Local Relevance and Your Brand

Posted on April 16th, 2023.

How strong is your Brand? Strong brands can trump the competition, simplify choices, reduce risks, demand premium pricing, provide emotional benefits, offer a sense of community, and build trust and loyalty. Can your brand still rise and maintain its presence during difficult times? Just recently Samsung experienced a serious consumer issue with the Galaxy Note 7. Many believe that this mishap is a great opportunity for Apple to regain some of the market share declines that occurred over the past three to four years. I can remember major product issues / recalls for Firestone, Ford, Toyota, Audi, and recently Volkswagon. These brands have made a comeback, and stronger, when others thought the brands were done. 

Local relevance is a must and it can significantly strengthen your brand value, and its ability to survive undesirable circumstances. Just two months after the Volkswagen scandal was revealed German consumers were willing to forgive the company. This suggests that the local relevance is a strong factor supporting the Volkswagen’s brand.

History has shown that several strong brands have survived, and I believe the same is true for Samsung. Recently the Harvard Business Review concluded that the current crisis will not hurt the brand long-term because of the following:

– There is a large and loyal existing consumer base which will isolate the brand

– The brand home base…national support from South Korean consumers

– There are other brands / products, under the parent brand name Samsung, that are performing well, and the issue is not across all products.

– The company is very proactive, and out front dealing with the issues

I have concluded that strong brands with perceived local relevance are ones that create a joyful feeling, a stronger and higher level of feeling tied to community and self.

Do you have the local relevance that protects your brand during mishaps? 

Michael Jones @BJ Partners LLC