Branding…It’s emotional
I saw Tom Asacker deliver a presentation on the difference between crappy brand marketing vs. good brand marketing.
The big takeaways were:
- Stop talking Benefits and RTBs. They don’t sell product consistently. Don’t walk totally away from it. But you can’t hang your hat on it any longer if you want growth.
- Start positioning your brand as human. Tell stories. Make it real. Make it emotional.
He gave a great example of Volkswagaon using the classic Sunday Afternoon commercial. His argument is that when VW tells a one minute story of two dudes cruising around in a VW in an average town doing what average dudes do. They drive around. Groove to music. Chew bubble gum. Pick up old used chairs on the side of the road. Realize the old chair is filled with crusty boogers and Pringles chips and stinks like road kill, so they unload it. It tells a story that dudes and people that know dudes have lived or seen. And, that kind of human empathy will sell a brand better than touting “safety benefits”
It makes a traditional marketer (like myself) think maybe I should simplify packaging, employ less copy and take the marketing approach of ”being and doing” rather than “saying and promising.”
