MAKE THE
MOST
OF A
POLARIZING BRAND
HARVARD
BUSINESS
REVIEW
But what are POLARIZING BRANDS?
POLARIZING BRANDS are the ones that have both lovers and haters.
THINK ABOUT YOUR FAVOURITE MC DONANLD’SBURGER
BUT
THERE ARE FEW PEOPLE
WHO ….
SOME MORE
POLARIZING
BRANDS
LET US
LEARNA LITTLE MORE…….
IT IS A SLIGHTLY-SWEETER-
THAN- MAYONNAISESANDWICH SPREAD.
MARKETERS AT KRAFT BEGAN RESEARCHING SHOPPERS’
ATTITUDE TOWARD THE DRESSING AND FOUND THAT
A SUBSTANTIAL NUMBER OF
PEOPLE LOVE MIRACLE WHIP
AND MANY OTHERS
DETEST IT.
IN 2011 KRAFT
LAUNCHED ADS THAT
SOUGHT TO MAKE A
VIRTUE OUT OF THE SCHISM.
THE CAMPAIGN
USED LOVE-’EM
OR HATE-’EM
CELEBRITIES
LIKE PAULY D
SOME PEOPLE IN THE AD PRAISED MIRACLE WHIP’S
YUMMIES
SOME PEOPLE IN THE AD PRAISED MIRACLE WHIP’S
YUMMIES
BUT ONE CHARACTER SAID HE’D BREAK UP WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND
IF HE LEARNED THAT SHE LIKED THE DRESSING
“MIRACLE WHIP IS A POLARIZING PRODUCT”, THE
BRAND DIRECTOR, SARA
BARUN, EXPLAINED.
“WE ARE TRYING TO OWN UP TO
THIS FACT”.
THE STRATEG
Y WORKED
!
DURING THE CAMPAIGNING MIRACLE WHIP EXPERIENCED A
631%
SURGE IN SOCIAL MEDIA POSTINGS
AND A 14%
INCREASE IN SALES
IDENTIFYINGPOLARIZING BRANDS
MARKETERS GAUGING
CONSUMER ATTITUDES HAVE TRADITIONALLY
RELIED ON “MEAN” OR“NET”
SCORES, BUT THOSE METRICS
CAN PAINT A MISLEADING
PICTURE.
HIGHLY POLARIZING
BRANDS TEND TO PERFORM MORE
POORLY THAN OTHERS, BUT ALSO TEND TO BE LESS RISKY- TO EXHIBIT RELATIVELY LITTLE
VARIATION IN STOCK PRICE
TO THRIVE IN THIS
ENVIRONMENT BRAND
MANAGERS NEED
FOR WHICH WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND
AND USE A NEW METRIC
THAT MEASURES
POLARISATION
LET US CONSIDE
R AN EXAMPLE
…
A BWE HAVE TWO HYPOTHETICA
L BRANDS A & B
EACH BRAND’S MANAGER SURVEYS THREE PEOPLE
1 7POOR EXCELLENT
ASKING THEM TO RATE THE BRAND ON A
SCALE
THUS THE TWO BRANDS
HAVE THE SAME
MEAN SCORE
4
BRAND A’s
SCORE ARE CLUSTERED TOGETHER
3 45
BRAND B’s
SCORE ARE
WIDELY DISPERSED
1
7
4
HATER
LOVER
BRAND BIS
POLARIZING
ON
POLARISATION
CAPITALISING
BRAND MANAGERS WHO SUCCESSFULLY DEPLOY IT REDUCE NEGATIVE WORD OF MOUTH AND CREATE
A LARGER POOL OF POTENTIAL BUYERS,
BEST KNOWN FOR CAKE
MIXES, ICING AND OTHER PRODUCTS,
HAD
4.5%
HATERS
GENERAL MILLS TOOK SEVERAL
STEPS TO ASSUAGE THE BRAND’S
CRITICS. IN APRIL 2009 IT STARTED A SOCIAL NETWORK, MYBLOGSPARK, TO PROMOTE BETTY CROCKER AND
OTHER BRANDS TO ADDRESS
BLOGGERS’ COMPLAINTS.
BY MAY 2011 THE SHARE OF
BETTY CROCKER BRAND HATERS
HAD DROPPED TO
2.8%
POKE THE HATERS
2
IT CAN CREATE A BUZZ AND
REINFORCE THE BRAND’S
CONNECTION WITH ITS MOST
ENTHSIASTIC CONSUMERS,
BECAUSE PEOPLE FEEL COMPELLED TO
DEFEND A FAVOURITE PRODUCT
THAT HAS COME UNDER ATTACK.IT ALSO SWAYS
NEUTRAL CONSUMERS INTO
BECOMNG SUPPORTERS.
3
AMPLIFY A POLARIZING ATTRIBUTE
OFTEN A SINGLE CHARACTERISTIC IS
RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEEP SCHISM
BETWEEN A BRAND’S FAN AND ITS
DETRACTORS.SOME COMPANIES DECIDE TO CREATE
NEW PRODUCTS THAT AMPLIFY THE POINT OF DIFFERENTIATION, IN
THE HOPE OF BOLSTERING LOYALTY
AMONG DIEHARD FANS.
A DISTINCTIVE BRITISH
CONDIMENT. IT HAS BEEN A POLARISING PRODUCT
EVER SINCE ITS INCEPTION.
TO AMP UP ENTHUSIASM AMONG
ITS MOST ARDENT FANS, MARMITE XO-
AN EXTRA STRENGTH VERSION WAS
RELEASED.USING SOCIAL MEDIA
THE COMPANY
INVITED 30 CONSUMERS FOR
TASTE TESTINGS AND SET UP A FACEBOOK
GROUP
THE PROMOTIOM GENERATED
MORE THAN 54,000 VISITS TO THE COMPANY’S
WEBSITE AND 300,000 FACEBOOK PAGE VIEWS, AND
RETAILERS SOLD OUT OF MARMITE XO AS SOON AS IT ARRIVED ON THE SHELVES.
CREATING
POLARIZATION
SOMETIMES A PRODUCT OR A BRAND ARE NOT INHERENTLY
POLARIZING, BUT MARKETERS MAY
WANT TO INTRODUCE POLARIZATION IN
ORDER TO DIFFERENTIATE IT FROM A STRONG
COMPETITOR OR TO MAKE IT
STAND APART FROM A CROWDED
FIELD.
DRIVE A
WEDGE IN THE MARKE
T
1
FOR CENTURIES APPLE CIDER HAS BEEN CONSUMED
WITHOUT ICE, OFTEN IN
WORKING-CLASS PUBS.
IN 2006 SALES OF MAGNERS, A
POPULAR BRAND, SOARED AFTER A
PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN TOUTED IT AS A REFRESHING
ICED SUMMER BEVERAGE
THE ADS HELPED TURN MAGNERS
INTO A HIP DRINK FOR YOUNG
UPSCALE PROFESSIONALS, A
DEMOGRAPHIC THAT HADN’T CONSUMED MUCH CIDER IN THE
PAST
THE LEADING BRAND OF
CIDER, STRONGBOW,
OBSERVED THIS SUCCESS
WITH SOME ENVY
BUT IT RECOGNISED A DIFFERENT OPPORTUNITY.
THE WORKING CLASS HAD
BEEN DISTANCED DUE TO THE TRENDINESS OF MAGNERS.
AS THE MARKET BEGAN
SEGEMENTING
STRONGBOW INVESTED
MORE IN THE CORE MARKET
AS POLARIZATION INCREASED SO
DID SALES. STRONGBOW HAS MAINTAINED ITS
LEADING POSITION IN
BARS AND PUBS
2
LAUNCH A PROVOCATIV
E AD
MARKETERS MAY TRY TO INCREASE
BRAND VISIBILTY BY RUNNING ADS ALL BUT DESIGNED TO TURN OFF A SHARE OF VIEWERS
PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE IN 2008, BEGAN RUNNING ADS FEATURING A SUPERPEPPY CHARACTER
NAMED FLOW
THEY KNEW THAT
ALTHOUGH SOME VIEWERS
MAY ADORE HER, OTHERS MIGHT FIND
HER ANNOYING.
AND THEY DID: FACEBOOK
NOW HOSTS A PAGE
“I HATE FLO”AND THE AD IS
ONE OF THE MOST DISLIKED
ADS.
BUT THE CAMPAIGN AND
NEGATIVE REACTION
RAISED BRAND AWARENESS
AND INCREASED
SALES.
BEFORE WE END THIS REMEMBER
TO CAPITALISE POLARIZATION
PLACATE THE HATERS
POKE THE HATERS
AMPLIFY A POLARIZING ATTRIBUTE
TO CREATE POLARIZATION
DRIVE A WEDGE IN THE MARKET
LAUNCH A PROVOCATIVE AD
THESE SLIDES WERE CREATED BY
PRITI VERMA (LADY SHRI RAM COLLEGE, DELHI
UNIVERSITY), AS A PART OF AN INTERNSHIP UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF PROF. SAMEER
MATHUR
www.IIMInternship.com