In the future, will we see the emergence of brands with a darker side? Brands that succeed by making people feel uncomfortable; are mysterious yet exciting; are uncompromising in their convictions and don’t try to be nice to everyone.
Historically, 99% of successful brands have built relationships with customers through positive, warm and engaging communications and experiences. This is all very well but it doesn’t reflect the full spectrum of emotions humans feel or want to experience.
For example, within the world of entertainment we pay more to experience films that engage a broader range of emotions, the positive and the negative, the lighter side and the darker side of ourselves. We don’t pay as much to see the simply positive, warm and light-hearted films. The worldwide top ten grossing films of all time include Avatar, The Dark Knight, Lord of the Rings, The Phantom Menace and the Harry Potter franchise. Not one romantic comedy to be seen (Mamma Mia comes in at no 49). A similar argument could be made for books. Whilst Barbara Cartland’s romances have sold well, Dan Brown’s psychological thrillers of good and evil have combined sales second only to The Bible. And what of TV shows and music? The list would go on.
Humans thrive on feeling a full spectrum of emotions, experienced through life’s relationships, work, current affairs and entertainment. So why are we not also experiencing a broader range of emotions through the brands we engage with and the products and services we buy? Why do we only engage with brands within positive emotional parameters?
Will we see brands engaging our broader range of emotions and feelings in future? Is there an opportunity for some brands to be dark and mysterious, to be ruthless and unforgiving? Or are we still not ready for these experiences to be delivered by brands? We’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime I’d like to leave you with one example of a brand I believe does have a darker side.
The McLaren brand. Employees whisper in the secret, state-of-the-art headquarters hidden within the countryside of Surrey, England. It’s like something out of a Bond movie. The corporate mantra is to be the best at whatever they decide to do. The culture is to kill the competition, where ‘second place’ is viewed as first place for losers.
Their uncompromising and unforgiving approach to whatever they set out to do is legendary, be it Formula 1, composite technology or supercar manufacturing. McLaren acts more like a movement than a brand. You are either in or you are not, there is no in-between. It is a brand with a dark side that doesn’t set out to engage the masses, yet the masses engage with McLaren because of its brand.
If you have experienced any other brands that truly engage our broader spectrum of emotions, the positive and the negative, the light and the dark, I’d be pleased to hear from you.
