One of the first examples of a brand creating stories to catch the public imagination probably belongs to that well known coffee company who decided it was such a good idea to run a will-they-won’t-they between Anthony Head and alluring brunette Sharon Maughan.
A lot has changed since the ‘80s, and not just the big hair and shoulder pads, brands are giving back more than ever. From funny clips on YouTube supported by brands to entire online comedy series funded by companies with a vested interest in attracting visitors.
Then there is the next level of entertainment, the word in which Formula 1, Flugtag and extreme sports are propelled by an energy drink.
Companies are even engaging in community action to get their point across. It may not all be for our benefit, but benefit we shall.
This new way of brand thinking means that companies now offer much more than a simple product. Take F1 for example, one team are sponsored and named after an energy drink, an energy drink that has become so much more than a strangely sugary drink. Sponsoring football teams and running websites that offer the crème de la crème of extreme sports is as much a part of business as selling the product itself.
As the BBC technology reporter Katia Moskvitch summed it up when talking about F1, ‘in pursuit of a perfect meeting of interests, F1 teams and sponsors compete with each other to dream up original ideas that will help them engage even more with fans and keep them hooked.’
The same can be said for another drinks manufacturer. Fosters beer has a whole range of interests in comedy from idents and adverts to a stand alone comedy site. It would come as no surprise at all if the Aussie duo of Brad and Dan were given their own prime time series.
Advertising has changed and while brands can still show off their product, they are aware that success comes from engaging with a public who now have access to professional footballers and Hollywood stars by way of social media sites.
When it comes to brands giving more than their product we are under no illusion that they are benefitting, but this doesn’t mean to say we mind. Take this summer’s Capital Clean Up, engineered by one of the leading detergent companies. A cleaner capital may simply be a gimmick but tell that to the streets that will appear a whole lot cleaner after the scheme.
Of course, a clean up is for life, not just for the Olympics but everything starts somewhere, just look at Anthony Head sipping coffee back in the ‘80s and you can see how far brands have come already.
