Branding Evolution 2nd step: the “TO BE” era

After the 1st step of branding evolution or so called “TO HAVE” era, this post is going to continue the description of the changes that have occurred over time in the relationship among marketing, the idea of “brand” and the consumers’ role. Today I’ll show you what happens with the “TO BE” era of branding.

According to Jacque Séguéla, with the start of a competitive scenario, in which it is mandatory to take into account the increasing choice of products and services – at least apparently – similar and therefore replaceable, operating marketing theories tend to move its focus from product to sales and begin to perceive the risks of overproduction and market saturation.

To overcome these problems, the “TO HAVE” approach slightly changed and evolved into the “TO BE” era of branding. In this phase, producers remain tied to the operative marketing approach, but they give more importance to quality and turn the concept of brand into something more complex and layered.

Brand eventually leaves its one-dimensional structure of “brand object” transforming into a three dimentional “brand person” composed not only of the “physical”, but also by a “character” and a “style”, as a human being. This change brings with it the focus on an individualistic approach and the benefits associated with the product/service. The question now is “How does it work?”, where the preposition “how” has to be read in a double meaning: quality and funtionality.

Thanks to this approach the consumer becomes a “judge”, a customer who is a bit more aware, perceived as the one who will evaluate the product before finalizing its purchasing choice among the many opportunities even if still looking just to the “functional” part of the offer.