Juicy Info

I’ve been very intrigued about our growing enchantment with this young lady for some time. Something has fascinated me about why ‘we’ (meaning the majority of Brits) like her so much. Why has she become the nation’s sweetheart and what can we learn from it as marketers.

Whilst thinking about this, it struck me that there are a good few parallels between young Cheryl and what you might consider important traits for brands to uphold today.

1) Human emotion: She’s not one to suppress her feelings and will openly show emotion, but this makes her more real and like-able. Of course, her personal life has not been an easy ride, but it makes her more fallible just like the rest of us. Someone we can relate to.

This can be looked at on many levels, but one of the most pertinent is how marketing as part of a two-way dialogue (open conversations) via Twitter/Facebook enable this kind of human connection to be conveyed. Brands that put their sales force on the likes of Twitter are starting to reap rewards. Comcast and Zappos are both prime example of brands who’ve embraced this well. Best Buy is one of the latest to enter the ring with its Twelpforce.

2) Honesty: She’s not afraid to admit she’s wrong and will speak quite openly about her life and voice her opinion. You will probably need to have seen her on the X-factor to appreciate this. This kind of transparency is very appealing to people, because it’s how I think we all aspire to be (well most of us).

Brands need to be able to admit they’ve done wrong. In these social media times, if they don’t admit mistakes then it will come out anyway through consumer comments and reviews. The brave brands are confronting this head on. Have a look at recent efforts by HSBC reviews and First Direct Live who are challenging the status quo in the banking sector.

3) Aesthetic: There’s all the beauty, glamour and celebrity that goes with Cheryl Cole. We like that she always takes pride in what she wears. In her way she is considered somewhat of a style icon, although like us she’s not immune to error in those stakes either.

Design has become a key part of branding in product and service. Something that looks good and works well functionally sells itself. Apple being the halo case.

4) Reinvention: OK she’s no Mr Dyson, but she’s not afraid of moving into new areas. She’s done a helluva lot in her career and still only 26. That in itself makes her highly aspirational.

It goes without saying that brands who are able to reinvent themselves will survive and prosper. From a UK perspective, retail brand Top Shop has really excelled in staying ahead of the curve. It was hugely popular in the 80’s and has endured to remain at the edge of high-street fashion ever since.

Like Cheryl, young people today are taking the bull by the horns and moving into new fields in much the same way, leveraging new technologies and social tools to start their own thing. I know she has money to do it, but there’s a generation of younger people in their 20’s who are not afraid to say, well why can’t I go and do my own thing. Look at Mark Zuckerberg. Consequently, we’re seeing more youthful brands emerge, however big or small they may be.

5) Personable: She is a very good communicator. I’d say very mature for her age, and a good listener. The whole backlash she suffered online when people thought she wouldn’t sing live. Well, she listened and said she’d sing some of her tunes live. To me she seems to me like the kind of girl you could have a nice cuppa with. How many brands could you say that about?

Customer service has never been so important to brands. Our online review culture is making us more familiar and happy to complain, raising the bar on expectations. I was reading a blog by Trendplanner who said that the rising level of utility we have access to via technology like mobile apps is itself  raising the game on our expectations of service. I couldn’t agree more.

In short, she has like-ability, transparency and trust on her side, three pretty important traits. You may well say that we could look at many other celebrities in this way and I’m sure we can, but I think Mrs Cole has captured something on a mainstream level that makes her a particularly interesting brand in herself.

Agree/disagree? Love to get your thoughts…

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