6th June 2007

Brand Strategy is a monthly thought-leading journal of brand management aimed at senior client marketers and their equivalents in agencies and consultancies. It has been leading the debate on brands and branding for over a decade and each issue features 50-60 pages of comment, opinion and analysis. 

Large MD, Jim Boulton, was asked to comment on the relative strengths of the Viagogo and Autotrader brands. 

When we're assessing the viability of brands we use a proprietary IQ test to give us an idea of brands "intelligence", our reasoning being that smarter brands will survive and prosper although there always exceptions to the rule! The IQ test assesses brands in terms of their initial Impact (the I) and the ongoing Quality of Engagement (the Q) and is based on the assumption that brands have to fulfil rational and emotional needs at each point of brand engagement. We sum it up as "hit 'em with the brand, hook 'em with the experience".

Most brands are strong in some quadrants but weaker in others. By identifying the quadrant(s) in which you're weak (e.g. emotional impact) and recognising those in which you are strong, you can create business changing brand acquisition and retention strategies.

If we're talking about the long term viability of "Viagogo" I would say that it fails at the first hurdle. The name itself reeks of a choice made on the availability of the URL rather than any other pre-defined criteria. The best brand names are often metaphoric, evocative or descriptive and "Viagogo" says nothing to me about the service, the brand ambition or anything else - it's instantly forgettable. I've done some surfing around and one of their competitors is called "Seatwave" - I would argue that this is not only relevant to the service they are offering but it has positive associations with the summer and having a good time. Moreover, because it is a play on a well know expression it is instantly memorable.

OK, so Viagogo failed the IMPACT test, where does it stand in terms of ENGAGEMENT? It's difficult to tell without thoroughly immersing myself in the brand but I would say it's got legs. The whole concept is based on user involvement and it seems as if it has, or will shortly gain, a critical mass. The Internet is no longer the gift economy envisaged by Tim Berners Lee, it is a movement towards the perfect free market and sites like Ebay, Viagogo and Seatwave are absolute evidence of this. The inflated ticket prices for Prince concerts on Viagogo are the result of an efficient market based on the simple rules of supply and demand and the fact people are prepared to pay these exorbitant prices indicates the site is efficient at bringing together dispersed buyers and sellers.

Autotrader obviously benefits from it's offline heritage of bringing together buyers and sellers so has to work less hard at the IMPACT half of the equation (however, it would be wise not to rest on its laurels). On the engagement side, I would say that it has a big tick in the rational box but needs to work harder on the emotional side. Although I am happy with the efficiency of the service, I don't feel good about selling/buying my car through Autotrader - when it wouldn't be a great leap to make this happen. Autotrader could easily make me feel smarter than transacting via a dealer or safer than transacting via an individual but instead it's main brand proposition is choice.

Both brands have a chance of competing with Ebay as they are specialist sites rather than generalists but the likelihood is Viagogo will struggle because ultimately it's bland and does not warrant a second glance unless you have explicitly saught the site out. Autotrader is already a great brand but it could become a superbrand if it only cared about how people felt.

There will always be room for niche players to compete with Ebay, no brand can hope to be all things to all people I would say that the bigger threat is "me too" players. Neither Autotrader or Viagogo connect on an emotional level. Brands that compete on the basis of rational characteristics (such as choice, price, speed etc.) are always at risk because they're so easy to copy. Brands with longevity connect on an emotional basis and it's this intangible magic that makes a brand remarkable and impossible to replicate.