Do the objects that we buy represent ourselves? / A social networking approach

Social networking sites have often been used to show off either the amount of followers each person has or the amount of friends on Facebook someone has. However, in recent years, the rise of Pinterest and Instagram have created a new factor which is the growing interest into peoples own lives. Showing others what you own or what you have seen has become more important, and savvy marketers are said to be tapping into this. Chahal (2013), an author of Marketing Week questions whether they fabled ‘word of mouth’ is becoming ‘word of me’.

Intel Director of brand strategy, Jayant Murty spoke to Marketing Week and stated that Intel are ever increasing their search into social crazes and are attempting to celebrate the things people do with their technology. Intel produced a social media campaign to introduce the second generation of Intel Core Processors. The brand launched an interactive Facebook campaign called “Intel Museum of Me” that echoed the individual expression of self-image. Intel’s Museum of Me application pulled in data from the user’s profile, including personal photos, profile pictures of friends, commonly used words and phrases and recently liked images and videos, to create an exhibition of the user’s life, (Chahal, 2013).

Brands are attempting methods of making it easier for consumers to show themselves off through the products they own in an attempt to make their products, the ones that are being shown the most, whether it is completely positive or even slightly mocking. A great example of this is Starbucks; Since March 2012, Starbucks customers have been able to share images of their names written on takeaway cups. Starbucks launched the ‘Names on coffee cups’ campaign in a bid to offer a more personalised service in its shops by calling customers by their first names, with baristas writing it where they would previously have written the name of the drink ordered.(Chahal, 2013).

 

 Customer focused: Starbucks’ baristas (above)

Ian Cranna, the vice-president of marketing for Starbucks, said that the campaign ‘names on coffee cups’ turned a usual run-of-the-mill coffee cup into an object that personalised and owned by that individual; this encourages that person to then share that image to their online social community. This campaign has proved so popular, that there are Flickr and Tumblr pages that display the labelled cups, and apps that generate a name for people on a virtual cup – (each of these also mocks instances where the names are misspelled).

“Names on cups themselves are not the only expression of the relationship between the barista and the customer, with many thousands of messages being passed each day with smiley faces, a flower, or a comment that cheers up a person.” says Cranna. He proposes that the number of drink combinations also enables consumers to express their own identity. “Are you a tall decaf skinny cappuccino, or a grande extra shot Americano with cream?” he says.

Foot Locker is another brand that sees the value of creating a space for consumers to show off what they own. Its Sneakerpedia site allows key influencers, collectors and enthusiasts can share images of their most-loved trainers and consumers can search by brand, material, colour and type. Status is said to play a large part in the brands consumers favour, and the ones they want to show off about owning. (Chahal, 2013). This is shown below:

 

Diageo marketing and innovation director for western Europe Matthew Barwell has a similar opinion to Ian Cranna in saying that “Technology has enabled us as marketers to manage campaigns more effectively and proactively in a way that couldn’t have been done 30 years ago.” He believes that it is no longer about the amount of ‘likes’ a page has, but the way a companys’ target audience and consumers engage with a brand regularly, the frequency of that activity and the relevance. “It’s a really powerful way for people to share the brands they like with their broad group of friends to help define and reflect their personalities, interests and their moods. That is a fantastic opportunity for brands.”

Marketers now need to study how consumers use brands to express their own identity. If a brand has a clear outlook on what it represents, this can be transferred onto the consumer’s identity. Barwell at Diageo says: “What you are buying and drinking is a reflection of the personality that you want to project. As marketers we can reframe what we do from managing a brand to managing an icon, because that ultimately is what consumers are buying into. What’s really important is that a brand has a clear point of view on the world, a clear perspective and purpose