When you get Brand ‘Enlightened’
Yesterday (Wednesday) I read a post over at Jaffe Juice, Joseph Jaffe’s marketing blog, and was amazed by what it read. No, not because he discovered something new, and not even because he found and wrote the meaning of life, but because he announced and proudly became a Sprint brand Ambassador. It doesn’t get any better than that when it comes to brand loyalty metrics.
These people can make you or brake you. They’re in a deep, committed relationship with your brand. They buy and use all your products and services, and they’re commonly very good at making their opinion of your brand heard by many. They are powerful…seriously, they are!
But when does that moment of truth and enlightenment come? and where does it come from?
To get the point I’ll quote Joseph Jaffe’s prime moment: “I was invited to participate in Round 3 of the program and this weekend I received a really cool phone, fully-loaded with all the bells and whistles. From what I understand, I received it before it even goes into stores.”
And for my second question (where?), I think there is no better answer than: from our hearts and minds. Emotions make us get into relationships of love/hate with other people, and through these same emotions we start and maintain, and perhaps even leave, relationships with brands.
In this case, Sprint did a great move on their part, they sent him a totally equipped and amazing phone for him to try. Knowing they have a good product, they’re not afraid of the reviews they’ll get; actually from what they did, I’m sure they’re willing and encouraging their phone testers to do so. This is, indeed, a good example of branding. Not through expensive TV ads, but through substantial, experiential word-of-mouth.
