A long time ago, in third grade, I think, I did a little experiment in school. The teacher passed out paper, then asked everyone in the class to draw a mark on the left side of their paper.

Then, she helped us measure about eight inches and place a second mark on the right side of the paper. She then asked us to close our right eyes and focus our left eyes on the mark on the right side of the paper.

By moving the paper closer or farther away, the mark on the left would disappear.

I had discovered my blind spot.

The mark was still on the paper, but I couldn’t see it—even though it was right in front of my eyes.

Try it for yourself.

At the right distance, the mark on the left moves into a space that your eye isn’t able to see.

…

Blind spots are everywhere.

Michael Lewis’ fantastic book, The Big Short, tells the story of bond traders who created credit default swaps out of incredibly risky mortgage holdings and yet almost no one could see the risks.

It was right there in front of everyone, but everyone was making so much money that almost no one saw what was really going on. This blind spot cost financial companies trillions of dollars and took the American economy to the brink.

(Another of Lewis’ books, Money Ball, is about blind spots in baseball management—also an excellent read).

Blind spots hold us back.

They keep us from seeing vital information.

Even though it’s right in front of us.

I like this example of a blind spot shared by Roy Williams in his Monday Morning Memo a few months ago:

My partner Peter Nevland recently bumped into the owner of a bottled water service who asked him for some free advice.

Peter asked, “Why should the customer of another water service switch to yours?”

“We’re locally owned.” “Ten percent of our profits go to charity,” blah, blah, blah.

Peter was unimpressed. 

Exasperated and grasping at straws, the man mentioned his water had recently been voted “Best Tasting” by the readers of an obscure, local business journal.

“Why do you think you won?”

The man hung his head, “We cheat.”

“How?”

“Our water is saturated with dissolved oxygen, twice the amount found in regular water.”

“What does that do?”

“Dissolved oxygen is what makes water taste good. It’s why cold water tastes better than warm water. Cold water contains more dissolved oxygen.”

“You’re saying your room temperature water tastes like cold water?”

The man nodded his head.

“Do you always saturate your water with dissolved oxygen?”

“Yes, why do you ask?”

SAD ENDING: Peter was unable to convince the man to promote his better tasting water with dissolved oxygen. I swear I’m not making this up. The man remained convinced his ads needed to say, “We’re locally owned and give ten percent of our profits to charity.”

Blind spots can keep us from telling the right story about our brands. They keep us from seeing things from our customer’s perspective. Or from our employee’s point of view. Instead, we think we need to be like everyone else.

What are you doing to identify your blind spots?

A couple of thoughts on social media:

Social media has been the “it” channel for a while now. There are dozens of books that will teach you how to do social media, or tell you why it’s important. There are even more blog posts and websites. Advertising associated with social media is sky rocketing—approaching $1.7 billion this year.

The thing that makes social media work is the feedback loop, or “conversation” as the gurus like to call it. And because companies can’t control the customer’s half of the “conversation”, social media can create significant problems for some brands.

Todd Wasserman recently pointed out in a Brandweek article that alcohol brands are having difficulty with this very thing. Fans post messages to Facebook that don’t exactly fit the marketing message:

“I have a problem having just one,” says one commenter.

“Get drunk,” says another.

These aren’t exactly messages that fit with the “drink responsibly” warning at the end of most beer commercials.

And to make matters worse, social media sites don’t make it difficult for minors to gain access to these pages. (Although the cynic in me thinks that this may be exactly why alcohol brands have jumped into social media, despite the risks.)

So, should sin brands do social media?

Probably not. At least, not without some way to limit access or control both sides of the “conversation” which eliminates the purpose of social media in the first place.

But that begs a wider question: who should do social media and why?

My guess is that most brands don’t ask those questions before they jump in.

What exactly will a Facebook page, Twitter account, or company blog do to help meet business objectives? How will you measure it?

Social media can be a great tool for customer support. And public relations. It can be a good promotional tool as well—seeding your most ardent fans with the latest news, promotions, and special offers. It can be a good way to solicit feedback and ideas.

But when it comes right down to it, social media is just another tool.

Brands need to think before they jump in, then use it wisely once they are there.

One of my favorite paintings hangs in a plain white wood frame at the Art Institute of Chicago. Chances are you’ve seen it—if not the actual painting, you’ve no doubt seen a print or mural based on the painting (there’s one a the Mall of America) or in any of these movies: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Wall-E, or Barbarella.

It’s called Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.

And it’s one of the first, maybe best, examples of a style called pointillism.

The artist who painted it, neo-impressionist Georges Seurat, was heavily influenced by scientists of his day who write about color and how two colors placed side by side, create a third color at the edges when viewed from a distance.

Rather than blend the pigments on a pallet then spread them on the canvas, Seurat painstakingly placed tiny dots of paint close together. This technique allows the viewer’s eye to blend the colors optically. The effect is more brilliant and richer colors than standard brush strokes create.

It took Seurat two years to paint it.

His planning was meticulous. He created roughly 60 different studies to guide his final work.

Take a closer look at Seurat’s work. What do you see?

People relaxing on the banks of the Siene. If asked, we could count the number of boats on the water or people lounging on the grass—and we would come up with the same number. We would likely agree on the color parasol held by the woman in the middle of the painting or color of the dress worn by the little girl next to her.

But Seurat didn’t paint any parasols or little girls or even people in a park. He painted thousands of small dots of paint on a canvas.

The images we see when we look at the painting are created by our minds as they combine the different dots into shapes and colors.

Seurat’s careful planning insures we all see similar things when we view the painting.

Do you brand like Georges Seurat paints?

Do you carefully plan each customer experience, every communication, and each interaction your customers have with your brand? Do your customers see all the ways your brand communicates and walk away with the same larger picture in their minds?  Do you take the time necessary to bring it all together?

Or do you brand like Jackson Pollock painted (see yesterday’s post)?

It took Seurat two years to create his masterpiece… carefully planning every dot of paint.

Don’t expect to create yours with a few weeks or with any less effort.

Posted by Rob Marsh.

Time magazine called him Jack the Dripper.

And that’s a pretty good description for the best known abstract impressionist, the artist who created dozens of paintings that made people in museums around the world say, “My seven-year-old could have painted that.”

He painted the most expensive painting ever sold at auction—a work of art titled #5, valued at $140 million in 2006 (pictured to the left).

Jackson Pollock painted by dripping, flipping, and throwing paint onto the canvas. At one point, he numbered his paintings, rather than naming them, to keep viewers from reading any unintended meaning into his work.

Pollock’s technique makes for some beautiful paintings, but others are messy and intentionally confusing. Of his work, Mr. Pollock said,

“When I am in my painting, I’m not aware of what I’m doing. It is only after a sort of ‘get acquainted’ period that I see what I have been about. I have no fear of making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own.”

Today, many brand owners take a “Jackson Pollock Approach” to managing their brands. They drip, flip, and throw different ideas, strategies, and messages at the canvas and go with whatever sticks.

They are inconsistent in using colors and design. They speak with more than one voice. They change experiences and products on a whim.

Like Pollock, the are unaware of what they are doing in the moment.

The result is something like abstract impressionism. There’s no clear idea to understand or remember. No take away for the consumer.

This is the path to brand failure.

Unfortunately, in order to succeed in a crowded marketplace, there is no ‘get acquainted period’ where a brand can find its voice.

All of the individual pieces of your brand (product design, business card, pricing strategy, website, invoice, user experience, customer service, email, packaging, etc.) must work to produce a consistent message— a recognizable, memorable, and likeable story for your brand. From the beginning.

Jackson Pollock was a brilliant artist. His approach worked well for painting, but is a disaster for creating a brand.

The painting above is untitled, painted in 1949. Jackson Pollock died on this day, 54 years ago.

Posted by Rob Marsh.

Just got my copy of Dan Ariely’s The Upside of Irrationality from the guys at Inbubblewrap and CEO-READ. Looking forward to reading it just as soon as I can work through the stack of books next to my desk. Thanks guys!

Just a short TED video to give you something to think about. This one is from Rory Sutherland (yes, I know it’s been available for quite a while and you have probably already seen it, but just in case you haven’t, it’s today’s Friday Inspiration).

Mr. Sutherland talks about how changing perceptions is a critical part of creating value. He cites the brilliant Diamond Shreddies campaign as proof (among other things). Enjoy…

Posted by Rob Marsh.

Taglines are like logos. Just about every brand has one. And consumers tend to remember only the very best ones.

Do you recognize these?

“How well do you share?”

“Higher standards.”

“For life.”

“We Want You to Live.”

Me neither.

Those taglines were used by Ricoh, Bank of America, Volvo, and Mobil.

And they are bad.

Why?

They don’t say anything. They don’t relate to the brand’s story. And they aren’t aspirational. Like most taglines, they seem to be an after thought or a too-simple restatement of the brand strategy.

I imagine that the creative team working on the Ricoh tagline had a brief that talked a lot about how Ricoh makes document sharing easy. Hence the tagline. It addresses the needs of the brief, but doesn’t seem to mean much to the consumer.

So how do you make sure the tagline you use is great? Do one of these four things:

1. Great taglines tell a story. (If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you knew this was coming.)

My favorite tagline of all time was used by Avis: We Try Harder. It echoed the story told by the advertising that since Avis wasn’t the largest car rental agency, they had to work harder to earn your business. So the cars were cleaner. The gas tank was full. The attendant was nicer. They couldn’t afford not to do the right thing. And the tagline echoes that story. Brilliant.

Other great taglines that tell a story: American Express: Don’t Leave Home without It. Apple: Think Different. Timex: Takes a Lickin’, and Keeps on Tickin’. GE: We Bring Good Things to Life.

2. Great taglines are aspirational.

The most famous tagline of all is probably Nike’s Just Do It. It’s easy for the consumer to relate to this idea—no matter what “it” is. Ever wondered if you can run a marathon? Nike gives you permission to Just Do It.

Other great taglines that are aspirational: The few, The Proud, The Marines. Virginia Slims: You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby. U.S. Army: Be All You Can Be.

3. Great taglines emphasize a point of difference.

The best example of this kind of tagline probably belongs to M&M’s: They Melt in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hands.  Unlike other chocolate treats, M&M’s has a candy shell so they didn’t melt quickly and make a mess when poured into warm hands. No other chocolate candy could make that claim. It is unique to one brand.

Other great taglines that emphasize a point of difference: Papa John’s: Better Ingredients, Better Pizza. BMW: The Ultimate Driving Machine. Miller Lite: Tastes Great, Less Filling. Bounty: The Quicker Picker-Upper.

4. Great taglines often emphasize the brand name.

If you grew up in the Seventies or Eighties, you probably remember the television commercials with the tagline “When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen.” There were several versions including school children, business men at the airport, and this one:

Okay, so the execution is a little campy. But the tagline is memorable and repeats the company name. It’s almost impossible NOT to remember it.

Other great taglines that emphasize the brand name: Have a Coke and a Smile. See the USA in Your Chevrolet. You’re in Good Hands with Allstate.

And of course, if you can find an idea that does all four, you’ve got a truly great tagline.

Mastercard’s Priceless campaign and tagline is a good example of this.

1. It re-iterates the story told in the advertising.
2. It’s aspirational.
3. It claims a point of difference.
4. It emphasizes the brand name.

“There are some things money can’t buy, for everything else, there’s Mastercard.”

Mitch Joel posted a short list of books about how to create a good story (on his blog, read it here). Most of them aren’t about branding, but rather, the art of story telling (with a good dose of writing thrown in). You’ll have to extrapolate. Worth checking out…

Earlier this week, Robbin at the Brains On Fire Blog, wrote about a presentation by Steve Knox, CEO of P&G’s Tremor Unit, noting that the ultimate victory in marketing is cultivating advocates for your brand. Interesting post, you can read it here.

Mr. Knox suggests that one way we create trusted advocates is through disruptive experiences. He talks about how the brain is programmed to create models of how the world operates (called schemas), then uses those models as shortcuts to help us quickly analyze and assess the world around us. As long as experiences match the expectations of the model, we don’t think much about them.

Disruptive experiences don’t fit the models and require the brain to power up and try to understand what is happening. They refocus our attention and get noticed. Which is why disruption is such a powerful branding tool.

As long as the disruption is true to the brand ideals, it stands a good chance of being noticed, processed, and talked about.

Which got me thinking about a few brand experiences that break expectations:

• The enormous bag of fries you get from Five Guys (don’t order the large unless you’ve brought several friends).

• The way you are entertained while standing in line at the Magic Kingdom (compare that to all the other lines you waste time in).

• The unexpected overnight upgrade you get from Zappos (versus waiting for days or weeks for orders from other vendors).

• The Coca-Cola Happiness Machine (free Coke—just push the button).

By creating experiences that are unexpected, they break through our models of how the world works and get noticed. And we tend to share them with our social networks.

How are you creating disruptive experiences so your customers notice and share your brand stories?

Check out the basics of the presentation, here.

By now you know your brand needs a story. But how do your consumers, employees, and other stakeholders use that story? Here are four ways that the people engaged with your brand might use yours:

Brand stories as mission statements.
This is generally how most of us think about the narratives we use with our brands. It’s the story that gives purpose to everything we do (as brand owners). It is the story we hope our customers will relate to, and possibly adopt as their own. It’s the story most easily communicated in advertising and other big brand initiatives.

Stories like “We empower athletic accomplishment, overpower the obstacles, and encourage our customers just do it” as told by Nike. Or “We fight to make air travel affordable and fun for everyone, not just the privileged few” as told by Southwest Airlines. Or, “We deliver insanely great service” as told by Zappos (and Nordstrom).

At the very best, brand stories as mission statements inform every experience a customer has with a particular brand—reinforcing the narrative with each interaction.

Brand stories as proof points.
Not all brands use narratives that work as mission statements. Sometimes a brand story works better as a proof point to entice consumers to try the product.

A few years ago, I wrote about Buckley’s, a brand of cough medicine that uses a compelling story to turn a negative product feature into a positive reason to believe (you can read that post here).

The idea is, Buckley’s tastes so bad, it must work. No one would be dumb enough to sell something this nasty if it didn’t do what it claims.

Buckley’s story is a proof point and gives consumers a compelling reason to buy their product instead of other, better tasting options. But it wouldn’t work well as a mission statement. Buckley’s isn’t about making bad-tasting products. Rather, they make effective disease treatments, at least one of which just happens to taste bad.

Brand stories as a badge.
Other brands have stories that a consumer uses to imply very specific things about what kind of person they are. “Choosy moms choose Jif” is a great example of taking a commodity product and giving it a story that says using this peanut butter means you care more than moms who don’t choose Jif.

Fashion brands often use stories as badges. The same is true of many automobile, cigarette, and soda brands. Advertising infuses these brands with meaning and consumers use the brands to signal those meanings to their peers.

iPhone anyone?

Brand stories as props or tools.
Marketers don’t like to think of their brands as tools used by unengaged consumers, but often this is the reality. We use dozens of brands simply to get a job done. These are branded commodities and are easily replaced by a similar product as price or availability changes. The can of tomatoes, carton of milk, or pack of tube socks.

To be sure, some consumers will care, but for many (even most) these are simple props in their lives, tools to get a job done. The story matters very little.

A good brand manager works hard to lift his brands into one of the other categories: mission statement, proof point, or badge and as far away from tool as possible.

Have I missed any ways brand stories are used by customers? If so, please add them in the comments.