Richard Hytner: And there are still more than 20 groups on Facebook alone dedicated to anti HSBC discussion. Some of whom have even bothered to create their own Spoof Advertising for HSBC. It goes like this, less school, no job, no money, then and I won't say it. I am proud to say that my son is also waging a terrific war with Barclays and with Sky whilst I continued to wage war actually with Manchester United, through the Manchester United Supporters Trust against the outrageous increase in ticket prices triggered by the debt repayments, completely unnecessary, 675 million of them just to feed the avaricious owners, the Glazers. On a slightly more positive, though no less partisan note, this can have positive consequences too. Consumers taking advantage of technology to campaign for the return of their favorite confectionary, encouraging Cadbury to bring back the iconic whisper chocolate bar, 1000s literally 1000s lobbied Cadbury on MySpace and Facebook. So brand's laws of power, prestige and value has moved us from an attention economy to the attraction economy. From interruption to engagement, from one to many to many to one, where ROI is much more about Return on Involvement than it is Return on Investment, and where big promises count for absolutely nothing. Engagement is now people generated, people mediated, people decided People are all over brands because brands are all over them. Being bombarded by 5000 messages a day is a really painful experience. We want something more than brands, more than price, function, benefits, range, claim, performance. We want to be part of something bigger than ourselves, where selling includes sustaining and buying has a positive impact. Today it's not enough to understand what people are saying in our creative endeavors, to connect with consumers, customers, constituencies; we have to understand how people are feeling. The challenge is to be bigger than a brand, to create experiences that are not liked, but loved, and loved deeply This is the idea behind the theory of Lovemarks, developed and practiced daily by Saatchi & Saatchi. It's not enough to be respected and liked, you need to be respected and loved. Not a trust mark, nor a like mark, a love mark Lovemarks apply to absolutely every category. Everybody in this room has a category to which a lovemark applies. And they all understand one basic principle. Just as respect cannot be guaranteed, it has to be earned, so love can not be commanded, it has to be given. Here are some fundamental differences between brands and lovemarks that you might recognize. Brands are built primarily on respect; lovemarks are built on love and respect. Brands create loyalty for a reason; lovemarks create loyalty beyond reason. Brands are owned by managers, marketers, companies, shareholders. Lovemarks are owned by the people who love them. Are you listening Mr. Glazer, we own Manchester United, you don't Lovemarks can be anything that people keep care deeply about. If it is lovemarks.com you will see what's hot at the moment. Top five this week include Tim Tam biscuits, M&Ms, Sydney in Australia, Scrabble, and Anne Klein perfume another one I think being brought back. With apologies to Jan Muller our inspirational Ajax adoring CEO in Amsterdam, my own lovemarks include Eric Cantona, now Cristiano Ronaldo, relayed L'Entrecôte, a fantastic steak and chips restaurant in Paris where you get your steak and chips not just once but twice, and banana republic. Brands drive solid performance; lovemarks accelerate performance, share, intention intention to purchase, intention to repurchase and therefore margin in return. Great brands are irreplaceable, always have been lovemarks are irreplaceable and irresistible
Video Clip: New Citrus Splash and Cinnamon Ice Scope, very fresh breath.
Richard Hytner: How to think about becoming a lovemark; which I would love you all to do for the next 20 minutes. Well, here is the journey we embark on with our clients often from different start points. This is where most brands get stuck, right in the differentiation trap, engrossed in pointless debates about how good, and how different they are; makes your skin 84 percent more radiant. How on earth would you know? Three centimeters more legroom in Club Class; now even better, even faster, in other words plenty of reason, not much emotion. It's when you are stopping, knowing the things that people really care about, that you engage their hearts as well as their minds and when you get advocates. We call them inspirational consumers. They decide what's a lovemark, and they spread the word. Word of mouth has always been the most effective form of advertising, it's timeless and now of course it's networked; one friend talking to another, one colleague to another, one Picnic participant to another I travelled on BA Club Class recently and just before take off, I asked for one of those magazines that they have on the rack at the front of the cabin. And I got a pretty curt reply. It went like this you can't have one of those yet, because if you do and we put these magazines out before we take off, people steal them. So I was a thief on British Airways for 3000 pounds to New York and back. You get an altogether different experience when you fly Virgin Atlantic in whose lounge, you can get these rather cute salt and pepper pots. I hope you can see these now, very desirable. And for the kleptomaniacs like me who fancy taking these home, as you turn them upside down they actually say "Pinched from Virgin Atlantic"; really, really clever. So when you have got inspirational consumers in your world than someone else is doing the selling for you, "Fly Virgin". The way to get magnitude fast is to involve inspirational consumers in your created process, hand the brand over to them, matching their mindset with your content in a context they care about and at a time they are really interested. That way you lead, vast others follow
Video Clip: You with your masquerading And you always contemplating Can't you see that it's all around you So follow me Yeah come on babe Follow me I'm the pied piper Follow me I'm the pied piper And I'll show you Where it's at Come on babe Can't you see I'm the pied piper Trust in m I'm the pied piper And I'll show you Where life is at Come on babe Follow me Come on babe Trust in me Come on babe Can't you see
Richard Hytner: Here are 10 ideas to really evaluate for yourselves whether what you are sitting on right now, the brand that you are responsible for, the company that you are running is a lovemark and is engendering your consumer's or customer's or client's loyalty beyond reason. consumer's or customer's or client's loyalty beyond reason. Idea number one, connect with deep emotion. Business is run on relationships, not transactions. And the most powerful relationships when you think about are anything but rational. We can learn from the world of neuroscience, emotion, intuition, long term memories, unconscious motivations; control as much as 85 percent of our decision making process. That leaves just 15 percent for logic to fight over. We're powered by emotion, not reason. We want to be listened to to share stories, to hang out together. And if the foundations of consumer behavior are emotional then it follows that the strongest foundations of the consumer brand relationship are similarly emotional. Winning is about unleashing emotional energy, emotional intelligence, emotional desire. Neurologist Donald Calne sums up beautifully, "Reason leads to conclusions, emotion leads to action." How to get American women to reappraise JC Penny, the mid market retailer, and how to get women to visit the store more often? By connecting with deep emotion
Video Clip: Looking from a window above It's like a story of love Can you hear me? Came back only yesterday Moving further away Won't you hear me? All I needed was the love you gave All I needed for another day And all I ever knew Only you And all I ever knew Only you
Richard Hytner: Same question to ask yourselves; do you stand for something that the people really care about? Revlon decided it wasn't skin cream they were selling, but hope in a jar. Philips Starck Juicer doesn't squeeze lemon, it starts conversations. Apple don't make computers, they inspire our creativity. Lego don't make plastic quality bricks, they fuel every chance imagination. The people at Montblanc don't come to work to make posh pens, they come to celebrate and cultivate the arts of writing. And Pampers don't sell diapers or nappies, they see the world through the eyes of a baby and through those insights that that generates they have developed a six billion dollar business. That's what Lovemarks do. They own a territory that's bigger than their category and they show they care.
Video Clip: Silent night, holy night All is calm, all is bright. Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child Holy infant so tender and mild Sleep in heavenly peace Sleep in heavenly peace.
Richard Hytner: Third crunch question, do you want to be respected or do you want to be loved and respected? No contest, here is a frame where you might think about of Lovemarks of your own. The love respect axis actually applies to every relationship you could imagine. The starting point, lovemarks of course, top right hand quadrant, must have high respect, high love. Low respect, low love, you are frankly a mere product, actually more like a commodity, rubbish collection service, public utilities, American Airlines, products that people need but don't like a whole lot even if they are essential. It's a very dangerous place to be and one that brands can fall back into if they lose respect. Ask most banks and Telco's whose base service delivery is simply not enough to build or sustain respect. You can make a lot of money in the top in the bottom right head corner, that's high love, low respect. The territory for fads, fashions, infatuations; think of the Tamagotchis, The Bikini Babes, The South Beach Diet, The Spice girls, Pepsi Ice Cucumber in Japan, Tony Blair post Iraq, heroes today, zeroes tomorrow. High respect, low love is where most of the investment in the last 50 years has gone, where the ER words rule; faster, bigger, smaller, cheaper, brighter hipper, the territory of brands built on foundations of trust and respect, sound management, great products, solid service, continuous improvement. Without it you are going no where fast. In fact the need to perform has never been greater than need to innovate, to build your reputation, to stay in the lead, to deliver at every encounter and at every touch point, its all vital. But even with maximum respect, without something else, without some love, there are no guarantees of success, because of tough competitions, tight margins, lack of individuality. High love and high respect, that of course is the place to be, top right. It's where the real money is. High respect is a must and high love; simple, fantastic experience, enduring differentiation, sizzling attitude, irresistible appeal, big fat margins. From brand to lovemark is the journey we are all on, with all our clients because when you play in this territory, the sky is literally the limit.
Video Clip: My friend Kofi is a great man. When he was a boy his teacher asked him where he dreamed of working. Air, he said. And he was good to his dream. He knew that if there was one thing we have a lot of, its sky, big beautiful sky. In the whole of Africa he couldn't think of a better place to work. I bet the trophy is not too bad. At the end of the day, when the lights guiding all, and so we got there at the bar, and the beer sees the sky, he says. I got from too, that's greatness. But then there is a drop of greatness in every men, yeah.
Richard Hytner: Idea number four to build Lovemarks, those things that inspire our loyalty beyond reason, get organized. To connect creatively Lovemarks need ideas with stopping power, talking power, staying power, inspiring authentic ideas so they are much bigger than products, organizing ideas that create platforms for sustained growth. The iPod along with other products glowing in Apple's lovemarks halo and built around its organizing idea to inspire our creativity, delivered $70 billion in shareholder value in just three years. The executional challenge is to connect that great organizing idea with strategic partners on multiple scales. Lovemarks Organizing Ideas do just that. They unite partners within and beyond organizations in energetic and harmonious action. Idea number five, to accelerate your journey to Lovemark, it might be wise the leap before you look, to be courageous, to pursue failure to the limit - and to do it now. Most of the great tech companies of the last three decades were launched by people in their 20's. From an entrepreneurial standpoint Europe needs to stop looking and to start leaping. Around 26 percent of Americans won't start a business because of risk to income or career. In Britain that's 34 percent. In the EU as a whole, its 46 percent. Tom Pisces had a winning formula for this, its called Fail fast, Learn fast, Fix fast.
Video Clip: One minute one minute please, time, thank you. Could you all please put down your pens and bring your papers to front of the table, thank you. Well done. Thank you. Oh I am sorry, you are too late, you have got plenty of warnings about time, you failed, sorry. Excuse me; do you know who I am? I have absolutely no idea. Good.
Richard Hytner: Success today is about what you feel, explore and discover; not what you know and see. Winners go past knowledge, they go past vision, they get insight fast, they turn it into foresight. Most of what's called research day is simply an agglomeration of facts. To get insights you have to feel what consumers are feeling, go where they go. To connect with people you have to live in their world. At times we call this exploring. Traditional research focuses on what people say, exploring focuses on what people do. Traditional research ask questions, exploring gets personally involved, playing, shopping, wiping baby's bottoms, chatting, cleaning, browsing, listening, whatever it takes to get to the truth of someone's experience. Traditional research discusses the role of a brand, exploring feels what the brand means. Smarter companies now pool resources into getting ever closer to the customers, closer through emotion. Procter & Gamble in fact, in the last five years, have increased this kind of personal research five fold. Here is what I mean by getting closer.
Video Clip: Oh look at that one. That's a great one. And that's poisonous. Are they really? Yeah, they are just really dangerous. So, is the poison come out of their mouth, or is it on the back? It's all over. You don't touch them. So if you touch its skin, you would you die or -? You never touch it, you will die instantly. Well, she is getting closer. Oh, look, whatever mate, it's dangerous, you get, back I reckon, you get back, and gee it's very dangerous. Yeah, she is bit cross. Okay, get back, just go back. Go away.
Richard Hytner: Certain tip on how to build Lovemarks; use the three secrets, mystery, sensuality, intimacy. The first secret, mystery, the beguiling power of the unknown, the flow of past, present and future. Relationships thrive on mystery. You might recall Samantha in Sex and the City when she finally met the man of her dreams. They sat down to dinner. He looked her in the eyes and he said, "Samantha, I want to tell you everything about me." "Oh" she replied, "honey that's so sweet. But I don't want to hear everything, it spoils the mystery." Does what you are doing contain myths, symbols, metaphors? How can these be harnessed to capture people's imaginations? Tell you the stories; it's how the brain makes memories. Danish futurist Rolf Jensen, a genius, said, "The highest paid person in the first half of the century, the highest paid will be the storyteller." So it brings me to the quiz, there are two Lovemarks books on offer, thanks to Paul, he went and helped himself to them. I am very glad you did; unlike those at British Airways, to two Lovemarks books, if you can answer this question, first you to answer this question. Why does Lexus get his leather from cows that graze in open fields? Any immediate answer to that or would you like some time to think about it. Why does Lexus get his leather from cows that graze in open fields? Because because it won't scratch, is that what I heard? Absolutely fantastic, no barbed wire that goes over the and there will be another book to the person who is the first to tell me what their Lovemark is at the end of this presentation, and most importantly why its your Lovemark. So at first with the hand out with a decent Lovemark and a story why, you would get your book. Take the recent case of Mr. Plastic Fantastic. He is a mystery, a giant, 2.5 meter man made of Lego bricks. Anybody living in Amsterdam at the time this fellow mooched up on the shore, and the only clue to his kind of identity with something on his T-shirt the read, "No Real Than You Are." Anybody know Mr. Plastic Fantastic? Was that a big thing over here? Apparently this fellow, who came with all sorts of things, a virtual world inundated with fortune hunters, people drunk with power were the kind of clues that he ceded. One witness noted he came from England, where I tell you I didn't see him. The smart simply guessed that he was the voice of their Lovemark Lego. Another one in Amsterdam, from a Lovemark Radio Station 538, how many people had guessed there whereabouts of Mr. X, anybody involved in the search for Mr. X, will skip the movie, but more than 135,000 people clicked on this movie on YouTube, during the week this campaign ran for Mr. X. Thousands of people called to 1888 to get connected with clues that connected you to the whereabouts of Mr. X. They left leads there for him. A 100,000 people visited the Special Action Page of the Radio Station. Hunters who were participants of the game even creates there own web blogs, hives and other communications about the hunt for Mr. X. All for admittedly the highest ever price on Dutch Radio, 50,000 euros, a massive, massive; powerful use of mystery. Proof if ever you needed it that people live for adventure, discovery and surprise. Second secret of Lovemarks is sensuality. If you think about your brands most of them operates on just one or may be two of the senses. We need to the use all five, all five because that portals to the emotions. The more we stimulate the greater the personal effect. Remember how Apple first came and the original iMac with tangerine taste. Scent in fact is even more powerful. When we think we are tasting we are actually usually smelling. Taste comprises one million receptor cells; smell has 40 million receptor cells. So we should learn from the super sensualist people like Joe Malone, or my wife's lovemark hotel in Paris, the hotel Coast with Stefan pumping at mixed signature music and the aphrodisiac scent they spray corridors as you are on your way to bed, because most of us need to take all the help we can get. You need to welcome people into your world of sensory delight with signature smells, textures, sounds and tastes. Third secret of Lovemarks; intimacy empathy, commitment and passion. You can't automate intimacy as the small touch, the perfect gesture, an understanding of what's being shared in the moment. Humor is a great fast cut to intimacy. As any blind date will confirm, it's the one short cut to a connection with the heart.
Video Clip: Somewhere in your heart, try to find a place for me Somewhere in your heart, I won't care where it might be
Richard Hytner: Three tips to go. Tip number eight; accelerate with SISOMO's, sight, sound and motion. Any creatively ambitious person ought to want to attract the widest possible audience. Sight sound and motion on screen is the most potent combination of communication elements. It's broken free from TV. We invented the word SISOMO to capture the endless possibilities. It's an idea that brings creativity, technology and marketing altogether, the great melting pot of communications. So the challenge is to create is to connect people across the whole family of screens with SISOMO, to work across their screens with stories, to keep the technology behind the screen. People don't mind convergence as long as it converges on them. So we are not talking about tools and technology. We are talking about anything from a commercial created for prime time TV or even the story of the making of that commercial by a 15 year old for YouTube. Any brand with the ambition and here is one handled by our Dutch agency to attract loyalty beyond reason, any agency any idea needs SISOMO application and inspiration. I was really suspicious because Jan Muller, our CEO is football mad, as is his son. He has got two of them. One of them is particularly keen on football, and I was convinced that was him, but it's not, and it's for real that that was absolutely for real, completely authentic. Tip number nine; do what's right. Lovemarks sustain, over time they creatively and authentically make the world a better place. Many companies riding the green wave, some doing good things, some doing bad things, some doing not so bad things, some trying to buy their way into their green credentials. May people have yet to pay a premium for sustainable products, but most of us will actually now reject what is unsustainable, even in America. Nearly three quarters of American consumers believe that purchases have significant impact on society. People are in power on this as Apple discovered even the great Apple, when Greenpeace rallied the company's fan base to get it to clean up its toxic electronic act. The result late last year was the Green my Apple website for Apple's inspirational consumers to show their support in different ways for a much greener Apple. In the end, net and net the great Steve Jobs actually had to get about and do something. I think as consumers we have five green guidelines for creators, producers and sellers. One; we want to buy material things and feel good about that. If we can make a green statement number two, that's even better. Toyota Prius allowed us to do this, with the car for the first time. Three green washing and window dressing will be host down, not tolerated. Four, if you do have a vision and show progress, however slow you are, you get respect, even if you are a tortoise. And five, sustainability will be and should be embedded in every business, so we have to start designing it now. First rule of Lovemarks is simple; no respect, no love.
Video Clip: One of these women showed her respect for nature by donating part of her paycheck to the Environmental Federation of California, the other did not. Now you may not know which one gave to the environment, but an elephant never forgets. Support nature at the office; donate to the Payroll Deduction Plan for the Environment
Richard Hytner: Final idea; work with paradox. Is it possible to do well by doing good? We believe, absolutely. Most business right now is based on "either-or" thinking. You have to make a choice or live with the consequences. This is nonsense. Break through creativity, creativity a level of the business is grounded in paradox and recognizes the people, customers, consumers, afloat and innately paradoxical. So it's not "either-or", its "and-and." We want familiarity and variety, luxury and affordability, efficiency and empathy, a nice life and a better world. Sustainability is a much bigger idea than being green. So we have to work really, really carefully to work with complex opposites. Lovemarks build extreme counterpoints together with equal passion so they enhance each other and take us to a place you never dreamed possible. Look at Toyota, Gas and Electric, short and long term, competitive and open, cost reduction and innovation. It's a car that extents your life. "And-and" explodes to the next level of possibility. So to conclude, Lovemarks is fundamentally is about attraction. It's about people feeling you, finding you, sharing you and loving you. It's about being so irresistible that people can't live without you. It's about driving respect and love to create loyalty beyond reason. And high preacher as it may sound, to deserve and win people's loyalty beyond reason, I believe we have to leave the world better than we found it and to stop at absolutely nothing until we have. Thank you very much. I am really happy to take some questions.
