Brand or Friend?

I have been having many late nights over the last few weeks. Thanks to a dear friend that makes his appearance from abroad every year or so.

And this friend of mine wields a strange form of magic. Whenever he is around, he is able to round up the troops. I mean he is the only person who can gather all the friends and acquaintances that I don’t normally hang out with these days.

True Friend
Don't wanna spoil this image with a caption, it says it all!

He is the head of the clan of sorts; the guy that everyone wants to chill with – I call him ‘the chief’.

Needless to say, we all have a great time whenever the chief is around. To an outsider, it may seem like we all hang out together all the time.

But as soon as he flies back, I probably would not meet any of the clan members – except for a couple perhaps – until the next time the chief returns.

The camaraderie that we rediscovered will suddenly vanish.

You know what this proves? It seems we humans need something or someone we can all relate with – in this case a true friend – before we devote our Attention, Time and Effort.

And in advertising and marketing communications; we try to get people to devote their:

Attention to notice our product
Time for us to build relationships, and
Effort to actually buy our product

So maybe brands should endeavor to behave more like good friends to consumers rather than faceless, profit-driven entities.

Think about your favourite brand; is it reliable, offers comfort and makes you feel good? That brand is in fact your friend.

And to the chief, I bid you farewell and wish you the best till the next time. Now I need to repay some sleep debt…. Cheers!