There’s Marketing Data, and Then There’s I-Factor
What do Campbell’s and Diet Pepsi have in common? Both are iconic brands that are on the verge of totally disappearing. Actually, all brands are always only a few bad quarters away from extinction. Why are brands that have been successful for decades struggling now? Consumer connections are becoming more and more fragile, so maintaining a relationship is more important than ever.Diet Pepsi tried to reconnect with consumers by making a diet soda without aspartame, but it wasn’t enough to revive the brand. Campbell’s, on the other hand, is in a position where Ferrero, the Italian company that makes Nutella, is looking to buy their international business. A few years ago, it would have been hard to imagine a brand like Campbell’s scaling down.The brands that are succeeding, big, small, old, new, are truly serving their customers needs, and that philosophy is helping them form real, long-lasting connections. Is your brand prepared for this reality in 2019? Do you know what you need to know for your brand to get ahead?In 2018, it was hard to stand out, and even if your brand did, it was even harder to get consumers to stick with your brand for very long. Big brands are losing consumers to competitors and ultimately losing distribution, even if they have incredible marketing and innovation and are first to market. And with all of the choices consumers have, and all the ways there are to connect, 2019 is almost guaranteed to be even harder for brands.That’s the exact reason we created I-Factor®. It can measure your brand’s Irresistibility against other brands and also can quantify your brand’s potential by uncovering your unique story through data and insights.The state of Campbells and Diet Pepsi is no surprise to us. Our I-Factor® studies see legacy brands struggling in many categories, baby and dog food being two of the biggest. In the baby food category, Gerber is still the biggest from a volume perspective, but they are way behind BeechNut Foods, Plum Organics and Tiny Human Food when it comes to the strength of the relationships with consumers. And we know when that starts to happen, sales are going to start to drop too, which is exactly Gerber’s situation.Similarly, in the dog food category, legacy brands like Purina and even the relative newcomer, Blue Buffalo, are falling behind in spite of clean and natural ingredients. It's just not enough to stay connected and inspire advocacy among consumers. They want more. And they are getting it from brands like Castor & Pollux who talk about purposeful pet food. What kind of value is your brand really adding to consumers lives?Most brands are trying to touch a lot of people with an always-too-small marketing budget. So they end up pumping out content to try to hit as many people as possible without a long-term strategy, but that strategy is crucial for making loyal customers. We developed I-Factor to help you figure out that strategy.I-Factor® quantifies your consumer relationship with data, uncovers the ‘whys’ behind the data through metaphor elicitation, and allows you to watch the relationship in real time through our social listening component. We create a customized dashboard to view and sort data, upload sales data and marketing spending, and predict and monitor ROI.In just 4 weeks, you get actionable insights around positioning, messaging, platforms, media, and communication planning that will help you form long-lasting connections with your target consumers.Whether you’re looking to prove value to investors, to be acquired, or to get and keep distribution in retail stores, our data and insights can help. I-Factor® can help you be a stand-out brand that consumers keep coming back to in 2019 and prove to your stakeholders you are worthy of their money and shelf space. Want to learn more? Let's Talk.