Digital Concept: Doppelgänger Brands, Part 2

Let's talk about some academic insights about the doppelganger brand image. This is a new domain so research is still building. We don't know quite a lot about this new innovation technique yet. However a few key insights are starting to emerge. I'd like to discuss two studies in particular, one that was conducted about a decade ago at the University of Wisconsin, and a more recent one. The first article was a study that kicked off the concept of a doppelganger brand image. Was created this concept in this article. In this research it is focused on Starbucks, using a qualitative study. And what was done is observed and interviewed thirty patrons of local coffee shops, both in Wisconsin and Illinois. And they were asked them a number of questions. "Why do you like this particular local coffee shop?" And although we never mentioned the term Starbucks, every single individual that we interviewed said that they liked their local coffee shop because it wasn't Starbucks. That's what they liked about it, that it wasn't Starbucks. When we conducted a deeper investigation we found that almost all of these consumers had made impressions of Starbucks due to its DBI, in particular the doppelganger image that Starbucks lacked authenticity by trying to take on the image of being an intimate local coffee shop while in actuality being one of the largest global brands in the world in which shops are almost the same everywhere you go and lacking local distinction. So this article, this initial article, provides evidence that DBIs may negatively impact a consumer's willingness to buy a brand because we find -- We've found this is why, because of its image, that these customers were using a local coffee shop instead of visiting Starbucks. The second article I'd like to highlight is a more recent article by Markus Giesler at York University. In this article Markus focuses on the DBI associated with the marketing of the Botox cosmetic. Botox is a -- understand, a compound. Actually I believe it's a very dangerous compound that is injected in to the skin to reduce wrinkles. So this study was a longitudinal study that examined Botox's marketing campaigns over an eight year period from 2002 to 2010 and also the doppelganger images that were used against this brand over this timeframe. And this article reveals that the DBIs can shift over time in response to changing marketing claims. And it also shows that managers can use a variety of tactics to combat DBIs such as fostering brand communities and using customers to help market their brands. Now let's talk about practical recommendations in terms of what a firm can do if they're faced with a doppelganger brand image. Well, first of all, all firms whether faced with a DBI or not should be monitoring digital cues. 

Firms should view a DBI not just as a threat, but also an opportunity to ensure that their brands stay relevant. They can take advantage of this opportunity by carefully monitoring digital cues for any potential signs of trouble. 

So, for example, brand managers should carefully examine industry and brand related websites, social media channels, and various review sites in order to ensure that they keep on top of any potential brand backlash. In addition to simple web browsing, there are a number of other sophisticated tools for tracking brand related conversation such as Google alerts, Topsy, and Brand Watch. The next course in this specialization we'll discuss these tools in more detail. 

Second, firms should identify and track brand avoiders. In addition to monitoring these digital cues, firms should also identify and track consumers who are avoiding their brand due to the presence of a DBI. 

Blogs and anti-branding websites are a good starting point for locating these individuals. Once these avoiders are identified, a firm can conduct more detailed research to determine which specific DBI meanings are resonating most strongly with these customers. For example, through a series of relatively simple and a small number of interviews we were able to determine that coffee shop customers were avoiding Starbucks mainly due to a lack of authentic personal touch rather than due to any problems with the quality of its products. 

Third, firms need to develop and test a new story if they're faced with a DBI. You need to be proactive. Once a DBI is identified, even in the early stages, brand managers who seek to craft a new story that either addresses the DBI or bypasses it entirely -- For example, when Botox was first launched in 2002 anti-brand activists created a DBI that focused on its potential health risk, and propagating claims that using Botox could actually be fatal. In response, Botox's brand managers quickly developed a new campaign that positioned Botox not only as safe, but also as a miracle of modern medicine. This type of strategy must be handled very carefully and remain true to the brand as any inauthentic stories will be quickly detected and exploited by anti-brand activists. Finally firms can also try to be more proactive by vaccinating their brands from a DBI. 

In essence, any DBI is a social critique that questions the authenticity of a brand. Thus firms may be able to vaccinate their brands from this critique by crafting their own viral marketing campaigns and having campaigns that display their brands in authentic manners. A great example of this is the "Will it Blend" campaign by the U.S. blender manufacturer Blendtec. In a series of viral videos, Tom Dickson, the founder of Blendtec, conducts a series of fun experiments in which he attempts to blend a variety of objects such as a baseball, a garden hose, and even an iPhone in a Blendtec blender. In addition to being fun and authentic, these videos also provide a clear demonstration of the blender's performance and capabilities.