Brand Awareness vs Brand Awehness

After reading one of the most inspirational books ever on blogging and social media, as well as a few vital lines I picked up in the movie 'The Social Network', I have come to the conclusion that I have a different spin on things.

Having studied a BA (Marketing Communication) Degree, specialising in Brand Management at the AAA School of Advertising, I know my fair share about the theory behind the term ‘Brand Awareness’. After reading one of the most inspirational books ever on blogging and social media, as well as a few vital lines I picked up in the movie ‘The Social Network’, I have come to the conclusion that I have a different spin on things.

Obviously it is a no brain-er that all brands benefit from high levels of Arand Awareness. From PR, to consumers, to internal organisation, to investors, they all play a vital role in your march for the market leader position. Things like Brand Image and Brand Identity play a major role in the way consumers see your product/brand and it is vital to constantly communicate the right messages to your audience.

Brand Awehness gains it's origins from this lovely site. It is not exactly that, but I think it is the closest thing to describing it 😉

Now, imagine if Facebook required you to pay per month to manage your account, just like Mark Zuckerberg said in the movie and I quote: “If we do that then our brand is no longer cool anymore!” This is what has led me to come up with another theory, which is definitely relevant to up and coming brands that are specifically targeted at the youth markets.

He was definitely not cool, but his brand 'The Facebook' was. Think about 'The Facebook' for a second? haha

This is what led me to wonder which is more important? Is it more important for your brand to have a large reach and be known by many consumers, or, is it more vital to keep your brand fresh and cool, which will eventually create Brand Awehness. For a brand like mine I would rather be in the ‘Brand Awehness’ category. Simply because of the fact that if something is cool, it has the potential to grow itself and something like a blog is personal and therefore I aim to attract people that like reading my stories and not just anyone who passes through the site on the odd occasion. Here is the the main reason I think people become so huge and successful on Twitter, not because they are big brands, but because they are cool brands!

A brand like MyCityByNight started to grow and attract followers because of being a fresh, cool initiative that appeals to the market which they love and even find themselves segmented within. Now that they have had some years to work hard on building good relationships and constantly communicating their brand identity effectively, it has lead to being on the Espresso Live television show. This will in turn lead to higher levels of general Brand Awareness… In the end if your brand communicates Awehness, eventually with effort your brand will achieve the theoretical, boring, Brand Awareness 😉 It seems like a win win situation to me?

I am all for Awehness.

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6 Responses to “Brand Awareness vs Brand Awehness” Subscribe

  1. Evan November 13, 2010 at 12:36 pm #

    So which one does Below The Lion fall under 😉

    • Mr. Cape Town November 13, 2010 at 4:48 pm #

      def awehness!!!

      haha

  2. Wesley Morilly November 13, 2010 at 1:09 pm #

    Naaier, let me start by saying you have a jas little blog set up going here. Very impressive.
    Been checking it out for the last two weeks, well done Naaier! keeps me and my colleagues entertained.
    Brand Awehness – kak cool

    • Mr. Cape Town November 13, 2010 at 4:48 pm #

      haha Wes yo naai miss you man. When we liking up for a Kane special with a box of Chatter Box as a sideline 😉

  3. Justin November 13, 2010 at 1:52 pm #

    Dyl,

    Surely one could argue that if a brand has a large local/global awareness then they will have part large global/local awehness?

    If a brand has a large reach and is [well] known by others then that surely means that the brand has some form of Brand Awehness because in today’s day and age the youth only particularly follow brands that are cool and hip.

    In regard to your article, personally, I think it’s more important to have Brand Awareness. Because once your brand is known to everyone then you can work on things such as being cool and inituitive.

    By creating massive awareness around your brand you stimulate debate amongst others and this therefore results in consumer insight which gives you ways and means to push forward and find new constructive ways of building your brand into the powerhouse it can become.

    I think social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook developed their awehness through large awareness. Without the public being aware, their was no way to make it “cool” and better their previous versions.

    Just some food for thought 🙂

    Nice post!

    • Mr. Cape Town November 13, 2010 at 4:46 pm #

      @ Justin: Arguable ya 100% with you. It’s just that I believe that brands that were initially cool and hip would benefit more than brands that focus on high levels of awareness, only becoming cool and hip in the later stages. Remember, first impressions last as Cindy used to tell us in Entrepreneurship and it is extremely hard to change your brand image. I feel it is better to gain a following of youth for being a cool, fresh brand, rather than gaining brand awareness and then trying to become cool/hip?

      Your Twitter and Facebook accounts have to begin somewhere. They do not begin with high awareness and followers join your crew once they realise your the cool peeps and the ones with the large pull. Obviously awareness as I said in the beginning is vital for every brand and I agree 100% that high levels of awareness are vital. But, for a brand like mine, being fresh and up to date is more important than having many viewers.

      I will quote Charl Norman on this one because he in my eyes is a pure beast when it comes to social media. “Lots of content brings lots of readers, good content brings return readers!” I would personally rather have 100 people who enjoy my blog and constantly check it out for new/cool content, than 1000 readers that come once and never return…Mad game now by the way – Macheda yo baby!

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