Branding overriding our brains

Consumers are starting to back lash against over branding. Every thing is sponsored and a lot of what you think is traditional media is being paid for. I'm a regular viewer of the Colbert report and this hit home last night when he had Lucas Conley on his show, the author of OBD, Obsessive Branding Disorder. Here's the clip:

I have to look at this through two different lenses. As a consumer, I'm sick of meaningless labels being placed on products. Sure, I can see past "Nascar meat", and I have to admit buying stupid things just because they have a logo from a favorite sports team. Where I have the problem is with kids. I'm not sure they have the maturity to know what's a marketing play and what is not.

As a marketer, we're always trying to create "lifestyle brands". This give the product manufacturer the ability to "license" the brand, and frankly make more money. Marketers can screw this up, however, when they place a brand label on any type of product they can find just to make a buck.

I'm not suggesting any type of regulations. That would make things worse and parent's have a responsibility to educate their kids. If anything, I'd suggest more economics and business education in schools so that people would understand the motivations of people in a free market system.

What I do like, even as a marketer promoting "lifestyle brands" is someone like Lucas Conley who calls us out every once in a while for being stupid.

- Paul Herring

BTW - this column is available for sponsorship by any lifestyle brand. Really, I mean any lifestyle brand.

Comments

[Lisa Braithwaite]

Paul, I think economics and business education in schools is a great idea, but it doesn't reach the young kids who are the targets of "Nascar meat."

I used to teach media literacy to kids and it was really interesting to see what they believed to be real vs. fantasy, and their perceptions of what products were "better" because of advertising. Not to mention what they perceived about themselves based on what advertising told them about how they should look and behave.

Parents do have a responsibility to educate their kids, but many of them are as ignorant as their kids about advertising and branding.

[Paul Herring]

Lisa, I agree with what your saying.
Believe it or not the target audience of Nascar meats is not kids but adults, and it works for a lot of them. However, your point is valid in that a lot of brands are slappling their logos on everything from tooth paste to toilet paper. A few that come to mind at my house are Spider-man and High School Musical.

I'm for educating kids about recognizing the difference between clever marketing campaigns and reality. I'm a believer that the more we educate them about our economic system, the more they'll understand why these brand images are being created (e.g. to get them to buy more products).

What I'm not for is more regulation against this type of advertising. Although the parent's may be just as unaware as their kids, having the government decide what's appropriate is an invasion into free choice.

[Andrew B. Clark]

I'm actually reading Obsessive Branding Disorder right now, and I can't tell you how many times I've had to put down the book to wipe the tears from laughter.

On my blog, I've got a couple of posts addressing just this. As a "Branding" professional, I've run across this myopic mentality over-and-over. "Change it and throw a cool logo on it, but don't improve it..." "Create brand churches..."

HORSE PUCKY!

Responsible branding is needed. The marketing and communications world needs to grow a conscious and create branding efforts that will enhance lives and engage audiences for more than the bottom line. This goes deeper than "truth in advertising." This rolls into culture creep and the degeneration of our society (a bit dramatic, but true nonetheless)...

Great post, Paul!

Keep Cooking!
Andrew B. Clark
The Brand Chef