翻译天堂  2016-10-06

Build Your Brand as a Relationship

The way we think about brands need to change. In the past, they were objects or concepts. You had a relationship with a brand. But in this social age, brands are the relationships. By defining a brand’s particular kind of relationship, companies can create greater engagement, differentiation, and loyalty. 我们关于品牌的想法需要改变了。在过去，它们是实物或是概念。你和一个品牌有关系，但在这个社会时代，品牌自身就是特定的关系。通过定义一个品牌特有的一种关系，企业能够创造出更强的参与度、差异性和忠诚度。

To understand this new mental model for brands, it is helpful to see how the concept has evolved. A brand started out as an identifying mark. Cattle owners would “brand” their cattle to indicate ownership. We can still see the “brand as object” model in the American Marketing Association’s definition: “Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.” In this view, abrand is something applied to what you make. 对这一概念发展过程的追溯有助于我们理解关于品牌的这一最新心理模式。品牌诞生的最初，是具有辨识性的记号。畜牧业主会在他们的牲畜身上“打上记号”以宣示拥有权。我们在美国市场营销协会的定义中仍然可以看到“品牌即实物”这一模型的影子：“名称、术语、设计、象征，或是任何其他能够将一个销售者的商品或是服务区别于其他销售者提供的同类商品或服务的特征。”在这一观点看来，品牌是你所创造的实物的附属品。

In the next wave, a brand shifted from a feature to a perception, from an object to an idea. Al Ries and Jack Trout capture the essence of this model in their classic book Positioning: The Battle for YourMind. They define a brand as “a singular idea or concept that you own inside the mind of a prospect.” In this view, a brand is not something you make, it’s something you manage.在下一波浪潮中，品牌从一个特征转化为了一种认知，从一个实物转化为了一种观念。Al Ries和Jack Trout在他们的经典著作《定位》（Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind）中抓住了这一模式的精髓。他们将品牌定义为“你所拥有的，在潜在客户内心深处的一种独一无二的观念或是概念。”在这一观点看来，品牌并非由你创造，而是由你管理。

The most recent wave focuses on brand as experience. Sergio Zyman, inThe End of Marketing as We Know It, says: “A brand is essentially a container for a customer’s complete experience with the product or company.” A brand is not something you manage over time. It’s something you deliver in the moment.最近的浪潮着眼于品牌即体验。Sergio Zyman在The End of Marketing as We Know It中写道：“品牌究其根源，是承载着一名顾客关于某一产品或公司所有体验的容器。”品牌不是你能够长时间管理之物，而是在某一时刻的价值传达。

Our experience working with innovative companies indicates they are redefining not only how their brands are observed, perceived, and experienced. They are also redefining the very nature of therelationship they have with their customer. 我们与创新型公司工作的经验告诉我们，它们不仅在重新定义它们的品牌是如何被观察、认知和体验的，它们同时也在重新定义它们与顾客之间关系的本质。

If the first three waves were brand as object, idea, and experience, the next wave will be brand as relationship.如果说前三波浪潮分别是品牌即实物、品牌即观念和品牌即体验，那么下一潮流将会是品牌即关系。

The way to put “brand as relationship” into action is by defining the respective roles and responsibilities of the company and customer. The default brand relationship is provider/consumer. It’s a simple relationship that is one-directional and asymmetrical. The company provides the product or service, and the customer consumes it.将“品牌即关系”付诸行动的方法，即是分别定义公司与顾客的角色与责任。默认的品牌关系是“提供者/消费者”。这是一个单向且不对称的简单关系。公司提供产品或是服务，而顾客消费它们。

Brand innovators tend to create different kinds of relationships. Instead of transactional and one-directional relationships, the roles are more collaborative and reciprocal. 品牌创新者们试图创造不同种类的关系。与交易性、单向性的关系不同，参与者的角色更加具有协作性和交互性。

For example, in the hospitality industry most brands operate with the roles of host/guest. It’s one-directional, asymmetrical, and transactional. Airbnb has disrupted that model. With a mission of “belonging,” Airbnb has cultivated a neighbor-to-neighbor and citizen-to-citizen relationship on a global scale. It is reciprocal, symmetrical, and collaborative.举个例子，在酒店服务业，大多数品牌基于“主人/客人”这样的角色运作。这一关系是单向、不对称和交易性的。Airbnb打破了这一模式。怀抱“创造归属感”这一任务，Airbnb培养出了在全球范围内的“邻与邻”、“民与民”这样的关系。这一关系是交互的、对称的，具有协作性的。

In the taxi and livery industry, cabs and limo services have operated with the roles of driver/passenger. Again, it’s one-directional, asymmetrical and transactional. Uber and Lyft established differentiation by introducing new roles along two dimensions. The first is a shift from driver/passenger to friend/friend. For example, Lyft passengers are encouraged to “sit up front” as if they were getting a ride from a friend. According to Kira Wampler, CMO of Lyft, “Our original tagline was ‘Your Friend with a Car’ which served not only to describe the human, peer-to-peer experience we delivered with Lyft but also to differentiate us from other private driver approaches.”在出租车与租车行业，出租车和豪车出租服务基于“司机/乘客”这样的角色运作。这同样是单向、非对称的交易性的。Uber和Lyft则通过塑造这两方的新角色而变得与众不同。首先是“司机/乘客”向“朋友/朋友”的转变。比如说，Lyft的乘客被鼓励“坐在前排”，就像是与朋友一同出行一样。据Kira Wampler，Lyft的首席营销官所说，“我们最初的品牌口号就是‘你有车的朋友’，这不仅是为了传达Lyft所提供的人性化、对等的服务体验，也是为了将我们与其他个体司机区分开来。”

Another new brand role is entrepreneur/supporter. Uber encourages potential drivers to “build their business” on Uber. In both these cases, the brand relationship is more reciprocal and personal. As Amy Friedlander, Head of Experiential Marketing at Uber describes it, “Working with Uber is about our drivers’ needs, whether those needs are to have a fully flexible schedule or earn extra money. Uber is a platform that fits their lifestyle, not the other way around.”另一种新的品牌角色是“创业者/支持者”。Uber鼓励潜在的司机在Uber上“做他们的生意”。在这两个案例中，品牌关系变得更加具有互惠性与私人性。正如Uber体验营销部门的负责人Amy Friedlander所形容的那样，“和Uber合作是我们司机的需求，无论那些需求是想要完全灵活的工作日程还是赚点外快。Uber是一个贴合他们生活习惯的平台，而非其他。”

In the airline industry, innovators have also redefined the brandroles. The established players like United and Delta have operated with a brand relationship of flyer/passenger. But Southwest broke the mold with singing flight attendants and a relationship that might be described as “fun friends.”  JetBlue, with its free snacks and mission of “Inspiring Humanity,” has a “human-to-human” relationship.在航空行业，创新者们一直在重新定义品牌角色。已然功成名就的美联航和达美航空一直基于“航行者/乘客”这样的品牌关系而运作。但西南航空却以会唱歌的空乘和被形容为“有趣的朋友”的关系打破了这一模式。捷蓝航空则以免费的零食和“鼓舞人性”的愿景创造了“人与人”的关系。

Virgin America went in a different direction, creating a brandrelationship that is a cross between the hip friend and host of the party. The relationship is perhaps one reason Virgin customers are so upset by the sale of the airline. As one Virgin fan said, “I think of Alaska [Airlines] as more of a friendly aunt.” The sale is like someone busting up the party and telling everyone to go home.美国维珍走向了不同的方向，创造出了一种介于时髦朋友和聚会组织者之间的品牌关系。这一关系大概就是维珍顾客对美国维珍被阿拉斯加航空收购十分沮丧的原因之一。就像一位维珍迷所说的，“我觉得阿拉斯加航空更像个友好的大妈。”这一收购就像是有人搅乱了聚会，然后让所有人都乖乖回家。

The concept of brand-as-relationship also helps explain the rise of well-established market leaders. American Express redefined the relational roles of its industry from card issuer/card holder toclub/member. Disney redefined the relational roles of amusement parks from operator/rider to cast member/guest. And Starbucks redefined not only the role of the server from waiter to barista, but the role of the coffee shop from restaurant to community hub.“品牌即关系”这一概念同样帮助解释了功成名就的市场领导者的崛起之路。美国运通在这一行业重新定义了相关角色，从“卡的发行者/卡的持有者”到“会所/会员”。迪士尼重新定义了游乐园的相关角色，从“运营者/乘坐者”到“演职人员/客人”。星巴克则不仅重新定义了服务者从服务员到咖啡师的角色，更重新定义了咖啡店从饭馆到社区中心的角色。

Those familiar with brand archetypes may see some similarities to this approach. The difference is that in brand archetypes, the focus is on the attributes of the brand. But in the model proposed here, the focus is on the relationship that people have with Nike. As an archetype, Nike is a “Hero” brand because of its focus on victory. But Nike’s brand roles are best described as coach/athlete.那些熟悉品牌榜样的人可能会在这一途径中发现一些相似之处。不同之处在于，在品牌榜样中，重点是放在品牌的属性上。但在此处强调的模式中，重点是放在人们与耐克之间的关系上。作为一个榜样，耐克是一个“英雄”品牌因为它着眼于胜利，但耐克的品牌角色最能够以“教练/运动员”来概括。

Marketers have an opportunity to redefine brand roles in every industry. Media has been defined by broadcaster/viewer for decades. Health care has been defined by doctor/patient. Education has been defined by teacher/student. In each of these industries, there is an opportunity to create a new relationship based on co-creation and collaboration.营销人员有机会在每一个行业都重新定义品牌角色。，媒体几十年来一直被定义为“广播者/观众”。医疗服务一直被定义为“医生/病人”。教育一直被定义为“教师/学生”。在所有这些行业，都存在创造基于共同创建和协作的新关系的机会。

To get started, think about the relationship people have with yourbrand today. Frame your answer as social roles. For example, if you are a health care provider, you probably have a brand relationshipbased on doctor/patient. Now think about other kinds of relationships outside your industry. For example, in health care there are aspects of teacher/student (to educate), coach/athlete (to motivate), or guide/traveler (to navigate). Be sure to consider roles that are symmetrical, like friend/friend, neighbor/neighbor or co-creator/co-creator.首先，想想人们现在和你的品牌是何种关系，将你的答案概括为社会角色。比如说，如果你是一个医疗服务提供者，你可能会有一个基于“医生/病人”的品牌关系。现在，想想在你行业之外的，其他种类的关系。例如，在医疗服务中的关系有“教师/（待教育的）学生”、“教练/（待激励的）运动员”或是“导游/（待指引的）游客”。要保证你考虑的角色都是对称的，像是“朋友/朋友”、“邻与邻”或是“共建者/共建者”。

Another strategy is to work backwards from the kind of relationshipyou want to have. Think about the value and benefits of your product. Then imagine the human relationships that would provide the same type of benefits. Nest thermostats, for example, automatically adjust the temperature to your liking, and their smoke detectors calmly direct you to safety in the case of a fire. Instead of the usual role for a device maker of manufacturer/buyer, Nest has created a brand role of being part of the family, looking out for you in an attentive and protective way. “Instead of thinking about George Jetson’s ‘smart home’ we imagine a home that is humanized and takes care of the people inside it and the world around it,” says Doug Sweeny, CMO of Nest.另一个策略，是从你想要拥有的关系反推回去。想想你的产品所具有的价值和益处，然后想象怎样的人际关系能够提供相同种类的益处。比如说Nest恒温控制器，能够根据你的喜好自动调节温度，它们的烟雾探测器能够在发生火灾的情况下平和地引导你到达安全区域。不同于一个器械制造商通常的“生产者/购买者”角色，Nest塑造了作为家庭一员，贴心保护你的品牌角色。“相比于George Jetson的‘智能家’，我们将一个家视为人性化的概念，并且保护这个家里的成员和它周围的世界，”Nest的首席营销官，Doug Sweeny如是说道。

Finally, look for ways to shift your brand roles from one-directional, asymmetrical, and transactional to reciprocal, symmetrical, and personal. These roles will bring to life yourstrategic narrative around a shared purpose. If today’s brandinnovators are a guide, the result will be greater engagement, differentiation, and loyalty.最后，寻找将你的品牌角色从“单向、不对称和交易性”转向“交互、对称和私人性”的方法。这些角色能够将你围绕共同愿景所做的策略性陈述变成事实。如果说如今的品牌创新者们指引了方向的话，那么结果将会是更强的参与度、差异性和忠诚度。

Mark Bonchek是Shift Thinking的创始人和CEO（首席“顿悟”官）。他与企业及领导人共同合作以更新数码时代的思维习惯。Cara France是The Sage Group的CEO。这是一家为旧金山港湾区企业提供营销与咨询服务的公司。她同时也是Marketers that Matter的创始人。