The Generous Brand

While reading yet another article on AdAge I stumbled across an article that addresses how companies can start attracting consumers by being generous. This was kind of a new concept to me because especially in this economy, firms are trying to cut back on a lot of extra spending so I wasn't sure if giving would be a great idea. This article however convinced me otherwise by suggesting that we use generosity in a much more general way. One example would be General Mills' decision to place Box Tops for Education on all its products (and the products of its competitors, by the way) providing social value. John King then talks about how the image of a brand as generous will create a more loyal customer who takes on ownership of the brand. I think it is truly important for advertisers to look past just messaging and more into experience and involving the consumers in the process. This takes an engagement on a different level then how king describes it "the baseline of trust and awareness". Generosity Works.

Building a Generous Brand

Reggie's Favorite Quote from Article:
"If the microsite isn't dead, it just drove away on a crotch rocket wearing a windbreaker and no helmet. Digital is no longer about investing in sticky online real estate and expecting the audience to come to us"-John King when describing the need for "slippy digital"

Reggie's Second Favorite Quote from Article:
"The generous brand has a much bigger cupboard to draw from. We're now in the business of building brands about ideas. And that means a car company can sell fun, a soda company can bottle optimism and a chocolate company can make joy. For us, it means advertising just might be able to change the world"- John King