What the F*ck is a Connected Brand Experience?
Simply churning out goods or services ain’t gonna cut it. These days, customers want to feel a genuine bond with the companies they buy from. A truly connected brand experience is one that speaks to people on an emotional level across every single touchpoint, cultivating a powerful sense of being part of the gang.
Let’s look at three Australian brands that excel at creating connected experiences:
Mamamia // this lifestyle media company connects with their target audience by creating authentic content focused on women’s interests, issues, and conversations. Their articles, podcasts, events, and social media presence reflect the real personas of the Mamamia community, making their content feel relatable and unfiltered.
Oatly // this vegan, dairy-free milk brand has built an emotional connection with environmentalists and plant-based lifestyles. They focus on supporting regenerative oat farming, never testing on animals, and reducing plastic waste. Their branding feels real and approachable, celebrating diversity and self-expression through guerrilla marketing-style campaigns.
KeepCup // by encouraging people to choose reusable coffee cups, KeepCup has tapped into eco-conscious and zero-waste communities. Their brand visuals include nature-inspired palettes, responsibly sourced materials, and bold sustainability messaging. They express solidarity with community organisations and missions that align with their values around reducing disposables.
To create a connected brand experience for your business, consider these actionable steps:
Identify your core values // have an internal brainstorm and ask customers what embodies your brand ethos. Distill this into 3-5 core values that become guiding principles for your messaging, visuals, and experiences.
Build personas // profile your target customers with details beyond demographics, such as attitudes, behaviours, and brand affinities. Use these personas as a tool to ensure your messaging, information, education, and CTA’s are as aligned to your audience as possible.
Map the journey // chart major touchpoints along your customer journey (awareness, consideration, purchase, and loyalty/advocacy). Assess the emotional impact you want visitors to feel at each stage, and re-align touchpoints like social media, packaging, and email follow-ups to evoke those feelings consistently.
At the end of the day, crafting a truly connected brand experience is what separates the mega brands from the bland imitators. You’ll blow your competitors out of the water and cultivate a fierce tribe of champions who’ll bleed your colours till the end.
But staying connected takes constant work. Bake your core values, customer personas, and intended journey vibes into every flippin’ marketing meet, new initiative, you name it.
Your brand’s soul depends on never dropping the ball on connection.