Selling out Brand Loyalty for pounds, pence, dollars & cents

Posted on 27th Nov 2011 by Liz Wilson in Blog

Only a few days ago it was a celebration of thanks, to encourage people across the US to appreciate what they have. And now we see scenes of chaos on our screens, little more than violent mall ‘mosh-pits’ where people jostle and fight to get the goods.

Here in the UK there’s no ‘Black Friday’. What we’re getting now are the ‘January Sales’ a month early, as retailers desperate for extra pounds are slashing prices to get their tills ringing. It’s a tactic which seems to be working as millions of us hit the High Street in a bid to get the bargains.

But where does brand loyalty fit into this festive frenzy? More brands than ever investing in Cultural Movements, but really, at this time of year, are we really concerned with what our favourite brands are doing? Or are we more interested in what the price says on the ticket?

Because sudden cheap prices say a lot of things to us. How many times have you smugly done your Christmas shopping nice and early, only to find that you could have gotten all those presents for half the cost because your favourite brands have now slashed the price? It’s the ultimate betrayal – for your loyalty, you got to pay more.

Or, maybe, when you bought something for £49.99, and it’s now £25, maybe it wasn’t worth that high price to begin with. And so suddenly, those presents don’t seem like such a gift. Once again, you feel cheated. And you sure won’t make the same mistake next year. Buy, buy, brand loyalty.

It’s why price isn’t the main driver for Cultural Movements. Price may get us to buy and try, but it’s not what makes us tick most of the time. It could be a penny or a pound, a dollar or a dime – we’re not going to be turned into loyal shoppers by a fly-by-night discount. Only Cultural Movements can do that.

But for now, it seems that the number after the dollar and pound sign is what counts. This Christmas, will selling out your loyalty be a bargain, or is it just too high a price to pay?