Why We Judge The Friends in Our Life More Harshly Than We Judge Brands

Posted Aug 11 in Opinion tagged , , ,

I’ve heard many metaphor of how we (as brand experts) should study friendships between people, and then apply those principles to the brands we work on.  If only we could get people to value our brands in the same way they value their friendships with real world loved ones – so the theory goes.

It occurred to me that this is completely the opposite of reality.  Most people value the brands in their life much more than their friends.

The value of a brand is something like the level of perceived value, vs. actual value derived. The greater the level of perceived value we give something the stronger the brand.  Some brands like say a ‘Prada’ handbag has a lot of perceived value. It costs $3,000 to purchase. However the thing is made in China with cheap leather and raw materials cost around $12.00.

However, with most friendships we measure their worth by actual value, not perceived value.  If they are good to us, if they call us on our birthday, if they share similar interests so we can do things together and talk about things together, then they are scored highly.  There is little room for perceived value. If they are a good friend (by doing good things for us) they are rated as high value, if they are not, then they fade away.  There is some perceived value if they are successful or well known, but beyond that we judge friendships with a harsher criteria than we judge brands.

The reason, friendships with actual people do very little ‘marketing’. There value is based on who they are, and what they do, not the gloss they put on it.

If you want the people in your life to value you more, then you should think more like a brand. Put a layer of marketing on top of everything you do, and every interaction and you’ll be valued much more.

Friendships between people can learn a lot more from brands, than brands can learn from friendships between people.

Perhaps Facebook is teaching everyone to act more like a brand and build their own perceived value (by presenting glossy images of themselves) so one-day we will all be as valued by others as brands are?

This thought scares the bejesus out of me. Agree??

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Comments

  1. Max Factor

    Aug 11th, 2012

    I totally agree – people are now being taught to present their best side to others, and have a high gloss social media profile that has little baring on reality.

  2. Peter

    Aug 11th, 2012

    I agree to a certain extent, however it is more so that individuals value their brands based on their actual merits rather than their perceived value. That being said consumers don’t just purchase just to possess the features of the product or brand (perceived value), but to ultimately derive benefits from them (actual value).

    In my opinion the same can be said in personal relationships. It is true we base our friendships in real terms, but there is more room for actual value than there is perceived value. If we want people to value us more, then we should start adding more real value in that relationship so both parties mutually benefit, as sugar coating gloss can derive from what one party actually offer not what they can perceive to offer. Adding perceived value in personal relationships is critically dangerous for both brands and relationships because they may not be able to live up to their perceived expectations. Social media has also added fuel to the fire by creating an artificial gloss in everyday lives; I mean being human we do post pictures of ourselves to make our lives looks better than what it actually is! There is a lot we can learn from powerful brands that we can use in our friendships; but style without substance is mere commodity and that’s why we value our friendships on their legitimacy and brands on their actual benefits.

  3. Fritz Bachen

    Aug 12th, 2012

    Hi Peter

    Thanks for commenting. Unfortunately, I think a bit of gloss with friendships, could have the same ‘perceived value’ effect as our relationships with brands. We’ll like them more as they ‘appear’ more desirable. perhaps Ive been in marketing to long??

  4. Peter

    Aug 13th, 2012

    No, thats a fair call. I also agree that we as humans tend to desire things based on our individual perception of perceived value. However, what if the brand/friendship is unable to live up to that perceived value due to our expectations?

  5. Anne Miles

    Aug 22nd, 2012

    I agree that many of us have a ‘glossy’ image or personal brand that is constructed for the outside world and it is only a part of who we are. Many of us start to feel that the flaws in who we are are unique and that we’re not equal to others who have a ‘good’ personal brand. I also feel that this adds to our insecurities and universal fears of 1. not being good enough, 2. not fitting in, and 3. not being loved.

    I, personally, am enjoying an emerging trend where authenticity is accepted as part of our brand – that radio personalities can speak like Bogans, that they can make a mistake in the read, that ordinary people can be superstars, that the glamorous model to sell products is less automatic – that we can have both our strengths and our weaknesses presented as our brand these days. So, to me, there’s a good side and a dark side and like anything it is about keeping a balance.

  6. Fritz Bachen

    Sep 20th, 2012

    Hi max, good on you.

  7. Fritz Bachen

    Sep 20th, 2012

    Hi Anne, thanks for the comments. I kind of agree. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction – i.e. the counter trend is true too.

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