Be it in science or in marketing, a great idea is a great idea.
Ultimately, your brand is a set of convictions in your customer’s mind. Your brand resides within the hearts and minds of your customers, clients, partners and prospects. It is the sum total of their experiences and perceptions, some you can influence, and some you cannot. Your brand is a source of a promise to your customers.
Convictions are created through genuine involvement. Give and take. Through a dialog, not a monologue.
Kick starting this dialogue with customers is typically done with a BIG POWERFUL idea vividly displayed…something that makes your audience sit up and say: “WOW, that makes sense! That’s for me! I’m in!”
Use the great ideas of science to beef up your marketing by standing on the shoulders of these giants.
State the Obvious – Isaac Newton – Was Newton the first guy who was ever beaned by an apple? Doubtful. But he was the first person to give a name to the phenomenon of falling (and the acceleration it produces). When marketers take the time to identify, name, and analyze consumer behaviors that we see every day, we develop an understanding of which marketing methods create a gravitational pull towards our products…and which are just whacking people over the head. Change is Inevitable – Barbara McClintock – In McClintock’s era, geneticists considered genes to be unalterable, barring chance or damage. McClintock found genes that could change their own position on the chromosome, or even change chromosomes, through her work with maize. OK, this doesn’t sound that exciting, but it’s analogous to, say, words moving around on a page, or even hopping from book to book. Remembering that change is built into our very genes encourages flexibility – and the realization that adaptability must underpin every long-term strategy for growth.
Concepts Come First – Albert Einstein – Einstein said, “You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat.” So, you might not have wanted him writing your ad copy…but as a concept, I’m digging on the invisible cat.
Brands attract attention, generate interest, state a promise, communicate value, provide solutions, offer proof, create desire, compel action, determine satisfaction, foster loyalty, etc., etc. Without effective branding – and it’s animating principle, design – no marketing initiative will succeed.
Tim Thomason of the Thomason Media Group/Atlanta offers high performance brand management advice designed to stage, establish and advance leadership brands.
