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Just finished Martin Lindstrom’s most recent book, Buyology (Doubleday, 2008) andI strongly recommend it.
In summation, it’s an account of why we buy what we do, and how marketing and branding have evolved to accommodate. The entire book is worth reading, but a few particular points that jumped out at me were in regards to color. I, of course, have a minimal (but growing) background in art, so these findings were all new to me.
In one study, Mr. Lindstrom conducted a research project with a group of women that were all presented with a Tiffany-blue box. No logo. Nothing inside. Just a blue box. Their heart rates went up by 20%. Wow – that’s strong branding. The Tiffany-blue was instantly identified as being part of a product that stirred strong emotions.
Takeaway number two: In a study of phone book advertising, research proved that ads in color hold consumers’ interest for two seconds or more. Black-and-white counterparts? Less than one second.
And takeaway three: A study by the Seoul International Color Expo discovered that color can increase brand recognition by 80%. That’s a lot.
So my takeaway? Don’t just excuse brand colors as something that needs to be checked off the list when building your brand – and I’m sure you wouldn’t. Establishing your visual system is an essential element in creating a brand. Give it some thought, have others give it some thought and then give it some more thought. Make sure you’re happy with it because you need to live with it for a long time. That’s an essential ingredient of building a lasting brand – consistency.
So this whole Twitter thing – had us befuddled for quite a bit. We couldn’t really figure out why anyone would care when we were eating breakfast, working on layouts, editing copy or burning time on Facebook. But we joined anyway, chalking it up as an exercise in professional development.
We created the account this past fall, but that was about the extent of our involvement. The account sat stagnant for quite some time. We had no profile, no picture, no cool layout and no followers.
With the new year upon us and a renewed dedication to learning the modern communication landscape inside and outside, it was time to befriend Twitter – and so we befriended. Come to find out – it’s pretty cool.
We’ve dedicated our page to brand elevation. We’ll report daily, relevant and interesting findings that relate to what we do. Sure, people who want to know if we are reaching for toast or cereal in the morning might be disappointed. But those looking for new and interesting ways to elevate a brand – well, in theory, they’ll come back to our page again and again.
If you have a minute, check out our feed. If you follow us, we’ll follow you.
Budgets are getting cut, people are losing jobs, brands are killing their marketing spend in a time when they need it most. It’s not all fun and games on Mad Ave at the moment.
But this year’s spots offered a ray of hope. Generally speaking, they were smart, funny and memorable. Sure the “good taste” meter was tipped to the limit, but that’s expected. No malfunctions.
My favorite spot? The Monster.com moose spot. Why? Well, a few reasons.
Smart: This spot was relevant considering all of the CEO backlash that is currently catching headlines.
Funny: No need to explain – the humor is front and center.
Memorable: I’m writing about it and I’m sure you remember it. Thus, it was memorable.
Ownable: It relates to job searching. So many commercials these days create an obscure narrative taking the viewer all over the conceptual roadmap. But really, the ad should be effective. Creativity is great but only when it serves its purpose. A great professor of mine in college always said, “Good ads sell stuff.”
Stop reading and watch it for yourself. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.