Branding – how clever should you try to be?

Clever introductions

The following is one of those ‘clever’ introductions – rather like modern day restaurant or car reviews – when the author talks about everything BUT the product/service in question until the last paragraph. Alert! – not something which works well online unless you have a very dedicated readership!

However, this blog uses a great example that really set me thinking:

Give readers the opportunity to use their brain

“A few years ago on a trip to the San Francisco Zoo, I noticed a particular phrase written on the napkin and paper towel dispensers throughout the property.

‘Paper comes from trees’

That was all that was written, nothing more to it. I loved the simplicity of this message […..] people are bombarded with directions, requests, and prohibitions everywhere they go [….] had the San Francisco Zoo’s napkin dispenser said, ‘Please use only as many napkins as you actually need because we are trying to save the planet by using less paper’, I think some people would be inclined to turn their brain off somewhere around ‘Please only use…’ 

But with the four simple words ‘Paper comes from trees’, they actually made people engage their brains for a moment. No implicit direction or request was needed. They gave their visitors a simple fact and trusted that they would respond accordingly.”

How ‘clever’ should you be?

Advertisers sussed this out a long time ago with their slogans – but how ‘clever’ should you try to be?

It all depends upon the brand.

For most low-cost items, manufacturers rely upon a catchy slogan containing the product’s name backed up with a jingle:

• ‘Beanz meanz Heinz’
• ‘Do the Shake & Vac and put the freshness back’
• ‘For Mash get Smash’ (sorry, showing my age here!)

However, if it’s a higher-cost item – such as say, a car – then there’s a whole range of possible approaches:

• The obscure; e.g. Honda’s 3-minute ‘Cog’ advert which featured a domino-style chain reaction featuring car parts
• The show-off; e.g. Ferrari’s ‘Formula 1 history’ advert, showing Grand Prix cars over the years racing around different city street locations
• The topical; e.g. Citroen’s ‘Dancing Robot’ advert, released at the same time as the ‘Transformers’ film franchise

Conclusion – Think/Feel/Know

All brands seek to engage their customers, and asking the customer to start using their brain when thinking about their product is the 1st step

I wrote about this recently in another blog; the Think/Feel/Know model, where customers need to pass from the ‘Think’ to the ‘Feel’ stage in order to make a purchase.

So, ask yourself for your brand – do you simply tell your customers what you do, or are they able to feel it?

Related articles

http://www.kytemark.com/from-ape-to-beep-or-understanding-human-psychology-cybercrime/