Name: How to use brand intimacy to your advantage
Uploaded: 2021-12-02T18:17:29.113Z
Duration: 379.38
Description: Good customer relationships are essential for brand growth. So how can you cultivate a strong brand image and ensure positive associations when consumers spot your logo? Writer and researcher Mario Natarelli talks through the essentials to building reliable relationships with customers.

Understanding the Power of Brand Intimacy V4.mp4

Understand the power of brand intimacy_.vtt

English

{{00:00:23}}
so 10 years ago, we started this
exploration of really trying to understand

{{00:00:26}}
how do we bond with brands that we use
in love and what can we learn from them?

{{00:00:30}}
Those moments of intimacy
between us and brands.

{{00:00:33}}
And interestingly, we bond with brands
much like we bond with each other.

{{00:00:37}}
It's highly reciprocal
and it's very fluid.

{{00:00:40}}
We gathered over 240,000
different brand connections.

{{00:00:43}}
We studied stories from 20,000
different brand experiences.

{{00:00:47}}
We examined over 400 brands and
we did this across the world.

{{00:00:50}}
And what we were looking for is
something fundamental and something

{{00:00:53}}
ultimately very straightforward.

{{00:00:58}}
This is our brand intimacy model.

{{00:01:00}}
It's got four main components.

{{00:01:02}}
I'm going to walk you through each
of these in real quick detail.

{{00:01:05}}
I think it's important to note
that this model was arrived at,

{{00:01:08}}
through initially qualitative
research studies and then validated,

{{00:01:12}}
through quantitative research work.

{{00:01:14}}
The first and most important
aspect of the model is predicated

{{00:01:17}}
on you being a user of the brand.

{{00:01:18}}
This isn't measuring
associations or perceptions.

{{00:01:22}}
You have to be a user of the brand
to even be factored into the data.

{{00:01:27}}
The next most important aspect of
this is what we call archetypes.

{{00:01:31}}
There are six unique characteristics
to how we bond with a brand and

{{00:01:34}}
think of this like unique DNA.

{{00:01:36}}
No two brands are identical.

{{00:01:38}}
Although certain industry has patterns
of archetypes that are consistent.

{{00:01:43}}
The six archetypes are
starting with fulfillment.

{{00:01:46}}
Think of this about as a brand
that bonds with you through

{{00:01:49}}
exceptional service or efficacy.

{{00:01:52}}
A brand like Amazon is a great example
of a brand that does well in fulfillment.

{{00:01:57}}
Identity is a brand that's about
an aspirational image or a brand

{{00:02:01}}
that you share beliefs with.

{{00:02:03}}
This is a very powerful archetype and
think of a brand like Patagonia or, Body

{{00:02:09}}
shop has great examples of brands that
are strong in their identity and beliefs.

{{00:02:16}}
Next, this enhancement, generally
technology brands do well here.

{{00:02:19}}
These are brands that are about making
you smarter, better, more capable, more

{{00:02:24}}
connected, think of Apple or a Samsung as
great examples of a brand and enhancement.

{{00:02:31}}
Ritual is the next archetype.

{{00:02:33}}
And this is about a brand
that you use on a daily basis.

{{00:02:36}}
It forms part of your daily routine
and pick up Starbucks is the kind

{{00:02:39}}
of quintessential ritualistic brand.

{{00:02:43}}
The next archetype is around nostalgia.

{{00:02:45}}
This is a brand that evokes strong
memories from your past, and think

{{00:02:51}}
of a brand like Lego that had
played maybe a powerful role in

{{00:02:54}}
your life as you were growing up.

{{00:02:56}}
That's a good example
of a nostalgic brand.

{{00:03:00}}
And finally is the indulgence archetype.

{{00:03:03}}
This is a brand that's about those
pampering moments of self gratification

{{00:03:08}}
and, beauty products do extremely well
in indulgence and also Netflix is a great

{{00:03:12}}
example of a indulgence brand when you
are, binge-watching you're ultimately

{{00:03:16}}
in a kind of moment of indulgence.

{{00:03:19}}
So those are the six archetypes.

{{00:03:20}}
Now let's move to stages.

{{00:03:22}}
Stages are about the degree
of intensity of the bond that

{{00:03:25}}
you're forming with brands.

{{00:03:26}}
There are three important stages moving
from least to most, and the higher you

{{00:03:31}}
move up, the ladder of stages, the more,
important and valuable they become.

{{00:03:36}}
The first stage is what we call sharing.

{{00:03:38}}
Here the brand and the stakeholder
are first initially bonded.

{{00:03:44}}
This is where information
is being exchanged.

{{00:03:46}}
You're learning more about the
product or service and it is of you.

{{00:03:50}}
And that's what we call that
shouldn't sharing stage.

{{00:03:54}}
The next stage is bonding here,
you and the brand, and becoming

{{00:03:57}}
in a sense, more monogamous.

{{00:03:58}}
You're using its competitors less,
and there's a degree of trust.

{{00:04:01}}
That's formed now between
you and the brand.

{{00:04:04}}
And finally, and most
importantly is the fusing stage.

{{00:04:07}}
This is a relatively rare stage.

{{00:04:09}}
You may have only a few of these brands in
your life where you and the brand are in

{{00:04:13}}
a sense, inextricably linked your values.

{{00:04:15}}
And it are in a way, a reflection of
each other, again, extremely rare, but

{{00:04:20}}
extremely powerful stage of intimacy.

{{00:04:25}}
And finally, we use the fact that you
are a user of the brand, the mapping of

{{00:04:29}}
the six archetypes and the degrees of
intensity or the stages of, measure the

{{00:04:33}}
degree of bond that you have with a brand.

{{00:04:35}}
We use an algorithm to calculate
a score from zero to 100 great

{{00:04:39}}
brand score in the seventies.

{{00:04:40}}
Average brands are in the thirties and,
obviously weak brands perform below that.

{{00:04:45}}
That was a very high
level tour of our model.

{{00:04:48}}
Over the last 10 years, we've amassed
an immense amount of information

{{00:04:51}}
about brands that do this well.

{{00:04:53}}
We also look at industries and it's
interesting that financial services

{{00:04:56}}
have historically done extremely
poorly in building brand intimacy.

{{00:05:00}}
They consistently rank in the lower third
of industries,  in our annual studies.

{{00:05:06}}
In addition to the industry
data, we also look at demographic

{{00:05:09}}
data, comparing intimate brands
by age, by income, by gender.

{{00:05:14}}
And then we also look at the forces
that technology are having on brands.

{{00:05:17}}
Is it helping?

{{00:05:18}}
Is it hurting?

{{00:05:19}}
Which industries take
advantage of technology?

{{00:05:21}}
Most of them.

{{00:05:24}}
That information is extremely useful, but
ultimately what proves out that this is

{{00:05:28}}
valuable to our clients and ultimately
the executives in charge of those

{{00:05:32}}
companies is the fact that brand intimacy.

{{00:05:34}}
Isn't just a great idea.

{{00:05:35}}
It actually drives business results.

{{00:05:37}}
We know the more intimate you are, the
more on-brand your behavior will be.

{{00:05:41}}
We know that the more intimate
you are, the more you're

{{00:05:42}}
willing to pay for a product.

{{00:05:44}}
We know that the more intimate a
brand is the more it outperforms.

{{00:05:48}}
In fact, intimate brands outperform
the fortune 500 and Standard and Poor's

{{00:05:52}}
indexes in profit and in revenue.

{{00:05:55}}
This happens every year when we
compare the data and it's proof

{{00:05:58}}
positive that ultimately what's
behind, this is something that aligns

{{00:06:02}}
a culture to maximum performance.

{{00:06:05}}
So if you're looking forward and
how to build a strong brand, we

{{00:06:09}}
think brand intimacy can be a great
compass for your marketing efforts.

so 10 years ago, we started this
exploration of really trying to understand

how do we bond with brands that we use
in love and what can we learn from them?

Those moments of intimacy
between us and brands.

And interestingly, we bond with brands
much like we bond with each other.

It's highly reciprocal
and it's very fluid.

We gathered over 240,000
different brand connections.

We studied stories from 20,000
different brand experiences.

We examined over 400 brands and
we did this across the world.

And what we were looking for is
something fundamental and something

I'm going to walk you through each
of these in real quick detail.

I think it's important to note
that this model was arrived at,

through initially qualitative
research studies and then validated,

The first and most important
aspect of the model is predicated

This isn't measuring
associations or perceptions.

You have to be a user of the brand
to even be factored into the data.

The next most important aspect of
this is what we call archetypes.

There are six unique characteristics
to how we bond with a brand and

Although certain industry has patterns
of archetypes that are consistent.

The six archetypes are
starting with fulfillment.

Think of this about as a brand
that bonds with you through

A brand like Amazon is a great example
of a brand that does well in fulfillment.

Identity is a brand that's about
an aspirational image or a brand

This is a very powerful archetype and
think of a brand like Patagonia or, Body

shop has great examples of brands that
are strong in their identity and beliefs.

Next, this enhancement, generally
technology brands do well here.

These are brands that are about making
you smarter, better, more capable, more

connected, think of Apple or a Samsung as
great examples of a brand and enhancement.

And this is about a brand
that you use on a daily basis.

It forms part of your daily routine
and pick up Starbucks is the kind

This is a brand that evokes strong
memories from your past, and think

of a brand like Lego that had
played maybe a powerful role in

That's a good example
of a nostalgic brand.

This is a brand that's about those
pampering moments of self gratification

and, beauty products do extremely well
in indulgence and also Netflix is a great

example of a indulgence brand when you
are, binge-watching you're ultimately

Stages are about the degree
of intensity of the bond that

There are three important stages moving
from least to most, and the higher you

move up, the ladder of stages, the more,
important and valuable they become.

Here the brand and the stakeholder
are first initially bonded.

This is where information
is being exchanged.

You're learning more about the
product or service and it is of you.

And that's what we call that
shouldn't sharing stage.

The next stage is bonding here,
you and the brand, and becoming

You're using its competitors less,
and there's a degree of trust.

That's formed now between
you and the brand.

And finally, and most
importantly is the fusing stage.

You may have only a few of these brands in
your life where you and the brand are in

a sense, inextricably linked your values.

And it are in a way, a reflection of
each other, again, extremely rare, but

And finally, we use the fact that you
are a user of the brand, the mapping of

the six archetypes and the degrees of
intensity or the stages of, measure the

degree of bond that you have with a brand.

We use an algorithm to calculate
a score from zero to 100 great

Average brands are in the thirties and,
obviously weak brands perform below that.

That was a very high
level tour of our model.

Over the last 10 years, we've amassed
an immense amount of information

We also look at industries and it's
interesting that financial services

have historically done extremely
poorly in building brand intimacy.

They consistently rank in the lower third
of industries,  in our annual studies.

In addition to the industry
data, we also look at demographic

data, comparing intimate brands
by age, by income, by gender.

And then we also look at the forces
that technology are having on brands.

Which industries take
advantage of technology?

That information is extremely useful, but
ultimately what proves out that this is

valuable to our clients and ultimately
the executives in charge of those

companies is the fact that brand intimacy.

We know the more intimate you are, the
more on-brand your behavior will be.

We know that the more intimate
you are, the more you're

We know that the more intimate a
brand is the more it outperforms.

In fact, intimate brands outperform
the fortune 500 and Standard and Poor's

Best Practice

Good customer relationships are essential for brand growth. So how can you cultivate a strong brand image and ensure positive associations when consumers spot your logo? 
Writer and researcher Mario Natarelli talks through the essentials to building reliable relationships with customers.

Design

Branding

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Mario Natarelli

Discover insights from other experts

Co-author 

Discover how brand intimacy is built through the brand intimacy model.


Chapter 1: What is brand intimacy?

Natarelli analyses the centrality of users within brand intimacy.


Chapter 2: Users

Natarelli explains the six key archetypes of brand intimacy and gives examples of these.


Chapter 3: Archetypes

Do you feel closer to some brands than others? Natarelli breaks down why that may be.


Chapter 4: Stages

Learn how brand intimacy is measured and the benefits of building high levels of it.