This September, marketing professionals and students from all around North Carolina came out to the Triangle Marketing Club monthly meeting.

The night began with some networking, a little beer and chicken and then a whole lot of marketing.The guest speaker for the night Dean Logan, creative director at French West Vaughan, discussed the topic of consumer experience, as well as the need to embrace the recent changes we are seeing in marketing today. Here’s what we learned.

Branding

Logan defines a brand as “the emotion a person feels when they see or hear your company name.” Branding on the other hand  is “the sum of tactics used to communicate your brand.” This is your company’s social media, advertising, logo, tagline, etc. The problem with these typical branding tactics is that they are not working as well as they used to. So why is that?

Technology
In Logan’s words “SCIENCE!” is why brands are struggling today. Technology allows consumers of all ages to be closely connected to just about any company they choose at any time. Today, we can access unprecedented amounts of information at our fingertips in a matter of seconds. As a result of increased accessibility, we as consumers have become hyper aware of when we are being targeted for a sale.

Transparency

The actions taken by different brands are constantly under the highly critical microscope of consumers. Logan suggests that brands show empathy to their customers. In turn, their sincerity will show who they truly are. To combat increased transparency, Logan says that brands must deliver something greater in order to keep up with our connected world. This leads to the question, what is this something greater?

It’s All About The Experience

In order for a brand to survive in today’s society, Dean Logan makes it clear that the focus of businesses should be on the consumer experience. Brands must find new ways to reach their customers. They must go above and beyond to set their brand apart from others. Successful companies like Apple, Disney and Coca-Cola are all great examples of brands mentioned by Dean Logan that have found the extra something that works for them.

Logan states that one shared experience can reach the eyes and ears of thousands in a matter of days. The following quote from Brian Solis says it best, “Without defining experiences, brands will become victim to whatever people feel and share.” Again, this emphasizes experience being the key driver for brand evolution.

Dean Logan concludes his presentation relating the experiences to those of a child. It is these childhood experiences, like running down the stairs Christmas morning, that hit close to home and are most powerful to consumers. Producing these childlike experiences can and will make for a lasting brand.

Check out Dean Logan’s complete presentation on our Facebook page! And if you still can’t get enough of Dean Logan, check out Candace’s post!

We want to give a big thanks to all of our sponsors. The September Triangle Marketing Club event was one for the books! See you all onTuesday, October 25th for another awesome night!