Marketing close to heart

I had never thought I would be interested in aspects of marketing. It was until last week when I watched Kevin Roberts on CNBC. The CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi, was on Squawk Box to talk about his new book: Lovemarks, the future beyong brands.

The point Kevin made was quite simple. There are psychological reasons why people buy a certain brand even when they have plethora of options. It is kind of an emotional bonding that exists between the consumer and the product. e.g. there are a multitude of MP3 players out in the market, but iPod is the undisputed king. The other players might be better or cheaper or store more songs or offer more functions and formats. But iPod had been able to make a connection with the music lover that other instruments can only dream of. It is not only a status symbol, it also has a 'cool' and 'hip' factor. Same is the story with Nike.

"Lovemarks are brands that inspire loyalty beyond reason." (Ref: http://www.saatchi.com/worldwide/kevin_roberts.asp)

Come to think of it, this strategy should be applied not only in marketing but in lot other places. e.g. If students are studying not because they have an exam to pass, but they like it, it will produce better results. It is like focusing more on the roots than on the fruits. This is an inherent paradigm shift that considers consumer as a person and not only a marketing target. Because when you consider each consumer as an individual, you try to make your product more individualistic. And that gives your product a unique edge.