Brand Popularity Drives Success

Frisk Special: POPULARITY
July 2014

Frisk Special: POPULARITY SPECIAL July 2014

Hi there. Welcome to the latest Frisk special.
These newsletters sizzle on the LD LBN info-barbecue once a month, as a jostling
crowd of planners and information suppliers throw in ideas about data-led seasonings
and whatnot. Frisk has been running for some time as a weekly internal newsletter,
with the first edition of each month centring around a particular theme; we ping these
special editions out into the interwebs because, well, it’d be a shame to waste all of
these interesting thoughts, right?
This time our topic is POPULARITY (and we’re definitely not talking about anything to
do with the World Cup and the popularity - or notoriety - of those pampered football
players).
Popularity is a theme very close to our hearts – in fact it’s in our DNA.
‘We don’t make brands famous, we make them popular’, that’s the Leo Burnett
philosophy. We’ve been looking deeper into our belief that Popularity is an essential
ingredient for a brand’s enduring success. In fact, straight from the smokin’ abacus of
Mike Treharne, our Head of Doing Nifty Stuff With Numbers, we’ve done some brand
new research into where brands sit in a lifecycle of popularity, and what drives that
popularity. We’d be delighted to talk to you more about the study – just let us know.
You can read a bit about it within this Frisk, along with plenty of other stuff that
neatly complements it – a piece from Canvas8 on brands being your BFF, some wise
thoughts on Popularity from our Planning department, and a big chunk of celebrity
endorsement stuff thanks to our in-house retail mogul, Sarah Leccacorvi.
So stick the kettle on, make yourself a steaming cuppa, stop fiddling with your phone
for a few minutes, and check this out. We’ve included plenty of pictures, to keep the
energy levels up. We know how the modern world works.
I do hope that you enjoy what you read. If so – or indeed, if not – be sure to fire some
feedback into the Twittersphere: the handle’s @LeoBurnettLDN.
See you next month for more of this frontal lobe-fondling.
Daniel Bevis
Senior Knowledge Editor
Leo Burnett London

If you want to stay popular, keep doing the thing that made you popular in the first place. Stick with your
schtick, so to speak.
People like the familiar, the recognisable. Inherent in popularity is repeatability – the feeling that you want
that same experience again and again. There’s a lot to be said for the same old same old.
So try to resist the mania for new, different, re-invented. Brucie still says ‘Nice to see you…’ fifty years
on; bands play their greatest hits in every set; thousands packed the O2 to see the Pythons do all those
sketches they know off by heart.
Of course you need to keep things fresh, but don’t forget your audience will take a lot longer to get bored
with your stuff than those who live with it all day every day.
For brand communications this means understanding what it is that people know and love best about both
the form and content of your campaigns, and not being afraid to use those assets time after time and year
after year.
IAN HILTON SAYS...
LB LDN’s Planning department is a bit like that people-farm concept in The Matrix – we’ve
plugged a lead into the back of each of their heads, and their ideas are all pumping out into
one glorious whole. This month we charged them with the task of trying to pinpoint just what
brand popularity actually means…PLANNERS

You can gain fame through being outrageous,
unpleasant, disagreeable. People may be interested
and pay attention for a while. But they will soon
lose interest, not enjoying the bad feeling you leave
them with.
If you focus instead on making people feel good,
about themselves, about the community they’re
part of and about the world around them, they’ll
want to spend more time with you, they’ll seek you
out to hear more from you. They’ll tell their friends
about you, and their friends will want you in their
lives too.
That’s the difference between fame and popularity.
Fame is shallow and short lived, popularity is
built from something more substantial, and builds
enduring relationships
FRANCES GIBBS SAYS...
Brand popularity is only built and maintained if you
are valuable to people and stay that way. Integrity is
also increasingly important - if people don’t believe
in what you stand for as a brand then they will look
elsewhere.
AMANDA JONES SAYS...
Popularity for a brand is like being the popular kid
at school: people want to be like you, be associated
with you. They will copy you, want to talk to you
and will talk about you. People are naturally drawn
to you because you make people feel good about
themselves while they’re with you. You’ll be best
remembered at reunions, too: you will be the one
people will be most interested in seeing again after
time apart.
YUKI MOLTENI SAYS...

Popularity isn’t some whimsical measure dreamed up by agencies and advertisers keen to make warm,
tear-inducing and award-winning commercials. People are emotional creatures, not rational calculating
machines. We make almost all our decisions immediately and subconsciously, based on feel, emotion and
trust. Thinking consciously is time-consuming and effortful and we do our best to avoid it, particularly on
topics with which we have very limited investment (like brands). Emotional advertising allows our emotional
brains to make decisions based on perceived connection and familiarity. Popularity is even a filter through
which rational messages are run – we’re more likely to believe rational and price claims from a brand we
already know and trust.
Of course, this also raises the stakes for a brand. Breaking that trust, or failing to live up to it, also generates
an emotional response, one which will be felt more viscerally than a pure rational disappointment.
Emotional and rational messaging in combination (research suggests an ideal ratio of 60:40) deliver in a
self-reinforcing loop of trust and delivery. Failure on either will bring the brand crashing to ground from
a greater height than for brands with no emotional connection – being let down by someone you trusted
hurts all the more. But live up to the promise inherent in becoming popular, with its emotional commitment
and connection, and your brand will soar on the back of more effective and efficient communications.
JUSTIN CLOUDER SAYS...

Martin Lewis – the ultimate wolf in sheep’s clothing?
Adorned with the crown of ‘people’s champion’ yet
quite happy to incentivise the hamster wheel of
switching whilst taking his slice of the promiscuous
pie. Credit to him you could say, he saw an
opportunity and mercilessly pillaged it under the
premise of giving Britain a good deal. The losers?
Those brands who were caught with their pants
down, fiddling away with their seemingly ineffective
CRM programmes…
But how should brands behave in this increasingly
promiscuous world? As the ‘loyalty’ chapters are
rapidly torn from marketing textbooks, in a way
that is reminiscent of Stalinist Russia – what is the
path for brands to find a way to make consumers
‘stickier’?
Well as none other than our esteemed ECD, Justin
Tindall, reminds us – Love. Love is the antidote to
promiscuity.
We need to work harder at generating brand love
through our communications: Love the ad> Love the
brand> Shop there more often. A simple construct,
yet devastatingly effective when properly applied.
MAX KEANE SAYS...
When I was an impoverished student, living away
from home and therefore responsible for buying my
own toiletries for the first time, my choices of what
product to buy came down to: price, availability at
the local Boots, what they were offering in terms
of freebies on promotion and then, finally, brand. I
read in a magazine that haircare brand, Aussie were
recruiting for a panel of women to test their new
products… an appealing idea for a student. They
send free stuff, I get to try it, have yummy-smelling
hair, tell them what I think and get a say in what
happens. I loved the idea. It was the first time that
I’d ever seen a brand ask for my opinion, never mind
value it.
It made me feel positively about the brand and I
told my friends. Simple, but it worked. I started to
buy Aussie, even though at about £4 a bottle it was
more expensive than the other brands on that aisle
in Boots offering similar products.
In total I was probably sent 3 sachets of product, a
few emails and the occasional offer of a ticket to an
event (which I didn’t win). But there was a chance
and I loved that. It made me feel about the brand,
not just think about it. That’s the difference between
popular and famous.
REBECCA FLEMING SAYS...

Our brand new research looks at how important a brand’s popularity is to consumers. Popularity
is Leo Burnett’s mantra. We believe that once achieved, a brand’s popularity is a powerful thing
– giving a brand enduring success.
We wanted to delve into the intangible nature of brand popularity and understand, not only which brands
are perceived to be popular, but what are the ingredients that combine to create popularity and how a
brand attains and retains popularity over its life. Popular brands have a DNA which, if decoded, can be
identified, replicated and accelerated.
We recently carried out consumer research amongst 5,000 buyers of 50 FMCG brands. Here’s just a taster
about what we found out about the power of popularity for brands. We asked these consumers to rate
one brand each on perceived popularity and a series of related attributes. By comparing their current
perceived popularity scores to 10 years ago, we were able to group brands depending on their popularity
and momentum scores.
LEO BURNETT’S
‘PATHWAY TO POPULARITY’
We were then able to identify the attributes that seem to drive perceived brand popularity, which could be
grouped into five general areas that we call – the Ingredients of Popularity.

The influence of each ingredient differs depending on where a brand appears in our Popularity Matrix, and
it became clear that there was a natural progression for brands to take over time, with a need to focus on
different ingredients depending on where they are.
Brands in the Rising Stars quadrant tend to be young brands - Brands to Watch - that have risen to
prominence in the past 10 years, such as Innocent Smoothies, Gü Puds and Dorset Cereals. They tend to
score well on measures of Affinity, but less so on Visibility and Differentiation.
In descending order of influence, these Ingredients that drive Popularity are as follows:

In order to evolve into a Superstar, a brand’s natural pathway to growth, they need to improve those
perceptions, and especially on establishing a differentiated brand personality. For instance, although Green
& Black’s scores highly on Affinity measures, it scores just 16% on “a fun brand” (Differentiation measure)
and 19% on “a brand you see everywhere” (Visibility measure). That compares to mean scores for Superstar
brands of 32% and 41% respectively, and scores of 35% and 70% for Cadbury’s Dairy Milk.
For brands that have achieved Superstar status, it’s natural that
their Momentum score will decline over time and they will move
into the Settled Greats quadrant, providing they retain their
popularity, or move directly into Former Glories if they don’t.
In order to prevent a move into Former Glories from either the
Superstar or Settled Greats territory, brands must work hard
to retain the Differentiation and Visibility scores that they
have built up. Coca-Cola for example, despite being one of the
oldest brands in our study, is firmly entrenched in the Settled
Greats category with one of the highest popularity scores
of all the brands evaluated. Although its momentum score is
relatively low, it has retained its popularity due to very high
Visibility and Differentiation scores. Within Differentiation, its
score on “modern and up to date” was only beaten by Innocent
Smoothies and Ben & Jerry’s.
If you want to find out more about this study, please contact Mike Treharne, our head of Data Insights, at
mike.treharne@leoburnett.co.uk

We work closely with Canvas8, a deep-dive insight network who ‘make the complex simple by
helping us make the simple significant’. This month they’ve been chewing over the concept of
brands prancing about in the real world, masquerading as human beings. Interesting stuff.
“I don’t want anyone else touching her,” explains 55-year-old petrolhead Jerry. “Most shops just don’t have
the patience to work on a mid-engined car, but I know her and I know how to do it right.” [1] Jerry’s might
be an extreme example, but when it comes to material possessions and brand affiliations, the relationships
people form with them – as with other human beings – are emotionally driven.
Research shows that the inanimate objects we hold nearest and dearest tend to hold some symbolic
relevance to the people that populate the narrative of our lives. When one guy in a study was hooked up
to a monitor to measure oxytocin levels in his brain, he proved to be more passionate about his wristwatch
than his girlfriend – not because he literally loved it more, but because of the emotional weight it carried
and the family ties it signified. [2]
WOULD YOU WANT A BRAND TO BE YOUR BFF?
image © Ben Barnes, Creative Commons (2011)
Social media has opened a Pandora’s Box of expectations when it comes to customer communication.
More than half of people who tweet a question to a brand expect a response within the hour, and almost
three quarters expect the same speed if they’re submitting a complaint. [3] And while some businesses
have attempted to cater to this high-maintenance consumer by cutting corners, those who get caught out
offering less-than-personal service are swiftly and publically shamed. Look no further than the Domino’s
Pizza Facebook gaff – a customer who tagged the company in a picture captioned “Best Pizza Ever!”
received a response which seemed suspiciously automated, apologising for the issue and asking for further
information. [4] A barrage of negative media attention ensued.
ENGAGING IN HUMAN INTERACTION

Yet some companies not only offer personalised responses, but carefully sculpt their social accounts into
online spaces that people can visit at leisure. Since late 2013, Tesco Mobile has used its Twitter account to
drive online branding and fight back against its reputation as a lesser mobile network – garnering more of
its 60,000-strong following through wit than special offers. When one person tweeted “Immediate turn off
if a girl’s mobile network is Tesco Mobile”, Tesco’s swift response – “Are you really in a position to be turning
girls away?” – was cumulatively favourited and retweeted more than 10,000 times. It even earned itself a
mention on BuzzFeed, where it was declared to be “sassy as hell”. [5]
And this tone of voice is key to the way brands communicate with their customers both in public and
private – from email communications, to website copy, to social media interaction. Understanding both
who the target market is and who they want to talk to can make or break this tone.
While some businesses have thrived by injecting communications with a little humanity, others have taken
personification to the next level by engaging in real-world activities that are usually reserved for regular
humans. Most prominently, Netflix agreed to take an American teenager to prom after he tweeted at them
to ask. Netflix provided the boy with a tuxedo, car and driver each based on a movie theme. [8] While the
intriguing headlines rolled out across the internet – ‘Netflix will you go to prom with me?’, ‘Netflix goes
to prom’, and so on – the streaming service was able to work with its ‘date’ to produce some unique and
ultimately heart-warming video content. Not only did the company take part in an intrinsically ‘human’
activity, it helped make a teenager’s prom more memorable.
But it’s actually the serendipity involved in seeing a brand in an unexpected place which makes it so
much more appealing – provided it’s executed in a way that isn’t perceived as intrusive. Whether it’s ITV
airing an all-LEGO ad break as a promotion for The LEGO Movie, or Ron Burgundy’s sporadic appearances
on local news stations, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream tubs and magazine covers preceding Anchorman 2, it
was the surprise and novelty of seeing well-known fictional characters in unexpected places that sparked
conversation. The Simpsons has also dabbled in this breakage of the fourth wall by launching fictional beer
brand Duff in Australia at a pop-up Moe’s Tavern.
BREAKING DOWN THE FOURTH WALL

People love seeing their favourite characters appear in the real world - DreamWorks (2014)
Sometimes the conversations that run between
brand and customer through these campaigns
can be repackaged as promotional material that
demonstrates this human facet.
Old Spice has been known to speak to its followers
on a one-on-one basis via the medium of a single
spokesperson. Simply known as ‘Old Spice Man’, the
men’s cosmetics brand’s mascot appeared in a series
of YouTube spots in 2010 that saw him respond to
seemingly menial tweets – from motivational spiel
for getting over sickness to shameless flirting with
followers. The long-term gain, however, was that
all followers were placed into a lottery where they
were given the opportunity to experience first-hand
interaction with a culturally relevant character.
And while these mascots in turn make the company
feel more human, that’s not to say the mascots
themselves have to be fake. Richard Branson
dressing up as a female air hostess in the wake
of a lost bet was a great way to remind the world
that despite being the founder of Virgin and a
multibillionaire, he’s also capable of making a fool
of himself and having fun.
FROM INTERACTION TO PROMOTION

“In this ever-changing society, the most powerful and enduring brands are built from the heart,” writes
author and businessman Howard Schultz. “Their foundations are stronger because they are built with the
strength of the human spirit.” [10] The marriage of branding and humanity is nothing new, though as
faith in institutions has deteriorated over time, brands that behave like people have become increasingly
synonymous with trust.
But the advent of social media and the digital age has blurred the lines between what brands and humans
are, enabling brands to appear more human than ever online, whilst people become increasingly aware of
how contrived this image can be as they build their own digital personas.
Being sold to is not the issue, however – people have come to expect that. It’s about generating content
that doesn’t feel like spam or sales. And when businesses are appearing amidst Twitter and Facebook
feeds, having human traits – compassion, warmth, empathy and so on – isn’t enough. Social media expert
Danah Boyd suggests that, for teenagers in particular, social media is just another place to hang out – like
the mall, or a record shop. [12] Assuming that’s true, personification becomes integral to fluid and engaging
communication.
And businesses that have successfully extended this out of social media can only benefit accordingly.
Watching Ron Burgundy on television, buying a magazine with Barbie on the cover or getting taken to
prom by Netflix (or seeing someone who has) are all experiences that surprise people – and in turn forge
emotion-based memories. Studies show that not only do positive feelings of surprise leave a long-lasting
impression on the way people perceive products and services, but that it makes people focus on those
products and services for longer. [13]
INSIGHTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
SOURCES
1. ‘The reason you’re in love with material possessions? Loneliness’, TIME (July 2011)
2. ‘The “story button” in your brain: neuroscience study sheds light on brand/human love’, Co.Create (March 2014)
3. ‘72% of customers expect complaints on Twitter to be answered in one hour’, Econsultancy (November 2013)
4. ‘Domino’s mistakes Facebook compliment for a complaint’, Digiday (August 2013)
5. ‘Tesco Mobile’s Twitter account is sassy as hell’, BuzzFeed (November 2013)
6. ‘Lab life: UK director of Twitter discusses Vine, marketing strategies and the funniest kebab house in Dalston’, Unruly (February 2013)
7. Interview with Deano Jo conducted by author
8. ‘Netflix goes to prom’, YouTube (April 2014)
9. ‘Barbie: why posing for Sports Illustrated suits me’, Barbie Collector (February 2014)
10. ‘Pour your heart into it: how Starbucks built a company one cup at a time’, Howard Schultz (December 1998)
11. ‘The Human Brand’, Chris Malone and Susan T. Fiske (November 2013)
12. ‘Why Twitter is just a digital high school’, Canvas8 (April 2014)
13. ‘The role of surprise in satisfaction judgements’, CAS-IT (2001)
14. ‘William Gibson: the Rolling Stone interview’, Boing Boing (November 2007)

$50 million – that’s what Beyoncé earned last year after signing a new multi-year contract with Pepsi. It’s an
extraordinary figure that places her at the top of one of the most expensive brand-celebrity endorsements
to date. Celebrity endorsements are big business for brands and are a ubiquitous feature of modern
marketing. A successful collaboration has the ability to cut through the clutter and build brand equity. Not
only that, but as we’ve seen with Beyoncé, it can prove exceedingly lucrative for both parties involved.
Nevertheless, bringing together brands and celebrities is no easy feat. It is a strategy that is riddled with
risk.
MARRIAGE OF TWO HALVES
Storebites is a regular in-house roundup of tangy titbits relating to shopper marketing and the
goings-on in the retail environment. Here, Sarah Leccacorvi discusses the pros and cons of celebrity
endorsement as it relates to brand popularity…
Celebrities are people first and foremost and even if the perfect star is found, they are still fallible. Tiger
Woods’ fall from stardom is arguably the most documented. He is one of the most successful sportsmen
of all time, who appeared to be a committed family man, ruthlessly disciplined and always in total control.
However since his misdemeanours, he is associated more with his apparent narcissism and personal failings
than his amazing sporting record.
Nike, who are well versed in leveraging celebrities, couldn’t have predicted this downfall. And where Tiger
Woods’ other brand partners, including General Motors, Gillette, Accenture and Gatorade dropped him,
Nike held on. Why? Well, Tiger Woods was just part of the branding process. Where other brands use
celebrity endorsements as the main brand building tool, Nike didn’t. Nike is strong in its own right, born
for sweat, endurance, strength and skill. And what Tiger Woods did for it was to position the brand as an
alternative in the golfing category. Today, Nike is seen as a modern and innovative golf brand, that hasn’t
lost face. If anything, it may have gained personality!
CAUGHT WITH A PORN STAR

Nike isn’t the only brand to continue to support their celebrity delinquents. Kate Moss is one of the most
coveted models of our age. Her popularity transcends barriers of age and status to make her appeal to
both the high street and haute couture, and unsurprisingly she has earned a long list of endorsers from
H&M to Chanel. However, whilst both of these brands dropped her when drug allegations hit the press, Dior
stood by her and even designer Alexander McQueen, who, during his walk-out after a fashion show, wore
a t-shirt saying “We love you Kate”.
Since then, Kate Moss has had many successful brand endorsements, but none more so than her collaboration
with Topshop. In 2007, Moss designed a collection that was launched across the chain’s 225 stores. A Moss
“countdown to launch” board filled a window of the company’s flagship Oxford Street store and Moss
briefly appeared in the shop window modelling a red dress from the collection just before the shop was
opened, causing a media frenzy. Once again in 2014, Kate joined forces with Sir Philip Green to design a
festival-inspired Kate Moss collection, this time for Europe. Despite London Tube strikes, the launch of the
hotly anticipated range drew huge crowds, causing chaos yet again. The beauty of the Topshop and Moss
collaboration is that it is a true partnership. Moss was intrinsic is designing the collection as opposed to just
wearing the brand badge, to create a deep-seated appeal amongst its consumers, and Topshop provided
the distribution and shop window to get the brand in front of the masses.
BEAUTY BEYOND COCAINE
Wearing a brand badge is often what global celebrities do, particularly if the connection between the two
is purely based on personality and appeal. Take David Beckham as an example, he endorses many brands
including Diet Coke, Armani, Coty, H&M, Sainsbury’s, Samsung and now Breitling. You could argue that
those brands have little in relation to his sporting expertise, but what they have looked for is the universal
appeal. Be it glamour, style, performance or masculinity, Beckham is a currency that draws a connection
across the globe.
GLOBALLY GORGEOUS

The use of endorsements to influence a customer’s perception of a brand will continue to grow as celebrities
appear to be increasingly gaining influence in society, but just because a celebrity is incredibly popular, it
doesn’t guarantee a successful partnership.
The following ten principals are worth considering when choosing the right partner for a brand.
1) Natural fit: picking the right celebrity to support your brand is the foundation for any relationship, but
it cannot only be about popularity and appeal, but personality fit too. Nicole Kidman and Chanel is an
example of two style-setters that naturally sit side by side.
2) Credibility: whilst part of the matching process is about natural fit, the most successful have credibility
too. Whether it is their intellectual capability, athletic ability or expertise, they have to resonate with the
brand’s audience. Usain Bolt and Puma bring together a record breaking sportsman and a credible sports
manufacturer to give the perfect match for any sporting consumer.
3) Long-term gain: maintaining consistency over a period of time will not only grow the relationship and
make the association stronger, but it will become more believable over time. 50 Cent and VitaminWater
date back to 2004, when 50 Cent negotiated a stake in the business that sees him still part of it today.
4) Monitoring: celebrities are unpredictable. Keeping a mindful eye on their behaviour and how they conduct
themselves in the public eye is paramount to ensure your brand isn’t tarnished in their misdemeanours.
Michael Phelps and Kellogg’s fell out when Michael was spotted taking a hit from a bong, a move that
Kellogg’s didn’t want to be associated with.
SMART MARRIAGE

5) Overly signed: global appeal is lucrative, but not if it comes at a price where your brand is lost amongst
the sea of brand endorsements. Justin Bieber and Opi nail varnish have come together for him to design
his own range. Not only an odd combination, but I can’t see how that would inspire consumers to buy it…
6) Exclusivity: agreeing exclusivity protects the brand from the celebrity having any other associations with
similar products. Michael Jordan and Nike have long worked together, producing ‘Air Jordan’, a product line
that still continues to evolve today.
7) Brand first, celebrity second: ensuring your associations have a positive impact for the brand and
don’t get overshadowed. David Beckham and H&M have long worked together, but do people remember
Beckham or H&M?
8) Emerging personalities: because celebrities can charge such a high price tag, keeping an eye out for an
emerging celebrity could prove a more profitable deal. Julianna Margulies and L’Oreal became the perfect
partnership when she was critically acclaimed for starring in The Good Wife. Her values significantly
reinforced those of L’Oreal that went to strengthen the brand’s appeal.
9) ROI: using quantitative and qualitative methods, measuring investment will establish whether to grow
the partnership long-term or not. Jay Z and Samsung agreed a lucrative deal. Samsung paid Jay Z $20
million to promote the Samsung Galaxy Models whilst helping distribute and promote the release of his
newest album, Magna Carta Holy Grail. Sales of both products could be monitored and measured.
10) One part of the mix: celebrities may be an important element of the marketing mix, but brands need
a plan that equally promotes the product or brand benefits. Rihanna and MAC came together to produce
a one off campaign to sell a specific lipstick shade, relevantly titled RiRi Woo. It was a great strategy for a
new variant that didn’t detract from MAC’s other great branding work.
It is staggering how much investment goes into celebrity endorsements to help drive brand appeal, but
celebrity obsession is ingrained in today’s cultural landscape, which places personalities on a pedestal for
us all to admire. Even so, it seems a bit excessive to pay Beyoncé $50 million to drink a can of Pepsi!
Sarah Leccacorvi
Client Service Director

Brand Popularity Drives Success

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