovation pressures• New entrants • Association with GFC

26

The Financial Reporting Council criticized the Big Four accounting firms for continued failings in their audit work at banks and building societies… Auditors criticized for

role in financial crisis…

Big Four Firms to Be Questioned on Push into Consulting…

It’s a grey sector…

And the big 4 like it that way

AGN – its an open goal!

29

• Complacency/complicity of Big 4

• Lack of differentiation • Market opportunity• Define your category• Niche deserted by the

big firms?• Create an emotional

connection • Show some personality

HOW CAN WE EMERGE FROM THE GREY?

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble makers. The round pegs in square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things.”

Steve Jobs, Founder Apple

Challenger Brandsplay heavily on making anemotionalconnectionwith theirmarkets

33

Not No1 nor are they niche

34

Ambitions that exceed their marketing resources

35

Want to change faster than the market

CREDO 1

Break with the past and redefine the category upstream

CREDO 1

Break with the past and redefine the category upstream

CREDO 2

Create a lighthouse identity

A strong and different identity and positioning

CREDO 8

Become idea centered

Constantly defining new tools, services, thought leadership

Could AGN be a Challenger?

‘AGN inside’

Remember brand isn’t…

• Brand is not a logo• Brand is not colours and design• Brand is not lipstick

on a pig!

Brand is about makingan emotional connection with theclient

42

The brand is…

• Brand is a strategic beacon (remote control)• Brand is a shortcut to a decision • Brand guides values and culture• Brand influences staff behaviour

Brand experience 50/50?

Customer Brand

Proposition

Employer Brand

Proposition

Brand DNA

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Why should customers consider you?Why should they come back for more?

EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE

Why should people join you?Why should they stay?

THE AUTHENTIC IDEA ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS THAT SHINES THROUGH

Professional services

Automotive

Source: Interbrand

COSMETICS PEOPLE

PROD ADVERTISING

AUTO PEOPLE PRODUCT ADVERTISING

PROFSERVICES PEOPLE PROD

ADV

80%

60%

10% 10%

30%10%

80% 10% 10%

How brand is experienced

Why its important…

• Increased performance

• Client retention

• Advocacy• Discretionary effort• Loyalty • Recruitment costs• Continuity• Loss of investment

200% annual net profit

18% higher productivity

250% revenue growth

12% greater customer advocacy

50% fewer sick days

87% less likely to leave organisation

The top 25% oforganisations where employees sitea high de-gree of trust outperform thebottom 25% by

People power

• Culture of participation and two-way dialogue must be fostered

• Involve employees in process early to articulate, refine or validate purpose

• Co-create and iterate purpose to increase buy-in

Employees are the brand. Social media - instantaneous broadcast to clients and colleagues. Reputation is largely in their hands

The rise of shared values

Employees are demanding organizations rediscover their social purpose and put it at the core of how they conduct business and engage with their stakeholders to create shared value.

“Great companies nurture a dialogue to put social purpose at the forefront of everyone's mind and ensure that employees use organisational values as the guide to their business decisions”

How Great Companies Think Differently, HBR, Nov. 2011

It’s a war out there…

We have to tell a different distinctive

story….

Linking Connectedness Excellence and

Personality with the emotional and rational

needs of the client

Engaging staff along the way getting their help in

defining this position

A clear counterpoint to the Big 4 and their like

more likely to consider buying from you

more likely to purchase

more likely to pay a premium

Brand connection means…

Things to consider…• Personal benefits of brand are twice as powerful as

functional benefits…• Are there are elements of a challenger brand

strategy that could take us forward?• The complacency of the

sector is an open goal• Our people are our

most powerful assets in the brand war

Every business owner here is driven by one

seductive fact…

The future is worth fighting for…

See you after the break

AGN InternationalNew Delhi, November 2014

“Change Worth Making”