Martin Lindstrom has written an interesting piece on branding.
He talks about three rocks, of similar appearance…one from his garden, one from the Berlin Wall and one from the moon.
Same looking rocks…very different cash values. I imagine the rock from the moon could fetch quite a sum on eBay.
Lindstrom then goes on to make a parallel with branding.
For instance, three manufacturers can make sneakers which look pretty much identical. But the prices being charged for each pair will vary, according to the story and provenance of the company.
He’s right.
But here’s a cautionary note. The rock from the moon has the highest value only if it really did come from the moon.
Telling a story about a rock coming from the moon is no good. It has to actually have come from the moon.
As marketers we can’t look at me-too products and try to improve their brand images simply by concocting stories.
The brand is not what you say about a product or service. It’s about what the product or service IS. And, of course, it has to tap into what buyers actually WANT.
You’ll find a deeper exploration of this topic in our In Search of a Value Proposition research brief.
I agree completely! It’s expression! Emotional expression! The question for business owners to ask is: Has my marketing created an emotional response.