Neuromerchandising is here!

Yes, I have now extended my neuromarketing practice to offer Neuromerchandising (a term I have coined and trademarked) for retailers. In fact, I am  making a presentation over lunch on November 30, ‘07, in Toronto. I have served retail business leaders for years and it is a favorite space for me–where consumers are directly accessible to the brand.

Neuromerchandising involves all the sensory elements–what works within different retail contexts to elicit positive reactions. And it’s more. It’s also about archetypal meaning, storytelling, employee paralanguage and non-verbal language. There are too many elements left out by retail environment designers that reach deeper and bring in better results.

It never ceases to amaze me how predictable, dull and streamlined retail establishments remain.

Last weekend I visited a store named Hollister, a California surfer apparel store targeted at teens, under the management of Abercrombie and Fitch. Finally! a retailer who understood lighting and texture. Drama, depth-of-field, colour, sound, storytelling, employee behavior–it was one of the best retail environments I have seen in Canada yet. Mind you, the setting would not apply in another context such as pharmaceutical or automotive maintenance–but the cues and stimuli were excellent. And product was flying off the shelf.

Retailers need to stop thinking cost per square foot as a driver of design but rather emotional quotient per square foot “EQPSF”.

 

VISA TV commercial match minds

VISA’s current TV commercial delivers cues, archetypal content and social psychology that blend to effect results.

The story takes place in a fantasy retail location, where a line-up of customers wait to check-out. The establishment shot features a wide palette of colours, cheerful music under and constant movement. The main character, a middle-aged female, proceeds to write a cheque–all music and movement stops–and everyone watching gasps. The archetype of movement bodes well as a metaphor for credit cards. (I’ll guess VISA extracted this representation in emotional discovery). The colour and music serve as sensory cues, that compound the effect of movement.

Social psychology, “Social Proof” as described by Dr. Cialdini, is also very present i.e. we tend to follow the crowd. VISA cleverly made the line-up long–one or two customers would not have been social proof.

Do I like making people feel inadequate lest they do as marketers wish? No, not unless it is good for them. What is wrong in writing a cheque? Nothing. You are not borrowing; yet, credit card use is borrowing. VISA builds a case for humiliation to writing a cheque in a retail environment; not the case for spending with debt.

Effective spot, but I am not a fan of credit card companies and their marketing tactics. Now let me see this effective use of media dollars with brands that we love: food, beauty, apparel, recreation, travel, retail, home improvements…

 

Animals in advertising defy logic

Everyday I mourn advertisers who have been persuaded to develop animal characters in their storytelling. Geico’s gecko, Bell’s beaver, Alamo’s bison, Telus’ endless “animal farm” count among the many. Invariably these animals speak and have personalities or a voice-over tells a story; yet the message is missed because the visual learning modality takes over. Somehow these advertisers believe they can cram in their meaning in these “disconnected” scripts.

There is no archetypal meaning in any of these characters; meaning can be unearthed in the ethereal dove, the free eagle or the dominant lion. Yes, I know! you have performed focus groups and follow-up awareness (unaided and aided) surveys. But these too bely the effectiveness of this content by survey method and design. They may even get attention from the viewer but that’s all. Attention-getting cannot be your goal. (Attention and awareness are interchangeable.) Your goal must be to develop deep meaning that matches your customers’ meaning.

Some brands may wish to be seen as friendly by featuring animals; but do check your customers’ mental models. You will likely find that friendliness is not the driver nor are animals the “mindmatching” representations. After all the above-mentioned trade in car insurance, auto rental, and telecommunications. There is no doubt that these are anxiety producing segments and as such these brands require the most diligent investigation of customers’ minds and corresponding representations in all its iterations.

Your absolute goal must be to find the meaning in your customers’ minds about your brand and its context. Customers cannot access their thoughts (95%) related to your creative, your brand or its use in up to ten minutes in a focus group where others can judge and alter their responses or in a primed scripted survey by phone conducted by low-wage transient employees. You will never get the results you are looking for because you will never have the information that acually resonates with them.

Engage now in intimate, in-depth, one-on-one, unmoderated emotional discovery. You need only interview a small number to get reliable, scientific and rich information to guide your representations from here on. Market research firms do not generally offer these services because they cannot bill the usual hefty stipend for it.

Learn your customers’ thoughts and you will soon release your cast to the wild.

 

“Icons are coming back”, they say

Referencing the announcement on network TV yesterday that the recent talent search for a new Maytag man signals a return to “icons”. Indeed. But more specifically the Maytag Man, the Green Giant, the Glad Bag man (to name a few) are NOT iconic characters; rather they are archetypal representations in our sub-conscious. That’s why they work. You cannot create an archetype out-of-the-blue; it must come from the depths of our sub-conscious. (One media outlet referred to the Maytag Man as a mascot! So many folks are in the wrong job.)

Here are a few archetypes: the nurturer, the friend, the hero, the man of action. In fact, there are umpteen symbolic archetypes like “up” and “down”, and, “light” and “dark”; these are more subtle in execution but also very useful.

My favorite comment from the network, “simple ideas are those that really work.” Thank you.

 

Tony Blair taps social psychology to influence

This post on Dr. Cialdini’s email sent to me is rather revealing about the power of social psychology:

“Recently, the Influence at Work office was contacted to request that Dr. Cialdini come to speak at Number 10 Downing Street in London. Of course we were all humbled by the request and followed up post haste.

Dr. Cialdini addressed the ministers and aides on his research and how it could be applied to major social issues such as how to influence citizens to protect the environment, to achieve educational goals, and to help establish sound social policies without the use of costly technological fixes, tax incentives or new laws and regulations.

Dr. Robert Cialdini of Regent U, author of Influence, has performed research over thirty years working toward an abstraction of how people have a propensity to behave in social situations. He has identified six key behaviors that now the folks at 10 Downing St. will certainly consider in their communications and actions. It’s all a manifestation of our neuropsychology and critical to learn. Mr. Bush & Mr. Harper, next?

 

BRAND OF THE WEEK: Aveeno

Remembrance of good things past…

The many new faces of Aveeno in just 7 years!

I have watched this brand evolve over the last decade from a mere few facings in body care at retail to a healthy line-up of products that could likely sustain its own stores. Remember when you contacted poison ivy, the doctor would invariably recommend an Aveeno colloidal oatmeal bath to your mother? Well, this motherhood wonder dating back to 1945 was purchased by Johnson & Johnson in 1999. That explains the growth phenomenon that ensued.

First, J&J extended Aveeno into baby care in 2000 and on its heels a few years following, into skin care including anti-aging, lip and sun care products.  Now Aveeno wraps all its products in the Active Naturals banner with ambitious plans to continue developing formulations with natural ingredients. The inclusion of feverfew, an ultra-calming ingredient that also helps rosacea, into some of its products, is another of such innovations.

Although oatmeal-based products remain a staple in its arsenal of products, Aveeno’s presence is evident on many store shelves beyond its traditional therapeutic facings.

What is quite evident to me is that despite the fact that its advertising or packaging are not remarkable, that  Aveeno benefits from an enormous reservoir of trust and childhood memories. So far, J&J has done nothing to damage this and continues its line extension within subtle cues that likely awaken “feel good” chemistry in the brain. But, I would certainly not guarantee that until in-depth emotional discovery of its brand and context is executed (perhaps Aveeno already that this neuronal information but I don’t see it in its marketing expressions).

Aveeno’s web site is equally up to measure. Of note, is its excellent Skin Care Advisor section with advice on everything from skin discoloration to unwanted hair. It is commendable when a brand provides a gratuitous service beyond its mercantility.

While my recognition is stated here Aveeno has collected many awards from reknown publishers including Allure, Self, Natural Health and InStyle. Of special acclaim is Aveeno’s Body Firming Lotion–the accolades come from readers and dermatologists. Aveeno continues to be lavished with praise. In natural skin care , Aveeno is hard to catch up too.

But really what I am celebrating today is Aveeno’s extraordinary growth over a short time. Now the challenge will be to dig deep into Aveeno’s meaning and cultivate this in all its expressions, advertising, merchandising, training, packaging and even sensory cues when in hand. Aveeno has a chance to get into widespread long-term memory beyond the biggest brands who frankly may have less to hang their claims on.

My personal meaning: I can’t seem to shake Norman Rockwell, the Quaker icon and sitting down for a happy family breakfast when thinking Aveeno. Is that mental model shared? Perhaps not. But the specific memory neurons that fire when a brand stimulus is offered boggles the mind. This is one brand that surely fires up rich, deep meaning.

 

Truth or Lies in Emotional Branding

The issue of manipulation comes up from time to time about marketers’ healthy interest in customers’  minds. There is undoubtedly those who trangress.  The new neuromarketing which emotional branding has matured into must be learned and cultivated within a model of integrity. This is certainly my practice.

For several years there has been a backlash from consumer advocates and activists (like Naomi Klein who is covered in logos) about FMRIs (functional magnetic resonance imaging) . And many corporations are loathe to volunteer that they partake in the practice of reading neural activity in the brains of consumers in response to stimulus they provide. Yet brain scanning is just one of a panoply of ways to uncover the mysteries of the consumer’s mind.

Consumers indeed do not want to think that they are being inadvertently incited to action by brain-trickery. But frankly, the moral majority of marketers are more interested in providing customers with pleasure than tricking them. Manipulation or lies have been around for time immemorial. Here are just a few lies that will resonate:

• FOCUS ON THE BENEFIT LIE: they tout the current, popular benefit while their product carries ingredients that carry long-term health risks (e.g. food processors that boast O trans fats yet have high saturated fats, sodium, sugar, MSG and many chemical preservatives that accumulate in the body)
• THE DO GOODER LIE: they are quick to announce the good things they are doing, but not the good things they should be doing and are not doing (e.g. say they are do-gooders but invest little in any cause like the Wal-Mart family–less than 1% as reported by US news lately)
• THE HOOK AND SINK LIE: they provide a service that is so sugar-coated with emotional value that when you succumb, it will surely be bitter (e.g. credit card companies who change interest rates for whatever reason they cook up)
• THE HOPE LIE: their advertisements make claims that are simply obfuscations (e.g. wrinkle creams using 20 year old models)  
• THE SORTA LIKE LIE: their categorize themselves as providing a product or service by merely offering a fraction of the standard (e.g. products with fillers)
• THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE LIE: they manufacture a product that is killing people (e.g. cigarettes, silicone implants)
• THE VOODOO LIE: they inject images invisible to the eye in TV or print content, subliminal advertising–remember Vance Packard’s Hidden Persuaders e.g. McDonald’s insert in Iron Chef show as seen at Brand Revival

These are true examples of manipulation or lies. They are old, enduring standards that made consumers cycnical long ago.

If we are now entering the era of neuromarketing, wanting to learn how customers truly think, so we may please them better, it is not manipulation. Yes, those who learn what human beings need and what their triggers are, can abuse this information. Beware though, in this era of transparency all gets known fairly quickly–and can kill a brand at the speed of internet buzz. That’s less than a business day.

Take that neurophysiological and neuropsychological knowledge and turn it into authenticity and personal resonance. That’s truth.

 

BRAND OF THE WEEK: Blackberry Pearl

Long considered an executive toy, the Blackberry now expands its market reach with the more attainable Blackberry Pearl, second born of RIM (Research inMotion, Canada).

The Pearl brand is so popular that it is often seen in forums as “backordered”. There is no doubt that the success of the Pearl is no more than a successful brand extension on the Blackberry, with more mainstream features. It carries the Blackberry emotional value and fulfills the emotional needs of the many. There are many players nipping at Blackberry Pearl’s heels, iPhone by Apple taking the most bites.  Apple has an emotional connection worldwide even by non-users; but, fighting RIM on emotional turf with the iPhone is not a done deal.  One blogger posts about her Blackberry, “It makes me feel and look confident, dynamic, adult. It means quite literally, that I mean business.” I’ll bet using neuroscientifically-based emotional discovery, RIM can identify its unique mental model in customers’ minds over iPhone, which I am quite confident currently borrows much of its story-telling from Apple and the archetypal Steve Jobs.

The Pearl was listed on Baig’s Best 2006 list by USA today columnist Ed Baig. PC Magazine gave it 4 stars out of 5 and Wired, 8 stars out of 10. According to all, its camera and multi-media features are the keys to this acclaim. The Blackberry had already made Oprah’s favorites. The buzz is indeed hearty.

Frankly, there should be an award for Blackberrry’s site demo. The demo is simply outstanding for newbies and everyone. This is a smart investment on RIM’s part, surely reducing the high calls of customers that are overwhelmed by this sophisticated new device. When I read the forums about typical obstacles with new users, like difficulties sending images or with Bluetooth, RIM and its carriers would be wise to point everyone to this excellent web location.

The Pearl’s two letters per button has proved an annoyance to many; but, this was the solution in reducing the size of the device. Frequent usage may help users speed-up their text messaging skills. This may be an advantage to the iPhone that uses the Qwerty soft keyboard (everything on iPhone is sensor based); but the Safari browser featured tends to corrupt sites even on my MacOs. The iPhone retails for around $449 in US.

If the “Blackberry Pearl” sounds like a pirate ship name, it’s because it is still stealing the show. 

A few facts:

“Over 90% of our revenue comes from the USA and international markets”, states a RIM executive.  For Canadian corporations who have recoiled from their forays to US soil,  this is an impressive accomplishment. RIM announced the launch of the Pearl in Canada and USA, through its distributors Rogers Wireless and T-Mobile respectively, on September 7, 2006, stating it was the world’s lightest and smallest smartphone.

The Pearl retails with a 3-year term agreement at Rogers Wireless in Canada for $249.99 up to $449.99 with a one year term. It’s big sister the Blackberry is now available at many sales prices. T-Mobile in US, offers the Pearl at a variety of rates, deals ($199.00 US!) and plans, with no lock-in terms.

 

Beware of your TV spots’ contexts

Every single TV program you choose will affect the response to your ad. Programs that precede your spot specifically. Be forewarned that the fear or disgust chemicals, cortisol and glutamate respectively,  released in the body linger for up to 20 minutes. Is your brand suited for the following programs (naming a few)?

• Insider’s Report, Extra (celebrity tabloid gossip)
• WifeSwap (literally)
• King of the Hill
• Cheaters (about spouses in the act)
• The View (Rosie O’Donell offends many)
• Judge Judy
• South Park
• Any CSI
• Sex in the City
• Oprah when hosting KKK or pedophiles

There are advertisers that are suited for these programs. But, at the risk of seeming sanctimonious take heed that Middle America and Middle Canada does not respond with good chemicals in the brain, dopamine and oxytocin, when confronted with graphic content and language, and, morally questionable context.

Can a spot for a chocolate bar brand follow a CSI dig? Can a spot for lifestyle brands follow the vitriol in court TV? Can a spot for Sears follow the disfunctional behavior in wife swap? The ratings simply are not contextual. Do not chase the numbers, especially the demographic ones–you may be doing more harm than good. A viewer watching wife swap is invariably releasing the wrong chemicals for your mainstream brand. Hold the networks/stations accountable–try to get those shows or episodes removed from your media buys by agreement. Lest your brand be inadvertently connected to negative mental models. It will cost to undo.

 

Advertise at the speed of visual language

An advertisement for AIDS. Metaphors, similies… all are alive and well in this print ad. Notice there is no copy. I keep telling CMOs and agencies to cut back on the slow, sequential language of words. Copywriters must become visual storytellers OR Visualwriters. You heard it here first.

Again, meaning behind that house cat vs the lion in the trunk. What type of driver drives a Rover? Fast and resonant. No more copy required in this post.

 

BRAND OF THE WEEK: IGA Poirier

I have enjoyed another visit to this IGA in St-Lazare, Quebec (just west of Montreal) this weekend. For grocers across the country (Whole Foods aside) an exploratory trip to the Poirier’s IGA is time well spent.

The curb appeal itself beckons. Shining copper peaks, green accents of tarnished brass, raise expectations of a worldly experience inside. The interior does not disappoint.

On the right a whole world of innovation in dedicated food bays erupts to move your senses. The “chef” announced to me that they have enlarged a section and will begin food preparation (theatre style) this April.

The meals-to-go section was simply outstanding. A wide selection of elegant sandwiches accompanied by juices, carrots, celery, a stick of cheese and the perfunctory sweet for children. Couscous, lebanese chicken wraps–the choices left me dumbfounded. I learned that Mrs. Poirier goes beyond the franchise limits to be creative. Bravo! Bravo!

I never once thought about the price. But it did not shock.

And if that’s not enough, immediately on the left of this section, a lectern holding a large, opened nutritional encyclopedia, feeds minds. Also a standing hard-framed poster dispenses leaflets about the nutritional value of natural foods by color and kind. See herein. And visit their link to see the details about these

.

About the sensory experience, well… it’s still unmatched. (Perhaps only by the Rainforest Cafe at Disneyworld.) Two enormous artificial trees are the canopy at the centre of this experiential wonder.  The lighting is low and warm but not hot; every “poivre rouge” and “aubergine” glistens. Scents quaffe from the various hubs, pate section, pecherie and of course, “la boulangerie”. The breads! Ohhh the breads! The choices would stir envy in Paris. And the confections, no oil alternatives here. Butter, cream–ingredients that make all treats taste like a visit to the local “patisserie”.

Not only does the French flair for food reign here but also its celebration. Every employee here is performing at his or her best–buttoned down, ebullient about IGA Poirier.

I am always sorry to leave. Grocery shopping is fun again.

 

Rational vs irrational: erroneous precept

What drives 95% of customer behaviour is sub-conscious thought. Many dub this repository as “irrational” and that is simply false. If humans were to maintain the memories they have accumulated into their consciousness, they would probably be incoherent. The conscious mind retrieves the right memories at the right time, according to the stimulus received. That’s not irrational or rational; it’s intelligent design.

For some reason too many have run half-cocked claiming that the sub-conscious is the irrational edge. The brain’s system is elephantine, able to recall many memories at once. In fact, some of these memories are so sub-conscious that you are not aware of their functioning–things like walking, chewing, writing…

If anything, the sub-conscious allows the conscious mind to make informed decisions. Neuro-scientists are still loathe to explain the conscious mind. After all, how do you explain the awareness of awareness? Some suspect it is metaphysical. Others like Dr. Antonio Damasio, the most reknown neuro-scientist on matters of consciousness, theorize until this day.

So! while some of you marketers believe you are dealing with irrational customers, put on a straight-jacket until you find more stable ground.

This is also why I do not refer to rational vs irrational at Mindmatching and stick to mind/brain matters.

 

The Cavemen archetype: are customers so dumb?

The Geico cavemen have joined the ranks of the Blue Men by sheer repetition (and worthy comedic scripting, directing and acting). Their indignation is indeed a pleasure to watch. After a while, it sinks in that the story-line, signing-up for car insurance at Geico on-line is “so easy a caveman can do it”. Before I rail on about the stimuli and cues given, let’s review how easy Geico on-line actually is.

I tried my hands at the process (Geico is only available in US) and it was tedious. I was asked close to 100 questions, many of complex nature. I completed my answers quickly without consideration since I was not invested in it. This took me 15 minutes; it would surely take a serious prospect at least an hour. And the probing nature of the questions–frankly, I would not volunteer under any circumstance.

My story-line suggestion for a next :30,  “So complex a caveman would resort to riding a bison”.

The cues? Well I do like that the story is episodic and does not assault you repetitively with the same ads. Kudos to the Martin Agency in Virginia for this.

What is the archetype offered here?  Do these characters (no women by the way) represent our archetypal vulnerability? Meet Freud’s need for control? Or Maslow’s self-actualization? I will hazard that no emotional discovery nor FMRIs were conducted.

From the cute cockney gecko to these jarring, cro-magnon figures, Geico is all over the brain map. Frankly, my mental model about cavemen is in my episodic memory which includes studying primitive man in elementary school to visits to the museum. (However, I am yet to have my sub-consious probed.) Yes, their brain was smaller; but I never thought of them as dumb. Like the caveman says, “we invented the wheel”. Not too dumb.

An aside: The caveman is also mythical in some quarters–their existence is not quite accepted in Christian faith. That’s a lot of viewers.

Really it’s just one more economic promise that self-service is simple. And that producing a dumb customer in a fun storyline will work to build site traffic. Indeed. But it does nothing for brand meaning. It’s just another selling ploy. And a simple pun for “easy”.

After visiting Geico dot com, I prefer picking up the phone and calling my friendly rep again. Five minutes on the phone. Now that’s easy. Mark my words, many will visit but only a few will follow through to “kaching”. This service requires handholding; hence, a pop-up offered to speak to a rep. So easy huh?

A footnote: so many businesses are trying to enrich themselves by becoming self-serve. I now clear my own dishes, pump my own gas, bag my own groceries, act as cashier. Is there no end? Self-serve for something complex such as insurance–my primitive self grunts and runs, anguished about whether I have done it well on my own. Now there’s a good use of a cavewoman.

 

Marketing messages miss long-term memory

And I didn’t even write that alliteration on purpose! But it’s true. Most messages, especially those that resemble familiar “noise” or no emotionally engaging meaning evaporate within 20 minutes to three days. That’s 99% of the information that reaches the eyes and ears of consumers.

That’s not us you say?

If you interviewed customers individually, without priming them (that means no direction in your questions) about how they feel about your brand, your product (if unbranded) or its context, you would likely not find that your creative expressions match. It is dangerous to play roulette with creative concepts–you can sometimes take the house. But the odds are against you. The scientific approach is the safest. The science of the human mind can simply not be circumvented by simple marketing constructs. There is no way around this.

I am really looking forward to this Tuesday (Feb. 27) in Toronto, another day delivering Mindmatching to marketing leaders looking for answers and direction.

 

Advertisements to women fail the emotional grade

I just skimmed through the March 2007 issue of the venerable Redbook magazine. Not one advertisement is engaging. Not one advertiser demonstrates even the slightest understanding of how the mind works. Not to mention a woman’s mind.

The lion’s share of ads were large photos of women, product on the side and features that echo those of the previous ad in text. The latter is sequential and slow. Whether wrinkle products, dog food or juice, the problem is the same. These ads simply will not lodge their messages or even their visuals into long-term memory. There’s nothing there to engage the reader emotionally. I thought we were further ahead than this issue proves.

Here are some of the “invisible” brands featured in this issue:

Cover Girl, Maybelline, Avon, Aveeno, Tresemme, Olay, Advil, St. Ives, Campbell’s Soup, Dove, Cymbalta, Mott’s, SmartOnes, Pantene, Kraft, Johnson’s Baby Oil, Crsytal Light, South Beach Diet,Tums, Topamax, Jergens, Botox Cosmetics, Pepperidge Farm, Jello, Welch’s, Iams, Healthy Choice, Nabisco (100 Calorie Packs)

Agencies and their clients (both are accomplices) must end tradition in advertising because it is simply incongruent with the way we receive and process stimuli. Yes, their ads are clean, generally have spatial tension, good photography, no type os, but … no one cares. Truly the mind of the reader cannot absorb the content, because the stories simply do not mirror their own. It is truly a waste of their spend.

The Citi Premier Pass (the one that earns points) goes that much further to disconnect with misguided humour. You may have seen the :30 on TV: the lounge lizard styled Russian accompanied by sycophant with an IQ of one digit boasting their miles and dollar values on a white board. I wonder how that planning meeting went. Certainly someone in the room with an IQ above two digits squirmed at the idea and remained silent. The negative cues in this campaign are numerous and activate the amydgala to run. Especially with women. I’ll bet the water levels go down when this commercial airs.

And the cow family drinking soy milk is just confusing. There is more to soy than meets the sight of stiff cow costumes. Attacking milk by saying cow costumed characters are switching is a competitive construct that simply won’t connect. It does not build meaning for Silk. It makes a case for soy milk, barely.

In lockstep, the milk mustach ads feature personalities audiences relate too; but, I assure you the mustach is not the right cue. Here is big breasted Mariska Hargitay, holding her unclad baby, donning the perfunctory mustach with two distinct headlines: got Milk? and All figured out. This ad is more about breast milk than cow milk. And the mustach cue. I won’t go there.

Please let’s work harder to discover what engages a woman to read, to watch.

The only ad that gets 10% in the right direction features a hand holding a bunch of nails–a metaphor for the product touted, a supplement named Appearex that hardens nails. It is jarring but is has instant meaning. I’ll bet in emotional discovery before the fact (not focus groups or phone surveys!) this metaphor would show-up in many mental models related to the context of fingernails and beauty.

I didn’t want to be just negative. But really I grasped to find anything remotely closer than the above example. Sorry folks. Don’t send hate mail. Just think. How can you get a mindmatch?

 

Retail genres: romance or comedy

I shopped at Home Depot this Saturday (at a -100k CMA store). I visited four departments: rodents, plumbing, lumber and caulking. All were well populated with orange-apron people and all were attentive, delightful, patient and engaged. En route from one department to another, a female employee stopped me on the main artery and asked if she could direct me. The cashier also was utterly welcoming and helpful. Is this an anomaly? In my mind, Home Depot has changed from its former gothic, non-existent service and scant, over-stretched “orangemen”.  A shift has occured.

I used to wait for help–most often it never came. I used to line-up at the cash for an eternity where customers ignited each other and swelled in revolt. As I left, I was never sure if I had the right product because again I was left to my own devices. I could never get out of the store within an hour–because I was meant to wait, to forage and to fail. I used to leave HD in a semi-rage requiring healing at the nearby Starbucks.  I approached the visit to HD with the same joy I experience preparing tax returns.

One day I gave up and migrated to Rona. They were very helpful and had beautiful products. But I grew tired of having to pull these experienced older tradesmen out of their wicket.  They simply seemed tethered to computers in an enclosure where throngs waited for ten minutes to ask something as simple as, “do you sell plungers?”. And the perjorative tone and replies reserved for women was distinct. The Geico Caveman has nothing over me.

SNL has indeed a lot of material in our marketplaces. Spoof these please.

But now Home Depot is where I want it to be. Now let’s see if HD can add meaning to their brand—before Lowes come aswooning. Because if you are a retailer, you cannot begin adding any deep meaning to your brand, if you can’t meet the most basic needs of customers for attention and respect. Remember Maslow’s hiearchy of needs? This is a precedent to neuro-marketing, mindmatching.

Listen to my friend Joe Calloway, a branding consultant in Nashville,  specifically his presentation on a visit to McDonald’s–but empty your bladder first. Retail can be comedy fodder indeed. Send him your experiences.

Are you romancing your customers or giving them material for a night club act?

 

MRIs on super-bowl ads incomplete

MRIs of viewers were conducted in relation to a variety of super-bowl ads to prove which content engaged consumers and which did not. No surprise that Robert Goulet in a nuts (forget the brand) spot delivered little blood flow while the spots for Doritos and Coke gushed. The Goulet ad was indeed cheesy–what a waste of $86,000 US per second! MRIs are a small step in the right direction; but, they do not reveal why the blood is flowing. What’s also silly is that you have already produced the commercial at great expense before you can test it. The testing environment is unnatural; frankly, the mere wearing of head gear would generate blood flow reminiscent of “white coat syndrome”. Notwithstanding, blood flow as scanned may be an indication of pleasure or pain–or the wrong triggers in memory. Tread here carefully.

MRIs are the stuff of promoters after the fact. There is still nothing to beat a one-on-one emotional discovery of your customers before the spend.

No MRI required to tell you the Oprah and Letterman short stands above the rest. MRI that one.

 

Branson Blood: Risky brand extension

I have always said, “brand extensions are natural if the brand itself has meaning”. Freedom of expression. Rugged individuality. Confronting fears. Living  your life to the fullest. Respite for your soul. Many brands have meaning of this ilk. Patagonia. Nike. Starbucks. Virgin as well. This means that they are not encumbered by the physical attributes of their brands and can enter different contexts easily (notice I did not use the word category–a business construct.) This flexibility can snap if pulled to extremes however.

Richard Branson has entered the domain of storing umbilibal cord blood. This venture started yesterday, his foray, is about stem-cell storage, namely the Virgin Health Bank. I don’t mean to keep quoting the Sesame Street gang but….”one of these things does not belong with the other“.

Just yesterday, Branson was weighing in on the BBC, defending the “Branson Blood Brand” against complaints from mid-wives on the disruptiveness of this process  in childbirth. “It is for the [average-not complicated] births he said“. This from the man who drops from New York rooftops in bridal gowns. I am confident that the vitriol originates from the sub-conscious meaning of Virgin and the context of preserving blood in the human mind.  I am an open-minded gal but this grates on my mental models too. 

If Richard really wants to preserve this investment, he should make this service its own brand, not Virgin. Or Virgin will soon snap–post meaning-dilution.

Imagine Dr. Scholl’s ice cream. Or conversely Nestle shoes. You get my point. Have some fun with this and combine your favorite brands in unlikely contexts. Try it on friends and watch their body language. Note the icky facial expressions. In fact, try out the Virgin Umbilical Cord Blood Storage on them. Save it for a moment of levity, while having a meaningful experience at Starbucks.

 

The value of levity in TV commercials

The classic problem with levity is that though the viewer will enjoy or even guffaw at the storyline it may never get itself tethered to the brand that’s footing the bill. Yes, it releases endorphins and God know we need to unleash those more often.

The challenge is always to connect the humor and the brand in the story. Not to mention that the story must say something about the brand. The classic caveman archetype used in Geico’s episodic releases is used to communicate that Geico, an insurance provider, is easy to use. (This is certainly more engaging than Staples easy button and less cheesy.) But is this storyline drawn from the minds of consumers? Have their minds been probed for this?

I suspect primed surveys revealed that getting quotes from property and casualty insurers is tedious. Can Geico avoid the line-up of questions necessary to producing a quote as easy as it would be for a caveman? Not likely. So I suspect in the doing this message loses authenticity. Getting quotes is not easy. Not fun. Is this promise actionable? I doubt that levity is in the customers’ mental model either.

The launch spot in the restaurant was great fun; but the sequels left me want. If you get too focused on being funny, how are you adding value to your brand in your customers’ minds? Bubble gum and socks might be funny. Casualty and property insurance. Not.

Geico might be getting more calls and Submit Quotes but it is not building sustainable, resonant meaning. Not yet. The proof will be in the quick drop in calls the moment this advertising ends.

Generating revenue this way is costly. Brands must have a life of their own and resist succumbing to the high maintenance of sensation advertising. Look for the mindmatch again. Build meaning from there. This is the true engine in a brand.