When It Comes to Building Brands - Belonging Matters

It's now vital for a consumer to want to 'belong' to a brand. Lowe and Partners CEO Michael Wall chats to LBB to tell us why ahead of speaking at Advertising Week Europe. 

LBB> Your presentation is about building brands that people want to belong to – what are the key ingredients to create such a brand?

MW> The time honoured ones.  Relevance, interest, engagement.  The newer ones.  Transparency, connectivity, utility.

LBB> And, turning the idea on its head – what are the sure-fire ways of creating brands that people don’t want to belong to?

MW> Dishonesty, autocracy, technology for technology's sake.

LBB> The synopsis mentions the accelerating rate of technological change and the fact that even marketing that chases new technology cannot help but be somewhat behind or out-of-step. Why do you think this is?

MW> Partly the ever faster rate of change.  Partly that our customers are testing out stuff in real time and they will decide what works for them. Partly that technology is a means to the end and that has to be the practical basis for what we choose to deploy.

LBB> Which universal human behaviours in particular do you think technology has accentuated or enabled?

MW> Crowd power.  Immediate action and reaction. The entrepreneurial spirit.  The trader.

LBB> At Lowe, how does this understanding of the ‘belonging’ and the interaction of human behaviour influence your approach and the sort of conversations you have with clients?

MW> We want to be one of the few agency networks who can genuinely deliver well thought through, highly creative and complete campaigns that find, inspire and connect our customers in today's environment.

LBB> You will be co-presenting with Dale Gall from Lowe Profero – what sort of experiences and understanding has Profero brought to the Lowe network that has enriched your understanding of and ability to build brands to belong to?

MW> Immediately they have bought a technology expertise and understanding that they know how to apply to creative thinking.  And they have done so on a global level.

Find out more about Michael's presentation at: http://advertisingweek.eu/calendar/-lowe-2014-03-31-1530