Thriving on the market
Blush is a small Icelandic business of 16 staff selling sex toys and aids. It is based in the town of Kopavogur, south of the capitol Reykjavik. But, when it comes to branding and marketing savvy this relative newcomer (the company started trading in 2011) has proven that size doesn’t matter. It has already notched up some notable “guerrilla marketing” campaigns, while securing a Best Icelandic Brands award in 2022.
Fanney Skuladottir, the company’s marketing director, says her team consist of two staff. Prior to hiring Fanney, the company owner Gerdur Huld Arinbjarnardottir was in charge of all the marketing and brand-building. Online advertising on Google and Facebook sits with an outside agency.
Fanney sees Blush as a retailer occupying a specific market niche. “We bought brandr Index because we were curious”, says Fanney. “We wanted to see how we could benefit from it. We believe we have built a really strong brand, so we wanted to test that—to see where we stood compared to similar companies. In that sense, brandr Index has definitely been beneficial for us.”
“We bought brandr Index because we were curious”, says Fanney. “We wanted to see how we could benefit from it. We believe we have built a really strong brand, so we wanted to test that—to see where we stood compared to similar companies. In that sense, brandr Index has definitely been beneficial for us“
Insightful visual results
“My first impression after running the survey was that the results were very easy to understand. We could immediately see that in some areas we were above average. It was satisfying to see that. The brandr Index team took the time to present the results to us, and the presentation too was easy to follow.”
Fanney says that the quick assimilation of the results was aided by the brandr Index’ visual layout. “It was impressive. I was surprised at the amount of information there. I did not know the survey went so deep into the mind-set of the customer. In terms of usefulness, I would give it between an eight and a nine. My general expectation of what we should be getting from a survey has definitely been raised.”
Statistics that brandr Index provided on age and gender has been particularly useful, says Fanney. “We could really see in great detail how our customers feel about us and how our brand image comes across. We had a clear idea of where we stand in the market. Customers see us as a strong, interesting brand, and feel loyalty towards us. But, there were also a few surprises.”
Actionable insights unveiled
Fanney points out two areas that were singled out for improvement. “We found out that our customers didn’t know about our sustainability and CSR (corporate social responsibility) strategies. To us, this was an interesting piece of information. We have big strategies there. But, it will help us sharpen our marketing activities, by refocusing on the areas where we didn’t do particularly well.”
“The results I had just mentioned have also led me to believe that brandr Index could have a role in formulating corporate strategy,” says Fanney. “After we got the result, we immediately called a meeting to discuss how we tweak our tactics, by doing more in those areas where we needed to improve. This has been a really beneficial exercise.”
Fanney would be extremely likely to recommend brandr Index to other marketing practitioners. “I would give it a ten! Before you run the survey you might wonder where you stand in the market and what your customers think about you. After, you will know.”
“Fanney would be extremely likely to recommend brandr Index to other marketing practitioners. “I would give it a ten! Before you run the survey you might wonder where you stand in the market and what your customers think about you. After, you will know.“
