What is the story of your brand? And what stories do consumers tell about your brand? We asked some people to tell us about the brands they love and their stories of the relationship they have with these brands:
APPLE
My Apple is the second man in my life. I feel safe and secure and endlessly entertained around Apple; and not just my current companion (Apple Mini, successor to iMac), but anything to do with this brand. I am a disciple, a carrier of the torch. It is the one brand that I will recommend to anybody, without any reservation whatsoever, whether they want to hear it or not.
I know exactly how I fell in love. There are some of us who are not very smart around technology. Our thinking tends to be more in the realm of ideas and random connections than remembering what F9 does. We get nervous and confused rather quickly and feel inadequate, especially when we're around techno-wizards. After years of bashing out copy on sturdy contraptions that were really easy to understand, computers were a nightmare. I felt threatened. All the time there was this subtle reminder that I was not really the kind of user the inventor had in mind. To spite me, it would 'lose' my work.
Then one day... oh happiness! Doing freelance at an agency I'm given a minute baby Apple. I switch it on and it smiles at me. I look at the screen and there's a logic that melts my heart. It is patient with me. It invites me to learn more about it. I can play!
Before that day, I was drawn to their audacious advertising stunt when they flighted the 1984 commercial once. And they were young and sexy and counter-culture as a company. But it's direct interaction that really does it for me. We're deeply involved exactly during those times when I'm doing the work I love.
Respect.
M&G – through The Rand Daily Mail
Reading the Rand Daily Mail in the Dunka Donut during the 70s made me feel like 'n verraaier. Afrikaans children in my town were brought up with the lid firmly clamped down on talk of 'freedom'. We were actively discouraged from thinking for ourselves. The dominee or the doctor or the bank manager or prime minister... there was always someone that knew better who would tell us what to do. It was considered arrogant to disagree or ask questions.
I loved my father dearly, but I believed the people at the Rand Daily Mail because they had the cheek to disagree, ask questions and think for themselves. These days that's not such a big deal any more, and evolution has happened, but it still puts the kick into my Fridays.
Black Cat Peanut Butter
It's a matter of trust. Black Cat is what my mom gave me and she had a certain smile that reassured us both that this was good stuff. My kids learned to love the Cat too.
If you have a brand-relationship story, we'd love to include it.
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