Posted on Apr 15, 2013

The Value of Liveliness in Marketing

The value of liveliness means full of life or spirit; animation and energy in action or expression.

Marketing Questions:

What song would you select to represent your brand?
If you encouraged your customers to do a little dance when talking about your brand, what would that look like?
Are you excited about your brand? What about employees and other stakeholders? How do they show it?

Lovin’ the Liveliness

Some brands feel like they were designed to exude energy. They show it off very well.

For instance, Apple’s iPod advertising campaign (2004-2008) was a huge hit, featuring dark silhouetted figures against colorful backgrounds. The lively TV ads set the stage for outdoor boards, magazine ads, and other still shots that created immediate brand recognition.

Technology designed around music is a natural fit with dance. And the combination of music and dance go well together with the value of liveliness.

But can liveliness work for brands in a boring category, like batteries? You bet!

Both the Duracell and Energizer brands portray themselves as full of life, because that’s what people want from a battery. Long life. However, it’s interesting to see the values selected to differentiate their brands.

Energizer has incorporated the value of liveliness. Their marketing icon is the Energizer Bunny, a pink toy rabbit with cool–looking sunglasses. In addition to portraying energy in action, it signals the idea that it can operate indefinitely. The tagline most often associated with this brand is “It just keeps going and going…”

Duracell, on the other hand, focuses on the value of reliability. They often use a tagline “Trusted Everywhere” showing people using the battery to power the devices they find most important. While Duracell has a strong brand, it’s doesn’t have the fun, spirited and cool factor that Energizer has been able to capture in the minds and hearts of consumers.

Then there’s the fast food industry. In 2003, McDonald’s kicked-off an advertising campaign under the theme I’m Loving’ it. This spirited and action-oriented campaign was based on a song by Justin Timberlake, produced just for McDonald’s. As their first ever global campaign, McDonald’s seems to have found a way to build their brand with the value of liveliness.

From personal devices to batteries to fast food, it appears the value of liveliness can help differentiate brands, and create competitive advantage.