I was asked recently: "What brands are you loyal to?" Truthfully, I'm not really loyal to any particular brands.
Is this a wrong answer? Does this strike you as odd?
Consider an analogy: In my training as a financial salesperson, I attended countless seminars on the psychology of selling insurance and investments. When an opportunity arises today to consider a financial product, not only do I know what's coming, I know precisely which features to question and which are truly important. This same works for branding.
It seems I am no longer easily persuaded by gimmicks, association, imagery or statistics. Having a more critical eye toward branding and marketing, I might not be as vulnerable to the psychological influences of a PR or advertising campaign. But, I must make an important distinction:
Just because I am not loyal to a particular brand, does not mean I am not susceptible to branding.
I use brands to make decisions daily. The most recent example being my search for a new toothbrush and razor. When presented with mind-numbing variations of toothbrushes and razors - some that vibrate, some with six blades or different types of bristles - deciding that I prefer a simple product hardly narrows my choices. This is where branding has its influence.
The central purpose of branding is to guide the consumer to choose your product a midst a dizzying array of alternatives.
In this case, I settled on mid-range products from Oral B and Gillette. But in future, I may very well purchase products from Colgate or Schick. Though I may not be intensely loyal, I do recognise and utilise the influence of brands.
When broken down in this way, I don't think it was the wrong answer at all.
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