The compounding of distinctive brand assets over time
Tired of the same old slogans, colours and artefacts, many marketing teams over time stray from their portfolio of unique brand assets.
Marketers are often guilty of personally getting bored of their brands.
Tired of the same old slogans, colours and artefacts, many marketing teams over time stray from their portfolio of unique brand elements...in search of new narratives and fresh campaigns.
The tricky reality here is that in the quest to improve brand salience in the marketplace, communication progression is important, but so too is the compounding of distinctive brand assets over time. Consistently incorporating the use of those things that make a brand distinctive into all communication over long periods of time, create a kind of flywheel effect of prominence that is incredibly powerful.
For example, a brand like Coca Cola has an almost religious commitment to always showcasing the unique visual elements that sets them apart from other players in the category, but while nudging the brand story into the future with new creative ideas that keep the mark relevant.
Checkers getting the balance right
Last week we received a WhatApp message from Checkers with a personalised greeting and dinner recipe recommendation from Jamie Oliver.
The mechanics of the message itself are impressive, but beyond the clever communications tactic the drum kit Mr Oliver is playing, has a subtle nod to the Checkers brand colour (that teal that they always use). The artwork on the wall is appropriately on-brand; the clothes that he's wearing, the colour of the tea towels in the kitchen.
The branded product range makes an appearance in the ad, there's a reference to the distinctively branded Sixty60 motorbike, the paper delivery bag (uniquely branded), the holding up of the XTRA Savings card.
As much as Checkers have access to massive amounts of data, and because of that can do some very impressive, measurable personalised promotional communication, they also understand and appreciate what it takes to build a long-term, immeasurable emotional and psychological prominence in the minds of South Africans. The two approaches are used in tandem with each other.
Other South African marketers can most certainly learn a bit from this approach.
The value of the compounding of distinctive brand assets over time is perhaps not focused on enough. The obsession with other new shiny tools and tricks (that are far less affective over the course of time) is still too alluring to sway the conversation back towards brand building mechanics that actually do yield sustainable dividends over time. But smart marketing visionaries have clearly done their research and are spending money where it counts.
We will no doubt be seeing a bit more of Mr Oliver in our DMs in 2026.