Perspectives on Branding in the “Sindustry”

By Ray George

In the aftermath of the horrific attacks on the United States on September 11, people have looked for sources of comfort to help cope with the sadness and anxiety left in disaster’s wake.  These comforts have been simple (Oreo cookies), familiar (Friends television show) and nostalgic (Carol Burnett retrospective special). Others, however, have been less wholesome pursuits such as tobacco, alcohol, and gambling.

The end result has been unexpected growth for these businesses.  But the impetus behind it begs the question: is this growth sustainable?  For more traditional, comfort-based brands, the potential to build long-term competitive differentiation is great – many can leverage this point-in-time opportunity to revitalize or recapture lost luster.  But can the same be said of brands in the categories perceived as more taboo?  Can you build brands where either public perception or regulations limit your ability to message directly to the customer? 

For brands in the sin category, or “sindustry” brands, the answer is yes – providing their brand-building initiatives are holistic in nature. While many of these companies may be restricted in their ability to leverage advertising and other promotion, the potential for more experiential branding across a wide variety of customer touchpoints – ranging from web site to customer service – is limitless. 

The key to sustaining growth will require brand development that:

  • Is rooted in a keen and nuanced understanding of the customer;
  • Recognizes the customers’ desire to express himself or herself through association with the brand – or stated another way, the brand’s place on the “permission spectrum”;
  • Efficiently and effectively leverages each place where the brand influences or interacts with the customer.

These principles demonstrate that even in industries where opportunities for more traditional marketing are limited, building strong brands is not only a possibility, but also a necessity.

Studying customers’ relationships with brands across the sindustry reveals some interesting commonalities.   The first is risk.  Each category presents a level of potential risk to customers, whether to health, financial well-being or to breaching societal taboos.  These brands also represent rituals and habits – some of which may pose health risks or lead to addiction. Finally, many of the functional benefits of these brands, many of which are physical in nature, are ones that individuals tend not to “broadcast.”

An understanding of such customer needs and motivations requires consideration of ways to connect with customers on a less functional level by acknowledging, without condoning, customer habits and rituals, while respecting the risks inherent in the sindustry product or service.  Insight into customer motivations may yield opportunities to build a more emotional connection with customers.

This customer insight also helps indicate where the category lies on the permission spectrum.  This spectrum represents the boundaries around which customers are willing to acknowledge their active engagement with the brand.  For example, a subscriber to an Internet pornography website is less likely to divulge his or her allegiance than an individual drinking Stolichnaya vodka or gambling in Las Vegas.

The permission spectrum ranges from the private, to the acceptable, to the more stylish/lifestyle oriented brands.  Except in some rare instances, most product/service sindustry categories will have difficulty moving across this spectrum.  Companies like Playboy have attempted to move from acceptability to more of a lifestyle brand with limited success.  Yet liquor brands such as Dewars or Smirnoff have built more style or lifestyle associations into their brands.  The learning from this permission spectrum builds off the customer understanding – respect the boundaries implied by the spectrum as it develops a level of trust with customers. 

Once the customer needs have been identified and the permission spectrum is understood, sindustry brands should identify those customer touchpoints which are best suited to deliver a compelling brand experience. By understanding how the brand is built across the breadth of customer touchpoints, prioritizing the most powerful touchpoints available, and addressing the customer needs consistently across them, sindustry brands may uncover unique and compelling brand development opportunities. 

These touchpoints may include websites, channel partners, salespeople, customer service and word of mouth.  For example, the friendliness of a dealer at a casino or the discretion of a website has a greater potential impact on the brand-customer relationship than advertisements.  Interestingly, customer complaints regarding alcohol advertisements in Canada are upheld more often than not by Advertising Standards Canada, indicating that some advertisements may, in fact, damage the brands.

The sindustry demonstrates that brand building is not limited to those with large television and magazine advertising budgets.  Brand development and execution is within the control of all companies in all industries, regardless of public perception or customer attractiveness.  The key lies in understanding the customer needs and addressing those needs through high-impact customer touchpoints.

A version of this article was featured in the August 12, 2002, issue of Strategy magazine

                                                                             

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