Telling customers how great your products are is no longer relevant to the savvy, modern consumer, who is also empowered with a wealth of information online that he or she can use to make the purchase decision. Brands that earn their reputation through consistent delivery is the way to go. Then customers would even be happy to tell your story for you.

1. Augustine Fou- 1 -
Branding is
Ineffective and Irrelevant
- 1 -
Dr. Augustine Fou
http://linkd.in/augustinefou
September 2013

2. Augustine Fou- 2 -
Telling vs Earning
“Telling customers how great your products are
is no longer relevant to the savvy, modern
consumer, who is also empowered with a wealth
of information online that he or she can use to
make the purchase decision. Brands that earn
their reputation through consistent delivery is the
way to go. Then customers would even be happy
to tell your story for you.”
Augustine Fou- 2 -
- Dr. Augustine Fou

3. Augustine Fou- 3 -
Source: Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research, Sept 2013
Consumers No Longer Associating Name
Brands With Higher Quality

4. Augustine Fou- 4 -
Example: JCPenney (2012)
Rebrand Est. Cost
$100 million
• Revenues: -20%
• Store Traffic: -10%
• Facebook comments: 80% negative

5. Augustine Fou- 5 -
People search for products
… instead of brands.
Search volume much higher
on product term than the
“brand + product” term.

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Telling users about an experience
… is not the same as them experiencing it.

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Example: Jlo/Fiat (2011)
“the jlo ad”
“Fiat, who?” Fiat’s TV ad generated huge search interest
for Jennifer Lopez but had virtually no
impact for Fiat, launching the 500C.

8. Augustine Fou- 8 -
$10 billion of TV ads …
…could not save Budweiser.
1988: 50.4M barrels
2001: 33.4M barrels
1996
“bud”-”why”-”zer”
2012: 17.7M barrels
1999
“whassssuuuuup?”
2010: $555 million ad spend

9. Augustine Fou- 9 -
Dr. Augustine Fou – Digital Consigliere
“I study trends and advise clients on
optimizing their ad spend, whether in
digital or traditional channels. And I tell
it like I see it (as in the data).” Clients
hire me for my experience and my
objectivity.
FORMER CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER, HCG (OMNICOM)
MCKINSEY CONSULTANT
CLIENT SIDE / AGENCY SIDE EXPERIENCE
PROFESSOR AND COLUMNIST
ENTREPRENEUR / SMALL BUSINESS OWNER
PHD MATERIALS SCIENCE (MIT '95) AT AGE 23
ClickZ Articles: http://bit.ly/augustine-fou-clickz
Slideshares: http://bit.ly/augustine-fou-slideshares
LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/augustinefou

10. Augustine Fou- 10 -
Related Articles
Re-branding is a Total Waste of Time and Money
By: Augustine Fou, April 2012
How to Steal ROI from Competitors’ Branding Efforts
By: Augustine Fou, June 2012
The Biggest Lies of TV Advertising
By: Augustine Fou, March 2012
Comparing Media Costs Across Channels (Normalized to CPM)
By Augustine Fou, January 2013
Digital Tactics Kick Traditional Tactics in Cost Effectiveness
By: Augustine Fou, March 2012
Augustine Fou- 10 -