Blog 2 Jacob Imlay

• How has consumer behavior has shifted in the past, and will shift because of this recession?

The following blog outlines consumer behavior shifts and it’s effects during the great depression. http://tribalinsight.wordpress.com/2009/05/23/part-four-recessiondepression-whats-going-to-happen/ During the Great Depression consumers had less money so they rarely save and purchased only necessities. Resulting in companies changing identities to make products and services cheaper as a way to attract consumers. The author of the article made many predictions dealing with consumer behavior in the current recession; believing that low-priced goods will be more desired, services will be acquired less often and put off purchasing current technologies. Consumers in the current economic state are more conscience of what they spend their money on, so it is not surprising that one would think that non-essential commodities would be acquired less often. The author’s last prediction however is not accurate, new technology continuously produced and rapidly consumed.The technology market strategy has started to move towards quality, affordable, sustainable products. This is evident in the new iPad, which advertises it as a revolutionary device at an affordable price. http://www.apple.com/ipad/

• How does design develop brand truth?
Design finds an element the brand already contains which is exclusive or specialized and brings it to attention making it the brand truth. MasterCard’s identity is a great example; they did not change the company service they only advertised that they care about “What Matters”. Lawrence Flanagan’s developed the identity, “What Matters”, after extensive consumer research. He said 'Listen to the consumer' they will explain what is important in the brand and their expectation. Developing a brand identity that can be supported through out the brand is needed to develop brand truth. This should be a single, memorable expression of what the brand encompasses. An example of how this can go wrong is the rebrand of RadioShack to The Shack; the new identity does nothing to support the brand while making it seem ambiguous, by shorting its name, confusing customers. http://creative-brand.com/thestory/?p=800 Showing how a poor brand identity can lead to loss of brand truth, even for an established company.

• Is there a difference between producing happiness and producing brand loyalty?
Yes there is a difference because brand loyalty is a product of consistent consumer happiness. Brands can produce happiness but be inconsistent in pleasing the consumer, causing the brand not to build loyalty. People will be more inclined to trust a brand that they have had previous positive experiences. Happiness broad term an can encompass many aspect of a customers experience. The customer can be happy with their overall experience with a brand but not be satisfied with certain aspects and associations, causing the brand not to gain the consumer’s loyalty. This is evident in the following study, which details how poor customer services leads to the loss of consumers. http://www.physorg.com/news157300871.html One interesting aspect of the study is that customer service build emotional ties between a customer and their service provider. Happiness is an emotion while brand loyalty is an emotional tie.