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For over 30 years, global marketing data, analytics, and consulting firm Kantar has been focused on understanding the dynamics between how consumers and brands connect and how that connection creates financial value for companies.
Kantar’s latest research and development effort, which was conducted and published earlier this year, explored the commercial performance of brands. And during ADWEEK’s Brandweek event on Tuesday, Marc Glovsky, senior vice president and senior brand strategist at Kantar, outlined the findings and the brands that are succeeding with customers.
Be present at meaningful customer moments
Among the successful brands, Glovsky pointed to Mastercard, which debuted a haptic logo during Brandweek on Monday. According to Glovsky, the brand is making itself distinct at meaningful moments in its consumers’ lives.
“Brands do this well,” Glovsky said of Mastercard. “Shower your customers with your brand’s distinctive assets, namely your logo. That greases the gears and conjures the brand and key decision moments that will facilitate choice in your brand being chosen more often.”
Nurture your differences
Glovsky said Kantar learned through its research that brands with more equity today than expected, given their size, are the ones that are primed to grow the fastest. He added that brands that deviate from the expected are the ones that drive sustainable, long-term growth.
For instance, Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty has differentiated itself from the beginning, making inclusivity a major part of its core mission and launching innovative features like the Shade Finder, which uses artificial intelligence to help customers find the perfect shade. He said the brand was smart to have Rihanna integrate the products in her Super Bowl 57 halftime show.
Additionally, established brands need to continue investing in nurturing their differences.
McDonald’s strategy from 2020 to 2022, Glovsky said, helped revitalize its meaningful differences to drive a strong growth period for the company through several initiatives, including maximizing its marketing efforts.
The Famous Orders campaign gave a new generation of McDonald’s customers an intimate connection with celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Millie Bobby Brown, Whoopi Goldberg, Magic Johnson, Travis Scott, and Saweetie.