Do some brands have a particular time rather than a position? I believe that many brands will take a large degree of equity from the time and place in which they were experienced, rather than how and why they were experienced. Therefore the way you usually feel at the time you consume a product or service will act as a ‘frame of reference’ and have a disproportionate effect on how you feel about the brand.
For example, my associations of Greenpeace are with the Glastonbury Festival, and therefore share the stage with lukewarm festival-strength cider, hallucinative experiences and Radiohead.
In a similar vein, the only time I ever buy the Economist – and I’m sure I’m not alone in this –is when I go on holiday. Therefore the frames of reference are of the excitement of new experiences, lounging on a sun bed or snuggling by a warm firm in a ski chalet. (N.B. the time between my holidays is usually enough to forget what a grossly-opinionated and bias publication it is).
Both of these examples bring back positive memories and in turn reflect positively on the brand with which I associate them.
Now I’m suggesting that brands have the power to create these frames, but it’s an area that we should consider when trying to find new insights and recognise in our communications. In direct response communication, the way consumer feels when they view brand messages is exceptionally important and at WPN we will always take this into consideration when developing campaign strategy.
