Brands and Consumer Backlash

We have been through the brand issues here on a number of occasions. While companies have brands, brand values are owned by the consumer and too much pressure, especially when brands are poorly targeted can backfire.

We notice this in Blogs (and in the Usenet and not a few consumer web sites) when angry consumers comment adversely abut companies and products. Today consumerism blog comments identified by Google are running at 50 per day which compares to 40 per day average over the last ten days.

This is a (straws in the wind) measure of Brand angst and one day, when there is time to do it, it should be studied in greater depth.

People can be threatened by brands.

Many brands are presented in a form that brings considerable peer pressure to bear. Others offer prospects that cannot be realised.

For many this is not an issue but for the weaker members of society, the pressure is huge.

Whereas a brand can be a delight and pleasure (and the Dove Campaign is such a lot of fun) banding effort that encourages excess, creates anxiety and brings misery is a threat to marketing as we know it..

In an interactive era, how long can the excesses of brand management can continue?

It is time for Brand professionals and their corporate masters to watch this space and identify the extent to which exess threatenes their future in a world of on-line conversations.