For the longest time, brand marketing was pushed to consumers via television, radio or print or platforms. Or your YouTube video is rudely interrupted by an advert you have seen too many times to count.
But now with technology evolving, consumers have a choice of platforms with no advertising (think Netflix, Showmax, and PVR). This is forcing brands to rethink how they approach consumers and infiltrate their lives, in a way that is convenient and non-intrusive.
Rob Anderson, founder of Brand Hubb, saw this trend emerging, and while working for brands, he was constantly on the lookout for ways to engage with consumers around brand content. This led to the creation of Brand Hubb.
“When I was with brands, I felt we always give back to retailers, resellers and distributors, but we never really give back to consumers, and they build the brand. So I was always thinking of ways of how we could give back to them, so people look at a brand differently,” he explains.
With Brand Hubb, users engage with brand content (educating themselves about the brand) through watching videos and completing surveys, and they are rewarded for this.
The system relies on brand engagement from people, as well as word of mouth/peer marketing, which Anderson sees as still a big player in the marketing space.
“If your mate shares something, you’re more likely to look at it, than a sponsored advert on social media. With Brand Hubb, it’s about engaging with and sharing content and then getting rewarded, and then giving feedback through surveys. It was really looking from a brand perspective and saying ‘how do we get value from consumers’ and how do consumers then get rewarded out of it,” he says.
The rewards system revolves around MeBucks, with one MeBuck equal to one rand. They can be spent on products in the Brand Hubb store, which covers a variety of categories, including electronics, appliances, DIY and outdoor, fashion, home and décor, and health.
Anderson is on a big drive to get agencies engaging with the Brand Hubb system. “Brands and agencies are so used to the traditional way, push marketing. And we are not saying get rid of it, because there is a place for it. But we are saying, add it to your digital strategy … We are trying to change the mindset of consumers, to get them to think of brands differently through rewarding them,” he comments.
He sees the future as pull marketing, with consumers actively choosing to engage with advertising, rather than it being forced upon them, and them getting irritated by intrusive ads.
Follow Michael Bratt on Twitter @MichaelBratt8
