Creating Loyal Brands : Themes Of The Week...

So much content, so little time...

A weekly round-up of the themes and posts I found particularly interesting or useful.

The Presidential election sparked a lot of conversation this week around the marketing lessons that Obama's victory provided, as well as a look at the basics of branding, and the emotional underpinning of customer loyalty.

Yes, Mr. President...
Several posts explored how President Obama's campaign demonstrated the new realities of marketing in today's world.

First, 5 Lessons Marketers Can Learn From Obama's Victory provided a good overview of the major learnings, including the use of Big Data, micro-targeting, and the multi-cultural society.
Following on, several then explored different aspects in more depth.
Inside the Secret World of the Data Crunchers Who Helped Obama Win provided good insights into how data can be used to target more effectively.
The Obama Campaign's Technology Is a Force Multiplier showed how they used online and mobile technology to improve their real world canvassing.
Obama Won With Minorities, Marketers Should Too gave good, practical advice on how to go about catering for minorities.
While In a Single Tweet, President Obama Revealed How to Become a Powerful Social Brand provided excellent insight into how to leverage social media through emotional storytelling. 

In search of branding...
There was also a lot of useful, practical advice this week on the basics of branding.

10 Branding Lessons Every Business Graduate Should Know (But Doesn't) gave a great deal of practical guidance, learnt in the "school of hard knocks".
Getting Your "Why Us" Story Straight explored why organizations struggle to answer such a fundamental question effectively, and gave good, practical advice on how to go about it.
Why It's Important To Integrate Honesty Into Your Brand highlighted the imperative for transparency and honesty in today's world of connection and instant sharing.
While The Real ROI Of Brand Storytelling demonstrated that engaging consumer emotion through powerful brand stories has an impact on both revenue and brand equity. 

The truth about loyalty...
With the rise of Big Data, loyalty programs are becoming more focused than ever on paying people for their loyalty. However, several posts reminded us that loyalty is really driven by emotional connection.

Head vs. Heart showed how true loyalty only exists when customers feel safe, appreciated, and smart.
Circle of Trust argued that brand loyalty today has to be underpinned by a networked experience that creates trust.
The Truth About Loyalty demonstrated that to maintain loyalty once you've earned it, you need to stay true to your values and beliefs.
While An Ingenious Way To Recruit Loyal Customers provided a great example of how customers who are emotionally connected can help recruit more loyal customers.

Finally, with Big Data touching virtually all aspects of marketing, Big Data And Analytics, It's No Longer OK To Not Know offered a useful 4-part introduction, to get up to speed...

Have a good weekend...