Why Advertisers Still Don't Get It

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That presentation, better than any commercial and with a much leaner investment, shook an industry and sent people into the future. The product and the design were the message that brought the audience to a frenzy. The iPhone reached all corners of the world in a nanosecond. Of course, Cingular, Apple's partner at the launch, was barely present at the party.

When will we stop building brands that somehow provoke a sense of contempt for consumers? When will we stop trying to build brand-trust using desperate old tricks repackaged to fit a new format? It seems that the more emotionally disconnected brands are from their consumers, the more they feel they need to spend on advertising.

The combined ad budget for AT&T/Cingular is over $2 billion, a lot of cash for generic brands that can't buy even a sliver of Apple's irresistible connection to its audience. Apple's marketing budget for 2006, according to TNS Intelligence, was $155 million—a fraction of what companies spend without achieving the same result.

It's the Product, Stupid

Understanding what the consumers want and bringing solutions that will inspire them is the most powerful way to support any business strategy. Putting consumers and the product at the center of the equation is fundamental to a brand's success. Design then becomes the message and the advertising, as it's proof of a company's commitment to people and to innovation.

A relevant and well-designed product will make its way into the world, will be spun across the blogosphere, will be sought after and endorsed in the most emotional fashion as a reward. Indeed, advertising needs brands more than the brands need advertising. When the commercial becomes more popular than the product, you really have a problem—not least that it doesn't serve your brand long-term.

In Apple's strategy, the product is the message and the only topic of the conversation. Similarly, the new Target drug packaging is the most talked about idea in the retail world at the moment, while Absolut Vodka is its own super-model. You buy a BMW because it's a great experience. You wear Crocs because they make your feet happy, and you relish the culturally colorful American Apparel brand—the approach is valid for small and big companies.

Focus on the Experience

In an emotional economy, success is judged by a profound and indelible connection with people through sensory experiences. The challenge for CEOs, CMOs, and clients the world over is to remember what's at the soul of their brand: the credibility of a well-respected product and the passion of the culture behind it. Design is the expression of that culture and the link that will cause people to be irresistibly drawn to the brand. If your brand doesn't connect emotionally, you will have to rely on media or advertising hype, a short-term and risky proposition.

By forgetting to focus on the way your product will be experienced, and failing to respond to people's need to be stimulated, you fail their expectations. No amount of money can buy the media to fix a boring product, no PR message will work once you lose that trust. The best brands of all jam with their consumers to invent and imagine ideas designed for the future—ideas designed to revive the advertising impact and exponentially maximize your communication dollars.

Gobé is chairman and chief executive of Desgrippes Gobé New York, a brand design firm. He is the author of Emotional Branding and has just published his latest book, Brandjam. .