Brands, Lovemarks and Tattoos

A number of us have been having a discussion about branding, summarized here and here.  Against that backdrop, I started reading Lovemarks, by Kevin Roberts.  Roberts is the "Worldwide CEO" of Saatchi & Saatchi.  He is the originator of the concept of "lovemarks," described on the Saatchi web site as:

Lovemarks are brands that inspire loyalty beyond reason. People love them because of what they are, not because of what they do. Their appeal is emotional. Companies may own brands. But Lovemarks are owned by the people who love them.

An example of a brand that inspires loyalty beyond reason--Harley Davidson.  Tom Peters uses a slide showing what percentage of owners of a product would tattoo the product brand onto their body.  For Harley, its almost 19%.  This is an example of a strong brand.

Since my friend Dan Hull began this discussion and continued it further, noting that "most of us already have a distinctive and valuable 'look'," I have to ask Dan how many people he thinks have the Hull McGuire logo tattooed on their bodies?  No fair counting yourself. 

 

"That's H-U-L-L-M-C-G-U-I-R-E." (Thankfully, Dan has shown himself to have a great sense of humor.)

Seriously, does anyone love their law firm and its brand enough to have the name of the firm permanently inked onto their body?  If we ever find that person,  or rather that law firm, then we can hear from somebody who knows about branding for law firms.  Until then, I think I'm going to cast my lot with the people from the "real world" who are able to inspire others to ink their bodies with a brand.

Comments

[Dan Hull]

Pat--Great post! I was commenting to this last night when you first posted and a pet, child or other creature somehow unplugged my computer so I lost it. Interestingly, having partially grown up in Cincinnati, where P&G is located, and where my Dad worked, I know some things about the guy who wrote the book's foreward. And I love SAABs, which may even be mentioned in the book. Not only will I post about this I think I'll get the book. Talk about an author with great credentials--the Saatchi & Saatchi chief.

Very funny but important post, Pat. More to come.

Dan

PS The woman in the picture looks very much like a paralegal with marketing duites we had years ago who got mad and quit. I am no longer allowed to hire on my own.