Lodestar UM has announced the launch of its 'Full Colour Media' proposition and philosophy. 

Through this new model, the agency urges brands to 'Stand Against Bland'.

The new model and research is designed to build an understanding of the complex pattern of a brand, with insights into how to apply ‘difference’ and the ‘variance’ of that brand successfully.

The agency collaborated with Felipe Thomaz, Associate Professor of Marketing at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, to analyse a comprehensive data set of over 10,000 brands spanning the past three years. This research aimed to uncover how distinctive networks of brand associations and behaviours—termed 'brand patterns'—influence brand growth, measured through purchase intent and consideration.

As per the research, every brand's unique and nuanced pattern is informed by the interdependency and synergy of the 3V's (visibility, vibrancy and variability). 

This is how the 3V's metrics will help brands:

• Visibility: Includes metrics like Attention and Ad Awareness that cultivate distinctiveness and are the main driver of brand growth (64%). 
• Vibrancy: Measured through metrics like Social Engagement, Buzz and Word of Mouth, delivers brand relevancy through its connection with culture and is an important growth accelerator (11%).   
• Variability: Containing metrics like Positive Impression and Quality, is key for incremental growth (25%) and differentiation by generating customer intrinsic value. 

Susan Kingston-Brown, global brand president, UM, said, “Full Colour Media is an omnichannel planning proposition designed to combat the existential threat of brands becoming bland. It unlocks the power of human ingenuity in a world where AI’s normative mechanic threatens not just a race to the bottom, but a race to the mean. To win the growth race for our valued clients, we need strategies that ‘Stand Against Bland'. "

She added, "This new approach seamlessly blends the visibility of high-quality media impact with the vibrancy and variability of smaller, deeper touchpoints, creating a spectrum of media stories that come together to drive brand growth. In a world dominated by algorithm-driven media, it challenges outdated linear models and black-and-white decision-making to drive real 'difference' and brand growth.”

Aditi Mishra, CEO, Lodestar UM, said, “Lodestar UM’s Full Colour Media approach takes charge of steering brands through the new disruptive media landscape as consumers transition to AI-sourced answers and innovative user interfaces. We see it as a game changer, bringing together the power of data with human ingenuity for brands to unlock their unique formula for growth.”

Thomaz said, “As we studied whether brands were using suitable go-to-market strategies, we found that even though all brands have unique patterns, they are often using similar media strategies, meaning
they are not making the most of their Brand Pattern. According to our research, Brand Patterns can provide marketers with new insights to illuminate their differentiated path to brand growth.”

Dan Chapman, global chief strategy officer, UM, said, “With the level of computational power and data at our fingertips today, there is a huge opportunity to go beyond simplified marketing models like the funnel. We need a model that embraces complexity and leverages pattern recognition to define and quantify the unique nature of each brand. Our findings demonstrate that understanding and exploiting what makes a brand different is the number one driver of brand growth. This will only become more important as AI become more pervasive.”