• Apple Phone users rarely change the signature ringtone.
• The G-G logo on a Gucci bag is a fashion symbol.
• The crown is the most flaunted part of the Mont–Blanc pen

Is this a general ‘show-off’ behavior or is it something else? Why do customers show this behavior only for select brands? Read a 6-minute article to understand Brand Pride

Have you noticed how Apple iPhone users never change the signature ringtone? Have you also seen that no matter the iPhone model, back covers that people use have a circular cut that reveals the half-eaten apple? Mercedes car owners would do their best to keep the Tri-Star logo on the bonnet in good shape and condition. In fact, from a small steel structure that jutted out from the bonnet edge, now the Tri-Star is a humongous entity on the front grille to satisfy this craving. Same for BMW owners. With all benefits at par, it seems more people buy Royal Enfield Bikes in India for the signature engine sound than anything else. A run-down-looking leather jacket with a large Harley–Davidson logo on the back is a super-premium fashion accessory for many.

A handbag with a company monogram printed all over it may be a designer’s nightmare, but that is what separates Gucci tote bags users from any other. Millions of dollars worth of fakes are generated with the same design. Users of Mont Blanc Pens would care less about the rest of the pen but would ensure that the crown with the signature logo is visible from above the pocket. The world is filled with such examples.

A few typical things about these brands. All these brands are expensive. In fact, these are the one of the most expensive in their respective categories. Their users are in the top 1% of the socio-economic heap. Most users are well educated as well and are from respectable positions whether in a job or a business or social circle. In their respective circles, they may be the chosen ones.

But then why do such people behave as cheap show-offs when it comes to a few brands but not with the rest of the brands that they use even though they may be as expensive? Is it a common behavioral trait? Or do some brands create a stimulus that elicits this customer behavior?

It is easier to believe the latter. Because the same people would not go around flaunting every expensive thing that they possess, they do so with only a few brands. So, it is not a behavior that is created by merely spending some large money. It’s more than that.

If it is a stimulus created by some select brands, then it is a serious branding endpoint that all brands must consider reaching. Because this is possibly the pinnacle in the brand loyalty behavior hierarchy.

First, let us name this phenomenon. Since there is a definite pride in the behavior displayed by the customers w. r. t. a brand, let us call this Brand Pride.

What causes this Brand Pride? If we look closely at each example, we see that the users are so delighted with the brand, its quality, its utility, and its place in their lives that they voluntarily begin to display their association with it. They demonstrate their Brand Pride to the world. They also send a message to others that they are connoisseurs of quality, and they must not be held together with the rest of the crowd.

One interesting thing is that while branding studies focus on customer behavior’s impact on brand sales, this typical case is how a brand impacts customer behavior.

So, what must a brand do to elicit Brand Pride?

First and foremost a brand must get a keen understanding of the entire hierarchy of needs of the customer. Note that an Apple iPhone serves the most basic needs of a phone as well as the most coveted ones like a superior camera. A brand must address each level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in good measure as a first step towards creating Brand Pride. Customers must have the ultimate ease of use (basic level need) to a demonstrable product quality matching with the highest social status (highest level need).

Second, it helps if the brand is exclusive and not freely available everywhere. Despite several commercial compulsions, a brand attempting to elicit Brand Pride must not become available everywhere. Prospective buyers must be made to work to reach the place where the brand is available. Remember, human beings automatically associate a higher value to anything that he/ she must work for. So, a BMW/ Mercedes Showroom or an Apple Store, or a Cartier Showroom is not found ‘just around the corner’. People need to travel to reach the store.

In the age of e-commerce, this translates to exclusive brand websites that are designed in a manner that makes a high-paying customer feel at home. Quality must exude from every corner of the website, the fonts, the text, the layout, etc. In a reversal of events, now the physical stores have become an extension of the online stores and must depict the same quality and presentation. More so because, today, customers would look at a website before deciding on a purchase. Check out any brand store of say, Ted Baker or Cartier or Apple Store and look at their online store.

Third, make no compromises on the quality however expensive the item becomes. People do not pay large money for the utility of a brand. But rather they pay for what the brand does to them. If a brand elevates the image of a person and creates a distinction for him/ her based on spending capability, quality understanding, etc., then he/she is bound to pay for it. If people are unable to afford it today, then it becomes an aspiration, an object of desire. In either case, it is a victory for the brand. The brand already has a loyal customer even before he makes a single purchase.

Fourth, there must be minimum line extensions. The reason why Samsung does not elicit the kind of Brand Pride that Apple does is because Samsung has a line extension for everyone, and customers equate its quality with price – the higher the price, the better the quality. Not so in the case of Apple. With minimum line extensions, every item of the large Apple brand is automatically perceived of as high quality. Ditto for Rolex, Mont Blanc, YSL, Gucci, Sabyasachi etc. If at all there is a need to introduce line extensions, it must be aimed at the target group with the same demography and not lower.

It can be largely said that too many line extensions work against building Brand Pride. Have you noticed, in the animal kingdom as well, that the top predators do not mass produce?

Fifth, be unforgiving about the price. The high price is also a factor that creates a strong deterrent on the way to achieving something. This in turn works in favor of a brand as a high price is almost always perceived as a guarantee for quality. Tagged with the actual quality, the high price gives customers a sense of deep pride when they acquire a brand. And then customers begin to flaunt it.

Sixth, let the brand decide the customers and not the other way around. Evade the trap of targeting and segmentation. Rather craft a brand image that is built on customers’ desires (not needs), the pillars of quality, ease of use, high price, exclusivity, etc., and watch how you create a customer demography around the brand.

Seventh, give something new to the customer whether it is through the brand or its associated services that the customers may talk about in his/ her circle. Remember, every customer shall always need 2 things: Recognition from the seller and Innovation in what the brand offers.

All said Brand Pride itself may not translate into commercial success. Samsung beats Apple sales on and off. Global Toyota sales are 4 times higher than Mercedes, in India sales of HERO bikes are again 4 times that of Royal Enfield, and so on.

So, what does Brand Pride bring to the table for the brand itself?

One, creating a solid and loyal group of customers. In today’s world, a loyal customer is so much more valuable than a rolling customer. All brands are doing their best to create one loyal customer. If a brand can connect with these customers displaying Brand Pride, it is successful in creating a brand community that shall stay with the brand forever.

Two, while mindless line extensions are the enemy of Brand Pride, the biggest benefit of Brand Pride is also seen when line extensions are introduced. People with Brand Pride would be the first ones to line up to try the line extensions than anyone else. So, a brand may have a guaranteed sale from a large group of customers with Brand Pride even without spending much on these customers.

Three, these brands that have Brand Pride associated with them have a lot of tenacity. During difficult times, these brands are the last to fail. Simply because, on the way to elicit Brand Pride, these brands have mastered each branding method and used it to perfection.