When we talk about david ogilvy and his ideological theory, we can't help but think of his "brand image", which has a great influence, making "establishing brand image" a fashion and strategy school in advertising.

David ogilvy put forward many famous sayings or aphorisms about brands and advertisements in his works and many other occasions, including his image theory. As early as 1955, he told the American Advertising Association that every advertisement should be regarded as a contribution to a complex symbol-brand image. He claims to be the greatest advertiser in the world, he added, because all the other great advertisers are dead. However, some professional organizations in the United States have conducted many surveys, and the results show that he is indeed regarded as the greatest advertiser in the 20th century.

He believes that advertising plays a great role in product sales. For example, it may take hundreds of scientists two years to develop a product successfully, but it only takes me 30 days to create a personality and make an advertising plan for this product. If I do my work well enough, I will contribute as much to the success of the product as hundreds of scientists. It can be seen that he thinks it is very important to establish personality for brand products and carry out successful advertising activities. He believes that (enterprises) must now decide what kind of image the brand wants. Image is personality. A product, like a person, must have its own personality. It is this image that determines its position in the market: success or failure.

Sales image design.

The 1950s was the golden age of American advertising, despite annoying imitations. At that time, the manufacturing industry in developed countries had shifted its focus from producing war materials to producing a large number of daily consumer goods. Accompanied by this, the advertising industry needs to adapt to this situation of mass production. From cars to washing machines, a large number of products are constantly flying down the production line. Faced with these mountains of goods, advertisers must find new sales skills.

The most effective way to sell this batch of products is to highlight its uniqueness. Of course, it is not the difference in production equipment or production technology, but the difference in language meaning. Indeed, you can't change the established appearance of products, but you can play a trick or two to change their meaning. Just like Adam in the Garden of Eden, change the product name and the atmosphere.

Advertising creativity can make full use of some laws of human psychology. For example, if you change the name of a rose, it seems that you can't feel its sweetness; Named glacier spring, it seems to be better than tap water; Wild horses must run faster than ramblers; Wearing Giordano can naturally jump further than wearing Kaide canvas shoes. You prefer Marlboro cigarettes to Bertha, who is very popular in golf clubs.

In marketing, naming is to mark products, that is, to build brands.

From 65438 to 0949, david ogilvy opened his own shop on Madison Avenue. At that time, in the relatively boring behavior of advertising, he was a maverick. Ogilvy explained: "I am a classicist in advertising. I think advertising has been brilliant, and I want to get it back. "

In the 1950s, the brand achieved extremely prosperous development. At the same time, some signs are gradually emerging. First, the brand of goods is not for production, but for end users; Second, users pursue brands rather than rationality. People are willing to wear shirts embroidered with crocodile logo; Willing to drive a car with a chrome hood; Maybe one day, they will also like to wear shoes with loud trademarks. All this is incomprehensible, and they are willing to pay extra for these incredible things. There was a joke about brands 30 years ago: "What is a brand? Just spend several times more. "

David ogilvy first discovered this important consumer psychology. As an investigative producer, Ogilvy studied Hopkins' scientific theory and Raymond. Luo Bikai's image is traditional and seeks inspiration. From these theories and legends, david ogilvy gradually realized that people buy a commodity not because of the commodity itself, but because they associate it with a special image. Therefore, for the brand image, he explained it this way: "Giving each advertisement a style commensurate with it and creating its normal personality characteristics is the biggest secret of success."

This theory put forward by him swept the whole advertising field in 1960s, and quickly became an important school in advertising creative strategy theory. It advocates that advertising should attract consumers to buy by shaping brand image and increasing perceptual knowledge. For example, Lux soap, by showing the extensive use of first-class stars, can increase the image charm of Lux and promote brand awareness. Under the influence of this strategy theory, a large number of excellent and successful advertisements have appeared.

The basic points of brand image theory are:

(1) Serving the brand is the main goal of advertising. Advertising is an attempt to make the brand own and maintain a high-profile brand image;

(2) Any advertisement is a long-term investment in the brand. From a long-term perspective, advertising must strive to maintain a good brand image at the expense of pursuing short-term interests.

(3) As the differences between similar products decrease and the homogeneity between brands increases, consumers will use less rationality when choosing brands. Therefore, it is much more important to portray the brand image than to emphasize the specific function of the product.

(d) Consumers pursue "substantial benefits+psychological benefits" when purchasing. For some consumer groups, advertising should pay special attention to using images to meet their psychological needs.

Most manufacturers are unwilling to accept that their brand image is limited; They want a masked mass brand-belonging to both men and women; It is the brand of the upper class and the common people. This ingratiating psychology will only make the brand completely lose its personality and become an unremarkable asexual commodity, which is the same reason that eunuchs can't be emperors. Advertisers are under great pressure to "do something new" every six months on average. In this case, it is easy to cater to change, but it takes a lot of courage to maintain a consistent form. However, good returns belong to advertisers who are willing to work hard to create a consistent image and be loyal to it.

On the issue of how to build an image. David. Ogilvy & Mather believes that advertising is not entertainment, but information. What customers buy is not the form of advertising, but the content of advertising. What is the content of this advertisement? According to the image theory, this content is a creative personality image.

Therefore, according to the image theory, a good advertisement should not make people feel that it is an advertisement, and should not be forced to sell, but should make customers unconsciously buy your products. This idea is completely different from USP's point of view.

But as far as creativity is concerned, it is consistent with Reeves' unique thought. It's just a title of creativity, and creativity is unique in essence. According to Reeves, uniqueness is something that competitors have not said or said. In fact, what has never been put forward is now put forward (the only proposition), which is creativity. However, due to the different thinking of the two theoretical experts, david ogilvy focuses on the creativity of art and image, while Reeves mainly refers to the unique product interests.

After pointing out that "every advertisement is a long-term investment in brand image", Ogilvy, an advertising master, started an important school of advertising creative strategy theory. His excellent ideas were praised by countless enterprises and unconsciously applied to practice. Because of David. Ogilvy's personal success has made the brand image theory widely recognized. However, because it is very difficult to get ideas, david ogilvy did not put forward a specific source of ideas. His strategy is to find the best people, who are the source of ideas. He believes that in the actual advertising industry, there are very few really creative ones, only a few hundred percent.

Ogilvy & Mather found another form of brand that USP didn't notice. The emotional value of brand and the association given by consumers belong to personal experience. The impact on China enterprises is also very far-reaching. In the fifth season, the sun god suffered greatly. The most famous successful example abroad is Marlboro. Marlboro was the first cigarette to use filter tips. In the era of cigar smoking, there can only be one kind of ladies' cigarette, and the sales of 17 were fruitless. Then Marlboro changed its image into a wild cowboy in the west. Such an image with American spirit immediately made Marlboro popular all over the world. Times have changed, and it is no longer feasible to rely solely on images to make concepts. It is difficult for consumers nowadays to accept a purely conceptual thing. Brand image theory came into being in the United States after World War II, and the products are completely homogeneous. On the basis of complete homogenization of products, whoever has a more unique temperament will stand out. The theory has changed from the manufacturer's perspective to the consumer's perspective. Therefore, brand image theorists usually forget the product, but test what kind of goods consumers need. What would the product look like if it were a person?

Marlboro's cowboy image gives the brand image theory a chance to be recognized, but in a sense, the brand image theory can only play a icing on the cake. The biggest problem of brand image is that it plays the role of identification and encouragement, and it does not have direct sales promotion. In some cases, it is especially suitable for making intuitive and close concepts and products that are difficult to spread. For example, many tobacco advertisements are restricted, and it is necessary to replace the product itself with another image, such as Marlboro, or to visualize, humanize and visualize things with complex concepts and too technical, such as Michelin, a tire giant, and Global Connect, a master of hair carving. Or use specific images to enhance brand affinity and convey specific values and tonality, such as "Beautiful Bear", "Hulk" and "Benny Tiger". In fact, from the perspective of these enterprises that use brand image to achieve results, they are all enterprises with deep pockets and spending a lot of money. There is no doubt that it takes a lot of investment to create an image that is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Those who advocate breaking through homogenization competition through brand image are dangerous, especially new brands and small brands.

In more cases, brand image is an additional attribute of advertising communication, which subtly occupies the "limited sensibility" of consumers.

Therefore, the theory of image puts forward the importance of brand image and brand personality, but how to obtain this personalized creativity is left to the creative experts of advertising, relying on personal talent. Therefore, this theory is only an idea in essence, and it has no practical guiding significance.

The Realistic Development of Brand Image Theory

Brand image theory reveals to some extent that the purpose of advertising is to create brands and serve sales. But what brand image is it? What does the brand image contain? Where is the secret of its eternal charm?

People's understanding of brand image is a process from perceptual to rational. So far, there is no complete and unified definition of brand image in theoretical circles. Levy, an early marketing expert, believes that brand image is a collection of images and concepts about brand elements that exist in people's minds, mainly brand knowledge and people's main attitudes towards brands. However, the prince believes that a brand should have a personality image like a human being, which is not only determined by the substantive content of the brand product, but also includes other contents. ...

These viewpoints describe people's understanding of brand image from different levels. However, brand image should be a comprehensive concept, and it is a psychological aggregate that brand marketers are eager to establish, which is influenced by the subjective feelings, perception methods and perception background of image perception subjects.

According to the manifestations of brand image, brand image can be divided into internal image and external image, and internal image mainly includes product image and cultural image; External image includes the image of brand identification system and the reputation of brand in the market and consumers.

Product image is the basis of brand image, and it is the image associated with the functional characteristics of the brand. Potential consumers' cognition of brand is first reflected in their cognition of product functions. A brand is not empty, but because it can meet the material or psychological needs of consumers, which is closely related to its products. Mercedes-Benz's luxurious and noble brand image comes from its safe, comfortable and first-class cars. When potential consumers have a high evaluation of products and generate strong trust, they will transfer this trust to abstract brands and have a high evaluation of their own brands, thus forming a good brand image.

Brand cultural image refers to the public and users' cognition and evaluation of brand culture or the overall corporate culture embodied by the brand. Corporate culture is a concentrated expression of corporate behavior such as business philosophy, values, ethics and codes of conduct. It also reflects the mental outlook of an enterprise and exerts a subtle influence on its consumer groups and employees. Brand culture, corporate environmental image, employee image and entrepreneur image together constitute a complete corporate culture. Behind the brand is culture. Behind every successful brand is its profound cultural soil and stories that convey truth, goodness and beauty. The word "McDonald's" includes not only crispy French fries, delicious hamburgers and refreshing ice cream, but also the American fast food culture and modern lifestyle it represents.

Brand identification system refers to the cognition and evaluation of brand identification system by consumers and the public. Brand identification system includes brand name, trademark pattern, logo text, standard color, appearance packaging and decoration of products and brands, etc. The initial evaluation of the brand by the public comes from its visual image, whether it is exquisite or rough, whether it is warm, clear or noble and mysterious ... It is the most direct and quickest way to convey the brand image to consumers through the brand identification system. Especially in modern society, products are extremely rich, and the introduction of new products is also dizzying. Only when a brand catches consumers' sight first can it further catch their wallets and hearts. Walking into the shopping mall, the dazzling array of goods and attractive patterns of different colors are pleasing to the eye, and the era of not paying attention to the brand appearance image has passed.

Brand reputation refers to the cognition and evaluation of consumers and the public on the trust of a brand, and its essence comes from the reputation of products. The establishment of brand reputation requires the joint efforts of products, services, technology and other enterprises, and pays attention to the delivery date stipulated in the contract and the timely transfer of accounts payable. Consumers of "Mercedes-Benz" cars crashed a part of the car one month after buying the car, and Mercedes-Benz replaced the part for them without receiving any money. They said: the parts that are easy to crash are not Mercedes-Benz parts; What makes these famous brands "make a mountain out of a molehill" The answer is brand reputation. Brand reputation is a magic weapon to maintain customer brand loyalty, and it is also an important weapon to maintain brand charm.

David Ogilvy believes that all activities of products and enterprises are aimed at establishing their own brands, so that their brands can form an image different from other products in the minds of consumers. He once said at the end of a luncheon of the American Advertising Agency Association: "Let us remember that it is the characteristics of a product's brand that determine its final position in the market, not the slight differences between products."

Hathaway Shirt —— The Immortal Works of Advertising Giants

David Ogilvy was the first advertiser to apply the concept of "brand image" to advertising practice. He asked his subordinates to "always remember to shape the heroic image of products in advertisements. There are no ordinary products in the world, only ordinary copywriting. " Ogilvy & Mather combines the advantages of "rationalism" and "emotionalism", resulting in a unique advertising style of Ogilvy & Mather, attracting people and promoting sales.

In the early 1950s, david ogilvy began to plan product advertisements for Hathaway shirt company. These advertisements spread from 195 1 to 1990, almost all over new york, and the shirt company also made a fortune.

The first thing to consider is that shirts are difficult to create brands. A white shirt doesn't seem to show any characteristics, especially the kind required by social etiquette in the 1950 s. Styles, colors and long sleeves are all stylized. What can you say about advertising shirts? Nothing more than making materials, sleeves, cuffs, collars, buttons-but everything is like this.

So if you want to highlight new ideas, you can only make a big fuss about neckline, cuffs and pockets. In 1930s, Mr. Wrigley was probably the earliest and most recognizable public image. Their elaborate gaudy turtlenecks have become the symbol of well-dressed men in America. In the period when French cuffs were popular, cuffs became a symbol of rank. Like women, men wear jewelry on their wrists to show their identity. Therefore, selling cuffs has become the most profitable business item of clothing stores. However, since 1930s, Duke Wen Ze criticized the "soldier" cuffs for being too formal and not to his taste, and French cuffs began to decline. Although they have introduced a style with a buttonable pocket cover on the chest, all efforts are still difficult to save the life of this brand.

David ogilvy has a better idea. He wants to open a brand and replace the people wearing shirts with people wearing shirts! Now people who wear shirts are sold instead of the advertising thinking of shirts. In fact, they have already tried it. They chose Ronald Reagan, a second-rate Hollywood actor, and boasted that this shirt was more durable. But the campaign did not succeed. Women may be fascinated by the charm of movie stars, but what does a Hollywood movie star have to do with shirts?

It's not that simple. Because most women buy clothes for men, men's shirts must also attract women. At the same time, we must attract those old people, because they also wear shirts. At this time, Ogilvy met a Russian friend, George wrangell, and the Baron was going to make him a model. But Ogilvy didn't know what kind of image was more suitable for him, so he said he tried about 18 image.

How to finally determine the image? There are two different versions of what happened next. If you ask the Hathaway shirt company, they will tell you that the president's wife happened to see a man wearing an eye patch and told her husband that the eye patch made the man look very different. The president himself is an imaginative person and a visionary collector, so he told this information to the advertising company. The President's wife was the initiator of poorly conceived advertisements such as "Don't wear a white shirt before sunset" and also the advertiser of Madras shirts. Ogilvy certainly noticed his blindfold, so he had the idea of advertising in the future.

But Ogilvy's story is different. The following excerpt is from his autobiography Confessions of an Advertiser:

At first, we rejected the idea of blindfolding. I didn't change my mind until one day, on my way to the studio, I bought a pair of goggles at a shop 1.5. I don't know how the blindfold was so successful. It makes the little-known place of Hathaway appear on the map. What inspired me to become famous on a wet Tuesday morning? I know that fame comes from hard work.

Ogilvy & Mather always thought that the eye patch would not be more attractive than the shirt itself, it was just a bait. This is undoubtedly correct. However, in any case, the eye mask has become a brand symbol that distinguishes Hathaway from other independent brands, just like the tattoo in Marlboro advertisements. Although the man put on an act in public, it seems that he didn't do that. As Schweppe said, Li Zhuo's unusual red beard made Barron (and his successor, because the real Barron returned to his hometown a few years later) gradually walk into the quagmire of imitation. Ogilvy knows this, so he often makes Barron daydream. In this advertisement, we see Barron conducting the new york Symphony Orchestra in Carnegie Hall, imitating Goya's expression of driving a tractor in a paddy field and dreaming of the upcoming cocktail party. The most striking thing at this moment is Barron's fitted dress. He proudly bent his arm around his waist and looked at the person who thought he was coming with his other eye that was not covered by the blindfold.

This is a common advertising style in the 1950s. Barron's image occupies three-quarters of the screen space, and the following is an empty title "Hathaway shirt, the best shirt since 1837". Or "Really, Hathaway shirts are always of the best quality, although the price is low, and no one can surpass Hathaway".

Ogilvy likes to write advertising words. He always writes best. We can forget "13 reasons to buy Rolls-Royce", "9 reasons for HSS to make cars have the best performance" and "25 facts you should know about KLM", but we will not forget that Ogilvy introduced us into his advertising words so quickly.

These paragraphs are the key words of Hathaway's advertisement:

Americans are beginning to realize that it is very funny to match high-end suits with ordinary, mass-produced shirts. Therefore, Hathaway shirt is a symbol of your taste. The exquisite collar of Hathaway shirt will make you look younger and nobler. Loose tailoring makes you more comfortable to wear. A slightly longer back piece can be tucked into pants. The collar button is inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and the stitches are particularly elegant.

How elegant are the stitches? What the hell does this mean? Never mind, let's take a look at the following list of programs that only connoisseurs can enjoy. This is the most important thing:

First of all, Hathaway's materials are extremely exquisite, including almost all the top fabrics from all over the world-Weil flannel and Eltas in Britain, plain crepe in Scotland, island cotton in the West Indies, hand-woven Madras in India, broadcloth in Manchester, linen muslin in Paris and cotton woven by the best weavers in the United States. You may be satisfied with wearing such a shirt with perfect taste.

After these long speeches, Ogilvy concluded that even if the above is not true, it is true for the recipient, because readers are tired of detailed descriptions. Ogilvy & Mather concluded in time, "This kind of shirt is made of artistic emotion ... it was sewn by men from 125". Now, I can believe that Hathaway is an artist, and I can also believe that this kind of shirt has been produced since 1837, but Ogilvy also knows for sure that in the 20th century, it will never be sewn by men, only by countless women workers. Because 95% of the employees of Hathaway are women. As Picasso said, tell a little lie to tell the truth, or tell a little lie to strengthen the impression? Maybe this can better show the masculinity of the shirt.

Success is Xiao He, failure is me. It is also because of Ogilvy & Mather that brand building has developed into irresponsible exaggeration and advocacy in modern marketing. Within a day, advertisers no longer promise that they can "manage the brand", "save the brand" and "protect the brand", and no matter what "create the brand", what's more, they claim that they really understand the internal essence of the brand. These are extremely selfish behaviors. Eskimos have more than 30 words to describe crystals after water freezes, and branding also shows the power of words.

If you look at professional magazines such as International Journal of Advertising Research, you will know more about the terms that deconstructionists call for assistance. From 65438 to 0955, Ogilvy's thoughts were classified as pseudo-theoretical terms by Burleigh Gardner and Sydney Levi in Cambridge Business Review. They believe that when creating a brand, it should have brand personality, brand charm, brand boundary, brand characteristics, wealth, respect and charm. It is said that customers have irreplaceable "brand expectations" for their suitable products.

We are now living in the golden age of brand. If someone doesn't know a brand, they will ask others, ponder the products of this brand and know the extension of this brand (such as Coke-DietCoke-DietCherry Coke). In modern society, world-famous brands are not only the activating force of bull market, but also the basis of enterprise mergers and acquisitions in the past 20 years. For example, Nike associates its trademark with the products of other manufacturers.

Ogilvy's wisdom has a great influence on Hathaway. But after that, it can't continue to dominate. The president bought the company to Warner, a private inventor in Maine, and the company gradually lost its fixed share. From time to time, they also make some efforts to revive and publicize that "Hathaway is back in your life after 25 years' absence …", but to no avail. Perhaps this is what often happens when creating a brand.

Next, there are obstacles to brand creation. At least in the clothing industry, the focus of the brand has changed from the image of a mysterious man wearing a shirt to the image of a designer. Hathaway shirt has its own unique personality, for example, it has the largest pocket, three-hole grandmother button, and the word "H" is embroidered in the hidden. Modern consumers, on the other hand, want to put the brand's iconic words in conspicuous places. For example, some smart brands put their brand names and terms in places where goods can be seen everywhere. In this way, we don't use the goods themselves, but the trademarks. In the latest trademark design, we print other popular names on us.

Now, Hathaway has completely become a thing of the past and has no ability to compete with other emerging brands. In the recent advertisement, we saw a guy with a beard smirking at us kindly, and the title next to him was "Stay stiff". What a waste of brands! If it was designed by david ogilvy, he would look longingly at the vineyards in the clouds.

References:

1, Wei Xu's Advertising Guide, Xiamen University Press, September 2004, first edition.

2. Julian. Swaka, translated by Zhou,, Guangming Publishing House 1999 4.

The first edition in June

3. James B. Twichell, Fu Xinying translated "20 advertising cases that shocked the world" by Shanghai Fine Arts Publishing House.

June 5438 +2003 10 first edition.

4. Wei Ya, translated by Xia, Ma Hong and Zhang Jianqing, Subversion Advertisement, Inner Mongolia People's Publishing House, first edition in May 2005.

5. (Intersection Studio) Brand Image Theory. (organic) organic