Brand advocacy needs brand idols

South African marketing and brand managers often appear to lack the impetus to embrace some of these new, but internationally proven trends and those that ignore or who are reticent in considering direct engagement with their influential audiences in 2012, will do so at their peril.

Consider just how quickly opinion spreads and moulds how brands perform today - this is not a transient trend. It is here to stay and most especially, the growing dominance of a trend we have coined as FMCE.

Brand ambassadors, advocates and loyalists are certainly not new. However, whereas brands have traditionally aligned themselves with a celebrity or well-known personality to convey their messages, brand idols have the pull of collective 'people power'. They are their own communities - with an average network of at least 190 followers - whom they willingly and passionately attempt to convert to buy/experience your product or service.

The presence of brand idols changes the way you market to your audience and they should be an integral part of any marketing strategy. This is borne out in research conducted by McKinsey in 2011, which shows that "customers within a community are nine times more likely to buy your product than that of your competitor."

Who are brand idols?

They are everyday people - the type who would actually purchase your product for themselves, their friends or loved ones. They are esteemed and trusted by their peers, considered trendsetters and/or experts. Their common denominator is that they are all connected - whether it is face to face or via the social media ricochet but the big difference is, they like to be heard. As much as they love you, they want to engage with you and know that you are hearing them. This is the crux of brand idol identification and the cornerstone of successful campaigns.

Successful brand idol programmes do not involve throwing a bash for socialites, models and celebrities. There is no need for copious amounts of alcohol to help make the conversation flow, because brand idols haven't run out of things to say, having not seen each other only last week at your competitors event. The 'spray and pray' and 'see how much free stuff I can walk off with' approach does not cut it in an age where results need to be tracked and measured either.

Consumer opinion and its vocal conveyance is here to stay. With the power at their fingertips through Facebook, Twitter, IM, Chat or basic SMS; around the dinner or boardroom table; at book clubs or even at toddlers tea parties, their word-of-mouth endorsement is the single most powerful medium for conveying your messages - nine times more than any other means.

With brand idols starting to make their mark in South Africa and the convergence of on and offline worlds, now is the time to consider your brands' own fast moving consumer experience.

Examples of brand idol usage: