Bringing culture into branding

Advertising that reflects current societal desires and anxieties have a better chance of making an impact on their targeted audiences

THE SUPER BOWL final in February is the main sporting event in the American calendar, the equivalent of our All-Ireland finals in September. In an era of fragmenting audiences for mass media, it is now one of the few times advertisers are guaranteed a mass audience in the US, and for the marketing communications community it’s all about the ads rather than the football.

Given that a 30-second slot in the half-time break costs more than $3 million, it’s no wonder advertisers who can afford the entry fee want to put their best creative feet forward, but this year’s selection (they can be viewed online) are nothing to write home about with one stunning exception – an inspired and inspiring two-minute spectacular from Chrysler featuring Clint Eastwood as presenter and voiceover.

The ad is beautifully shot and directed with Eastwood filmed against a variety of moody backgrounds, delivering his lines with brooding, almost biblical authority. But the real star of the commercial is the words, the copy. Bill Bernbach, watching on a widescreen at the right hand of OMG, must have been very proud. Someone on earth had heeded his dying wish: “All of us who professionally use the mass media are the shapers of society and we can vulgarise that society, we can brutalise it or we can help lift it onto a higher level”.

Eastwood delivers the words: “It’s half-time. Both teams are in their locker rooms discussing what they can do to win this game in the second half. It’s half-time in America too. People are out of work and they’re hurting. And they’re all wondering about what they’re going to do to make a comeback. And we’re all scared because this isn’t a game. The people in Detroit know a little something about this. They almost lost everything. But they pulled together now Motor City is fighting again.

“I’ve seen a lot of tough eras, a lot of downturns in my life, times when we didn’t understand each other, it seems that we lost our heart at times; the fog, division, discord and blame made it hard to see what lies ahead. But after those trials we all rallied round what was right and acted as one. Because that’s what we do. We find a way through tough times and if we can’t find a way we make one.

“All that matters now is what’s ahead. How do we come from behind, how do we come together and how do we win. Detroit shows it can be done and what’s true about them is true about all of us. This country can’t be knocked out with one punch. We get right back up again. When we do the world’s going to hear the roar of our engines. Yeah, it’s half time in America and our second half is about to begin.”

This ad represents a good example of cultural branding, a concept popularised by a number of American academics, notably Douglas Holt, who believe that products or services that base their marketing communications on cultural themes reflecting current societal desires and anxieties have a better chance of making an impact and ultimately of achieving cult status; the greatest opportunities for brands today is to deliver not entertainment, but rather myths their customers can use to manage the exigencies of a world that increasingly threatens their identities.

From the VW ads of the 1950s, the Ben Jerry’s ads of the 1990s to a recent Stonyfield Farm yogurt viral campaign, American businesses have never been afraid of wading into controversial societal issues if they feel it can help their brands. Have a look at the Stonyfeld Farm “Let’s Eat Organic” video to see just how adversarial they are prepared to be.

We’re much more circumspect. Irish businesses rarely dip their toe into the political arena unless it’s a passing jokey reference. It may have something to do with our past that seems to inhibit our ability to confront issues in public.

Former taoiseach Garret FitzGerald bemoaned the fact that try as he might he failed in a life-long attempt to get more issues discussed in public, concluding that “the Irish prefer the concrete to the conceptual”. Prof Joe Lee, however, may have been closer to the mark when he declared that “the peasant residue in the Irish psyche confuses necessary confidentiality with furtive concealment”.

A possible exception to the rule was the 2010 ad for the Dublin Airport Authority, which tried to link the opening of Terminal 2 with a national regeneration message, but the copy didn’t quite manage to transcend the twin pitfalls of bombast and boredom. Nevertheless, it was a brave and welcome attempt to integrate marketing communications messages with wider societal concerns. Given our economic woes, there has surely never been a better time to create brand stories, which “reflect current societal desires and anxieties”.

A recent Bord Bia consumer survey designed to help Irish food brands make the most of the present circumstances confirmed the pessimistic outlook among consumers; almost half the public believe that the economy will deteriorate further this year, but went on to suggest possible strategies for finding opportunities in adversity. Helen King, director of research and insight at Bord Bia, has grouped those opportunities under five headings, the five Ps:

* Protection:protecting people from uncertainty and risk

* Practical:helping people to plan and be more self-reliant

* Permission:encouraging people to make connections

* Purpose:giving new meaning and purpose to people's lives

* Pride:re-building a sense of pride and achievement.

King’s analysis of the Bord Bia data suggests possible fruitful approaches for Irish food brands at a time when the population is suffering unprecedented “collective anxieties”. What’s needed is for Irish food businesses to start meaningful and entertaining conversations with the public.

At the risk of committing the ultimate “mortaller”, I’m now going to utter the dreaded words, “I’m not a copywriter but . . .” and suggest tentative lines of approach for some of the growing number of Irish food brands whose success not only creates wealth and employment but which give us a psychological boost when we see them succeed in the face of multinational competition and retailer pressure.

I think “Purpose” and “Pride” offer the best possibilities, with the latter enabling Irish brands that are making brave forays into export markets to strengthen their position at home by discussing their exploits with a population eager to share their success.

Butler’s Chocolate Cafés could tell us a story along the following lines: “Next time you’re in Wellington, Karachi or even London, drop in to a Butler’s Chocolate Café, relax with a coffee, enjoy our chocolates and we’ll make you feel right at home”, thus giving the brand an even stronger hold on the Irish imagination by revealing the extent of their export success.

In the same vein Ballymaloe Country Relish is starting to make inroads into the German market and could usefully let us know: “We’re giving the Germans a bail-out – helping to improve the taste of their food”. And while we’re at it Flahavan’s could tell us that “It’s an Irish morning in America as Americans opt for a more healthy way to start the day”.

When it comes to “Purpose”, we’re spoilt for choice because there are so many Irish food brands that are providing employment, inspiration and hope in areas ravaged by unemployment and emigration. Folláin marmalades and jams, which provides much-needed employment in Cúil Aodha in the west Cork Gaeltacht, is now the leading Irish-made marmalade brand. It could start a conversation about the wholesome nature of fruit grown in the area – Folláin is the Irish for “wholesome” – and of its determination to continue to expand the business but never to abandon its roots in West Cork.

Cultural branding doesn’t have to be frightfully serious – Cully Sully have built a successful brand by reflecting the founders’ engaging personalities and their enthusiasm for food. You’d expect them to be committed to environmental sustainability but not to be too po-faced about it, so why not: “Support Global Warming: Slap Your Laughing Gob around more Cully Sully’s Soups”.