Humanizing Your Brand

April 22nd, 2010

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On Monday I attended my second Social Fresh event in St. Louis. For those who don’t know, Social Fresh a day-long event for marketers and social media enthusiasts, full of speakers, panels and case studies. At each event I go to, there is usually one speaker, presentation or piece of advice that stands out. This time, for me, it was simple:

It’s not about the product, it’s about the soul of the brand. It’s about people, not logos. In short, humanize your brand.

Humanizing a brand can be done in a number of ways; the goal is to show that there are people behind the logo and not just number-hungry monsters. Here are a few examples of companies that are getting it right:

Radio Flyer – Radio Flyer make things personal and trigger memories that tug at your heart strings. The motivation behind the brand is to “bring joy to every boy and every girl.” Everyone remembers the Little Red Wagon.

Tropicana – After a re-branding misfire that caused thousands of complaints on their social media outlets, Tropicana decided to call a do-over and sport their original packaging. Listening to your customers will greatly increase brand loyalty.

Chevrolet, Ford and GM – They all use Twitter to connect with customers, fight misconceptions and share updates regarding new features and events. GM avoided a huge reputation crisis by being present and honest on their social media outlets.

Best Buy – John Bernier is the mastermind behind Best Buy’s @twelpforce. Originally twelpforce was created for quick tech support, but customer support requests began pouring in and they had to adapt. As of February 2010, they’ve answered 22,000 questions via Twitter alone. The information is helpful and timely.

Dominos – Ramon DeLeon has taken selling pizzas and customer support to a new and creative level. When @interactiveAmy tweeted that one of her pizzas was made incorrectly, Ramon created this video apology that has more than 125,000 impressions!

Comcast – Frank Eliason and his ComcastCares team have done a great job manning the front lines of customer support on Twitter. Last year I tweeted my surprise about my Comcast rep showing up exactly on time on the day of a move. Within an hour I had an @ reply from @comcastgeorge congratulating me on my move. He let me know he was there if I had any questions about my new service. It’s little things like that that really grab my attention.

Kodak – Kodak is doing a spectacular job proving that they’re still a major player even though digital is now top dog. Their Winds of Change video pwnd nay-sayers and showed them how you revive a dying brand (booya!) And on top of that, they got themselves a fancy pants Chief Blogger. Jennifer Cisney @kodakCB manages the corporate blog as well as a presence on Twitter and various other networking sites.

Smart brands are using social media tools in meaningful ways. These are only a handful of brands that I think are doing a great job of connecting with and listening to their customers.

Even here at Border Stylo we’re taking steps to humanize our brand. We’re currently in the process of giving our company page a makeover. Soon you’ll be able to see all of the individuals who make up our team. It’s important that you know there are real people behind our company who are listening.

Mashable put together a list of top 40 brands on Twitter. I’m happy to see a lot of these brands on this list.

Who would you add?

(Pinocchio images found here and here.)

Tagged with: brands, humanization, customer support

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