It’s the Holy Grail for many companies – build global brands that are embedded in consumers’ lifestyles to an extent where our purchasing habits define who we are as people. We all know the stereotypes – Mac computers are for creative people; Bose speakers or headsets are for music enthusiasts; primarily people from Shoreditch buy single-speed bicycles (or so-called “fixies” as one of my colleagues enlightened me); right wing supporters read The Daily Telegraph, while the Guardian is the daily reading newspaper preferred by the left wing.
From a completely psychological point of view, I think this phenomenon is fascinating, and I was not very surprised to read that one of my favourite brands – Zumba – is trying to do the same. I got hooked on Zumba through an amazing friend of mine who is the most fantastic instructor I’ve ever had the chance to be taught by. For those who have not experienced the craze, Zumba is a “blend of contagious and easy-to-follow choreographies set to upbeat international rhythms”. The brand is owned by Zumba Fitness, the largest dance-fitness company in the world. More than 12 million devotees attend weekly Zumba classes across 125 countries in 110,000 locations and classes are offered at health clubs, gyms and community centres worldwide (or in my case in the meeting space of a major advertising company!). Zumba is huge. So I was not surprised when I read that Zumba is aiming to become a “global multimedia brand that includes extensions in DVDs, music, apparel, accessories and video games.”
This is a smart strategy and in completely line with the Zumba Fitness’ vision to “fill the world’s empty rooms with Zumba classes.” As a Zumba enthusiast and a person somewhat aware of brand management tactics, however, I cannot help but be slightly bothered by the fact that a simple fitness activity I do every Tuesday will now be associated with so much more, and may even be seen by some to define me as a person.
In my opinion, this phenomenon of brands embedding themselves in our lifestyles can also be alarming because it leads to limiting the decision power we have as consumers. Take O2’s Priority Moments, for example. The app, which is a location-based mobile service available to O2 customers, identifies and suggests exclusive offers from partner brands to users according to where they are at that moment. Apart from the scary concept of your phone company being able to always know where you are (I know they can do that regardless, but still scary!), I think I’d much rather make my own choices of where to go and which offer to take. Give me access to a list of available offers, rather than a selection based on my phone provider’s relationship with other brands, and I’d be much happier and ready to make my own choice.
This train of thought lead me to the question: With brands “invading” our lifestyles, will we see a trend where consumers are fighting back against companies building on brand equity for their products by exploiting a core human property – our personalities? And if this is indeed a growing trend, what should companies be thinking about now in order to avoid a possible consumer backlash in the future?
I am no Naomi Klein, and I’m not trying to put forward an extremist point of view in any way. But I do wonder whether brands have put enough thought into what a possible consumer backlash would mean for them in the future as they increase efforts to not only define the products we use, but also the way we build our lives around them.
Unfortunately, I don’t have the answers to the questions above. But what I do know is that I don’t want to be defined by the fact that I attend Zumba classes. All I want really is just some exercise to stay in shape.
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