PODCAST
7 min
New episode of The Beancast podcast features Prophet partner Mat Zucker discussing Global CCOs, Direct Brands on TV, location vs. attention and more.
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Few brand stories have the power of Lifebuoy’s “Help a Child Reach 5.”
Signature stories help organizations with a higher purpose (a purpose beyond just increasing sales and profits) in two ways. First, signature stories communicate the higher purpose and its programs to employees and customers, an increasingly important and difficult job. Second, the stories serve to provide needed visibility, energy and brand enhancement to organizations that have trouble breaking through when talking about their offering.
Most organizations have realized that they need a higher purpose-built into or alongside their business purpose. Employees, especially millennials, need a reason to come to work besides increasing sales and profits and getting a paycheck. They want to respect and admire their firm and want their jobs to provide meaning in their lives. A higher purpose can address these needs—and bolster productivity—by offering an energizing common goal.
Customers, too, want to have a relationship with brands and organizations they respect because of shared values and meaningful programs that address social or environmental challenges. When the shared beliefs are strong, these customers impact the marketplace with their loyalty and support.
“When the shared beliefs are strong, these customers impact the marketplace with their loyalty and support.”
The challenge is not only to create a higher purpose with supporting programs but to communicate it to employees and customers. A signature story can do that better than a factual description because it connects emotionally which strengthens the message and relationship.
A second challenge is to elevate the visibility, energy and perceptions for the brand, a difficult and sometimes impossible task when the offering is not newsworthy, and very few are. It was always hard to make a branded soap, bank, or airline interesting. In a time of media clutter and audience control of content, it becomes even more challenging. A higher purpose and associated programs can provide stories that can break through, can touch with emotion, can create high levels of visibility and energy, and can even inspire employees and customers. It is hard to create impactful stores in the absence of a higher purpose.
Consider Lifebuoy, a leading soap brand in much of the world, with a higher purpose of reducing childhood fatalities from water-borne illnesses by changing handwashing habits. Their “Help a Child Reach 5” program was rolled out with dozens of events and promotions. Schoolchildren in class, for example, received child-friendly materials including comics, songs, games and rewards, to help them sustain effective handwashing habits. The phrase “Did you wash your hands with Lifebuoy today?” was placed on over 2.5 million pieces of roti, a flatbread, during a Hindu holiday.
Videos were made of three villages that were early participants of the program. In one video, we are introduced to Utari, a woman who spends time near a tree. She waters it, dances next to it, shoos water buffalo away from it, places a ribbon around it and stays with it into the night when others are otherwise engaged. Why? In the middle of the video, her husband reminds her that tomorrow is a big day—her son will turn 5. Then we learn that it is a village custom to mark a tree when a child is born and to track that marking as the child grows up. After five years, many mothers have lost their child and have only the tree left. Utari is one of the lucky ones, and her celebration of the tree is a way to reflect that gratitude.
The three videos received over 44 million views and helped Lifebuoy toward its goal of changing the handwashing habits of a billion people by 2020, potentially preventing 600,000 child deaths a year. But the video also elevated the Lifebuoy brand by engendering respect, liking and a sense of shared values. The videos were powerful in part because they had an authentic central character, some curiosity-raising tension, and the backbone of an inspirational and effective program to tackle a global problem. Engaged listeners were directly connected to Lifebuoy.
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FINAL THOUGHTS
The Lifebuoy Help a Child Reach 5 stories served both to communicate the higher purpose to employees and customers but added much-needed visibility, energy, and brand enhancement to a product that could easily be viewed as a commodity.
For more, see my latest book “Creating Signature Stories”.
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Using stories with real-life heroes, these memorable narratives helped the bank win back skeptics.
Stories work better than facts. A set of facts are often ignored or treated as self-serving with claims that are not credible. Consider the remarkable impact of some signature stories at Barclays, which had become the least trusted brand in the least trusted industry and need to repair their image.
Barclays is a role model for how to use stories in a brand crisis to regain trust and change the conversation. The Barclays brand, which had suffered from the 2008 financial meltdown, was later damaged by accusations that Barclays and other banks had manipulated key interest rates. The trust level for Barclays in Britain in 2012 was well below that of its competitors. It is not a stretch to conclude that Barclays was the least trusted brand in the least trusted sector in the UK. Barclays in response announced a new brand purpose: “Helping people achieve their ambitions—in the right way” and organized efforts to get their 140,000 employees on board.
The newly empowered and inspired Barclays employees created and led dozens of higher-purpose programs on their own. One, the Digital Eagles, is an internal group that grew to over 17,000 employees. Its mission is to teach the public about surviving and even thriving in the digital world. Stories about how Digital Eagles projects affected real people helped shine a light on the higher-purpose initiatives at Barclays.
One story featured Steve Rich, a sports development officer, who had lost his ability to play football (soccer to Americans) because of a car accident. But he could participate in “walking football”—usually played with a team of six on a small field with no running—which enabled him to again experience the joy of the sport. Wanting to help others do the same, he decided to raise awareness of walking football and turn it into a nationwide game in Britain. With the help of Digital Eagles, Rich created a website that connected over 400 teams across the country–and connected individuals with teams. It also helped Rich get in touch with some former football mates. He is partly responsible for the growing interest the sport has generated as reflected in the emergence of a national tournament. His accomplishments and personal regeneration is inspiring indeed.
“The new campaign drove six times as much change in trust and five times as much change in consideration as the product-focused campaign that preceded it.”
Employees were inspired and energized by the programs driven by the new brand’s purpose. And customers and prospective customers changed their perceptions of Barclays. From the start of the campaign to tell signature stories about the Digital Eagles and other programs in the summer of 2014 until early 2016, trust was up 33 percent, consideration was up 130 percent, the emotional connection was up 35 percent (versus 5 percent for the category average) and “reassurance that your finances are secure” was up 46 percent. The new campaign drove six times as much change in trust and five times as much change in consideration as the product-focused campaign that preceded it. By 2015, Barclays received 5,000 positive mentions in the press.
Stories get heard and change minds. More particularly, stories like those used by Barclays, persuade because they:
When a speaker says, “Let me start with a story,” your attention shifts and focuses. But when a speaker talks in the abstract, communicating only facts without a story, your attention wanders. It just does. Customers and employees are seldom interested in your facts. Stories fare best when they are engaging from the outset, have detail that allows you to visualize and empathize, and have a fresh and intriguing storyline.
The power of the story can distract the recipient and can reduce the tendency to confront or counter the facts shared. Since the messaging isn’t contradicted or refuted, it’s more likely to be processed and accepted. As a result, storytelling is especially effective when attempting change or when softening negative positions—the task that Barclays faced.
By simply telling a story, a brand spokesperson can deliver a point without being perceived as phony, contrived or a commercial selling vehicle.
We know from research and common sense that self-discovery is much more powerful than having people talk at you. The Barclays stories suggest to the audience about the values and priorities of the organization. The audience needs to make the leap to perceptions of trust on their own. There wasn’t anyone explicitly telling customers to trust Barclays.
Stories are remembered more than facts because the story recipient is more attentive and involved than the same person receiving a recitation of facts. In addition, the story arc provides a way to organize information and becomes, in essence, one thing to remember rather than a set of facts.
Gaining the attention of one audience also offers the possibility of reaching others—via social media. This can multiply the exposed population—and send some stories into viral territory. Passing along a signature story also enhances its ability to gain and keep attention. You are likely to spend time with a story if someone you respect and consider unbiased is delivering and/or endorsing it. That source is often putting his or her reputation on the line, so you will probably approach the story with a positive attitude.
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FINAL THOUGHTS
The difference between fact and stories to persuade is not just meaningful – it is enormous. And it has been demonstrated by hundreds, maybe thousands, of studies many of which are scientific experiments. It is one of the most established truths in psychology.
For more information, look to my newest book “Creating Signature Stories”
BOOK
DAVID AAKER
Stories are a hot topic in marketing because they gain attention, persuade and are easily remembered. That is particularly true in the digital world where content is king and stories draw people in.
The concept of a signature story – an intriguing, authentic, involving narrative – applies the power of stories to strategic messaging.
Communicating the organization’s brand vision, values and strategy is a way to create a connection with customers and inspire and guide employees; something that is nearly impossible to do with a set of facts. Learning to create and leverage signature stories has truly become a “must-have” management competence.
“Creating Signature Stories: Strategic Messaging That Persuades, Energizes and Inspires” is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, IndieBound, or wherever books are sold.
Linda Boff
VP & CMO at GE
“A great story for storytellers everywhere. David Aaker’s in-depth look at what makes a great story plus his powerful examples are a shining example for brands, marketers and all of us who recognize the power of signature stories to inspire, motivate, sell and drive our companies forward.”
Cheryl Burgess
CEO, Blue Focus Market
“The father of modern branding, David Aaker argues persuasively that in our hyper-growing but fragmented digital, social and content worlds, effective brand storytelling cuts through the noise, and skepticism to connect with the hearts and minds of today’s employees, consumers and customers.”
Peter Guber
Chairman and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment, author of “Tell to Win”
“Aaker, the branding guru, demonstrates how to find or create signature stories that are intriguing, authentic and engaging, and how to manage them to energize your brand to persuade and inspire to action employees and customers.”
David Aaker is the author of over one hundred articles and 18 books on marketing, business strategy, and branding that have sold over one million copies. A recognized authority on branding, he has developed concepts and methods on brand building that are used by organizations around the world.
Want to interview Dave or feature him on your next podcast? Please connect with us or David Aaker directly.
Explore how David Aaker and Prophet can help your business create signature stories that resonate with your customers and employees.
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Facts don’t move people, but feelings do. The best brand stories inspire, enchant and motivate consumers.
We spend a lot of time talking about what makes a story, but what is not a story? For over two years I became intrigued by the power of storytelling applied to strategic messaging. The difficulty of defining what is not a story becomes a serious conceptual problem. I had many patient discussions (well, not always patient!) with my daughter Jennifer, a Stanford GSB professor, who has done extensive research and teaching on storytelling.
We found a conceptual breakthrough: a set of facts is NOT a signature story. That idea broke the dam and allowed our work and my book, “Creating Signature Stories,” to proceed. A signature story as we defined it is a “Once about a time” narrative that portrays actual or fictitious events or experiences with a beginning, middle, and end (not always portrayed in that order) that provides an organizing framework for its components and implications. The signature story often has explicit or implied emotional content and detailed sensory information as well.
A signature story as I define it here is not a description of facts. It may incorporate or communicate facts but does so in the context of the narrative. The facts might be integrated into the narrative and must be deduced by the audience. Facts could appear after the narrative to add elaboration and credibility. Or the narrative could be used to add depth and meaning to facts already presented. But facts by themselves are not a story.
To illustrate the problem, think of executives that eagerly tell you their brand story. What they usually mean by that is to address questions like:
Answers to such questions almost always involve lists of facts. These fact lists should be perused, as they provide a solid underpinning for a brand vision and business strategy that will drive success. They should be crystal clear and communicated. But communicating a list of facts, efficient though it may seem, is difficult and sometimes impossible as people are simply not interested. In fact, such a fact set is often perceived as boring rather than intriguing, as conveying puffery instead of authenticity, and is too similar to comparable lists from other organizations to be engaging. Even if an audience’s attention is obtained, they will perceive the communication to be biased and self-serving.
“Fact lists should be perused, as they provide a solid underpinning for a brand vision and business strategy that will drive success.”
Suppose a firm with quality issues asserted to employees and customers about their “new quality” priority. It would be likely greeted with disinterest and skepticism. Compare with the power of the following true story that is now a signature story: Zhang Ruimin was promoted in 1984 to lead a then-struggling Chinese refrigerator manufacturer that would later be renamed Haier.
After a customer brought in a faulty refrigerator, Zhang and the customer went through his inventory of 400 refrigerators –only to find that nearly 20 percent were defective. A defining moment. Zhang promptly had the 76 bad refrigerators lined up on the factory floor and asked employees to destroy them all with sledgehammers. A dramatic decision that led to a change in the firm’s culture and reputation. It also became a platform from which Haier become a leading appliance maker in the global marketplace. The story was and is a big part of Haier’s success and one of the original sledgehammers is enshrined at the home office.
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FINAL THOUGHTS
The astute executive should strive to develop a sound brand story, a set of facts that describes how the brand differentiates, resonates with customers, and inspires employees. But then recognize that to communicate and gain buy-in to those facts, turn to a set of signature stories—intriguing, authentic, involving narratives with a strategic message. A signature story perhaps about a founder, employee, or customer that illustrates and provides credibility to the brand story and makes it clearer, interesting, believable and persuasive in part because it gains attention and diverts people from counter-arguing.
For more details, check out my book “Creating Signature Stories”.
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Stories, not facts, grab customers’ attention. Strong heroes and intriguing details support your brand.
My new book Creating Signature Stores emerged because of an idea spawned by three powerful forces:
Strategic messaging has never been more important, both internally and externally. Internally, employees are searching for and often insisting on meaning in their professional lives. (The why? question.) Providing an answer involves communicating the values, culture, customer value proposition and strategy of the firm. Externally, there is a growing segment of customers that are willing and sometimes eager to have a relationship with brands that they admire and share their values. Strategic messaging can create or support such relationships.
It is largely because customers and employees are often not that interested in your message so they tune it out. Even when the message gets processed, it is often viewed as lacking authenticity and credibility. In addition, there is the challenge of media clutter and the realities of the social world with an empowered audience. As a result, it is hard to break through.
In the context of this challenging communication task, the knowledge that stories are amazingly more impactful than facts becomes very relevant. Hundreds if not thousands of studies have confirmed that assertion. Stories provide a way to break through all the distractions, disinterest and content overload and make an audience take notice, stay engaged, change perceptions, be inspired, and remember. People perk up when they hear someone say, “Let me tell you a story.” If you have facts to communicate, your best strategy is telling it via a story that allows the ultimate message to emerge.
Consider the classic Nordstrom story, which brings to life the firm’s policy of employee empowerment and prioritizing customers. A customer in the mid-1970s walked into it Fairbanks, Alaska clothing store and asked to “return” two worn snow tires.
An awkward moment! Nordstrom, of course, did not sell tires (although the store site was once a tire store). But, the salesperson that had only been on the job for a few weeks had no doubt about what to do. He promptly took back the tires and refunded what the customer said he had paid. This story is told to this day because it is simply so intriguing and authentic.
The idea is to apply the power of stories to strategic messaging through “signature stories.” Create intriguing, authentic and involving narratives that include a strategic message. A signature story is not simply a set of facts but can motivate facts that support the message. It differs from tactical messaging in that it involves communicating the brand vision, organizational values and culture, a business strategy, or a value proposition with a long-term perspective.
“If you have facts to communicate, your best strategy is telling it via a story that allows the ultimate message to emerge.”
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FINAL THOUGHTS
The challenge is to identify or create signature stories, plan how to use them internally or externally, present them in an effective and appropriate way, and find ways to keep them fresh and alive. This is not easy. In part, it requires an organization with story-savvy people, culture, and processes.
For more details, be sure to check out the book Creating Signature Stores.
VIDEO
Happy New Year indeed: We crunch the numbers of promotions, publications and a new office–Hello, Shanghai!
2 min
Prophet continuously grows bigger and better year after year as we serve the world’s most recognizable brands. In 2017, we celebrated big things – from promotions to bouncing babies to trips around the world – with our dedicated team of Propheteers. Check out our journey through 2017 in this annual year in review video.
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Three topics were covered most: Better storytelling, the power of purpose and achieving uncommon growth.
The most impactful blogs I’ve written in 2017 fall within three categories that are reflective of my research and writing interests. The first category, brand stories, is driven by my new book, “Creating Signature Stories” which is available now for pre-order. The other categories are about having a higher purpose and business growth strategies. Let’s walk through some of my blogs and explore each topic.
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FINAL THOUGHTS
Stay tuned in 2018 for more about my upcoming book, Creating Signature Stories. And of course, if you’d like to read more of my shared thoughts and insights, subscribe to my blog Aaker on Brands. Happy New Year!
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Established healthcare brands can draw energy and agility through tech-focused collaborations.
As regulations continue to evolve toward value-based care and patients become more empowered to make healthcare choices, it’s more important than ever for healthcare companies to create compelling and satisfying experiences. In 2017, the industry saw an increase in digital healthcare startups dedicated to delivering consumer-centric healthcare experiences. This new crop of companies is disrupting the larger healthcare providers, payers, and pharmaceutical companies who are struggling to keep up. However, rather than seeing these startups as a threat, legacy healthcare companies can create valuable partnerships to help them deliver more consumer-centric experiences.
Creating strong, mutually-beneficial partnerships with healthcare startups does not happen overnight. The best partnerships are formed with clear business goals for both parties in mind. To get started, Prophet has identified a few key steps to creating strategic partnerships:
Assessing where internal gaps are will help find where partnerships are going to drive the most impact. Establish a clear vision for how partnering will improve consumer experiences and ladder up to broader business goals. We’ve found these gaps are commonly around data, interface, community, content or platforms. Assess current initiatives with a critical eye and define where the company can buy services, build the experience in-house, or develop a partnership.
Mapping a landscape will narrow the field based on business priorities. There are hundreds of healthcare startups, so creating a specific set of criteria to focus the search will prevent companies from pursuing a partner only to find out later that it is not the right fit. This prioritization also helps companies understand the landscape of potential competitors.
Establishing a clear value proposition will help jumpstart partnership conversations. Defining a common value proposition is often where healthcare partnerships go awry. Healthcare startups can benefit from the institutional knowledge and scale that large healthcare players have. Legacy companies also need to think through what benefits they can receive from the partner and come to the table with proposed synergies to generate excitement. These mutually beneficial partnerships can also drive innovation and result in a culture shift in larger organizations.
Big healthcare companies can avoid the risks of becoming just another investor by starting the partnership with collaboration sessions. Bring ideas to the table, but understand those ideas can only be improved upon through iteration. Set up teams and workshops to continue the collaboration and drive new solutions that deliver on the shared value proposition.
“Rather than seeing these startups as a threat, legacy healthcare companies can create valuable partnerships to help them deliver more consumer-centric experiences.”
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FINAL THOUGHTS
Developing a strategic partnership can help large healthcare companies jumpstart their journey to customer-centricity. When forming a partnership, many larger healthcare companies hit roadblocks created by existing cultural norms – whether that’s overcoming a “do it alone” mentality, accepting more transparent processes, or tolerating the uncertainty of test-and-learn.
However, companies that succeed in building strong partnerships often see benefits beyond an improved customer experience – they gain exposure to new cultural norms and more agile ways of working. These effects can spread across an organization and help large companies drive a wider transformation to customer-centricity.
Want to learn more about consumer-centricity in healthcare? Read Prophet’s recent report, “Making the Shift: Healthcare’s Transformation to Consumer-Centricity.”
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Make launching a verbal strategy easier with global approaches, optimized engagement and plenty of training.
Whether it’s defining their voice, shaping their messages or creating a more adaptive content strategy, many brands recognize that a strong verbal branding strategy has a tangible impact in the market—helping them show up with a consistent, differentiating presence across social, digital marketing, product interfaces, and whatever comes next.
But unlike other branding tools, like a new logo, visual identity or product name, verbal branding strategies can too often wind up replaced or simply forgotten. It doesn’t matter how brilliant the insight was or how powerful the strategy is—if it isn’t being used, it can’t make an impact.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
By managing and planning the launch of your verbal branding strategy, you can truly put it to work for your business. Here are three ways to ensure your verbal branding strategy makes an impact in the real world.
Any change in how a brand operates requires education in order for it to be fully adopted, and verbal branding is no exception. Training teams need to understand a verbal strategy. This is a crucial step that is often overlooked—perhaps due to the daunting task of simply getting entire teams of marketers in the same room for several hours.
But in order for marketers and writers to be able to deliver against the new strategy consistently and confidently, they need to do more than read your guidelines; they need to learn the ideas within them. Consider learning your voice and messaging like learning a second language—proficiency takes practice.
At Prophet, we believe that the best trainings are in-person and high-touch. When we train communication teams, we pair educational content with interactive exercises, break-out activities, and group writing and editing. And don’t forget the fun—playful ice breakers, prizes, snacks and breaks are a great way to keep people engaged. Trainings are most successful when people are comfortable opening up, trying new things, asking questions, and challenging thinking—both their own and that of their peers.
With a little practice, your teams can become fluent in the new verbal branding strategy. But just like speaking a second language, people need to engage overtime to keep their skills sharp. To drive engagement, we have two principles. First, share content frequently and consistently. And second, make it easy to access.
Digital technology can provide a central reservoir to house your content and engage your teams. With something as simple as an intranet hub, you can “push” updates to your strategy, replace old files and fix “bugs” or tactics that proved to be ineffective—all while alerting teams to what’s been added or changed. It’s not unlike how software companies deliver updates to your smartphone.
“It doesn’t matter how brilliant the insight was or how powerful the strategy is—if it isn’t being used, it can’t make an impact.”
To optimize engagement, it’s important to keep updates frequent and at regular intervals, planning out your internal employee engagement the way you plan your content calendar. Maybe you begin every quarter by highlighting best-in-class pieces from different teams or sharing an interview with a lead content creator. Or you could publish a new version of your guidelines every twelve months, with new proof points, examples and updates. Your timing will likely depend on your resources, but whatever you do, make it consistent. And remember to communicate before, during and after you share updates to ensure teams know what’s available to them.
Finally, just like brands across categories are learning, a great way to drive engagement is to gamify it. Rewarding employees for answering questions correctly, commenting or evaluating others’ pieces, or engaging overall is an easy way to keep your teams coming back for more.
In today’s world, growing your business increasingly means entering and strengthening your presence in global markets. And with increasingly global commerce and consumers, it’s more important than ever to deliver a cohesive, consistent brand in every market.
But while your visual identity can’t get lost in translation, your verbal branding strategy can. If you’re in the U.S. and considering entering China, Latin America or even the United Kingdom, you need to consider the cultural and linguistic nuances unique to each market. Increasingly brands are moving towards more casual, colloquial expressions—but is that the right tonality in Asia where communications tend to be more formal? In the U.S., directly addressing customers may sound simple, but what does that mean in Spanish-speaking countries that have two different versions of “you”?
The answer is not translation, but transcreation, or adaptation of strategies to work in local markets. At Prophet, when we transcreate verbal branding strategies, it’s not about creating translated, identical tools in each market, but rather, upholding the objective of the original work while reflecting the cultural and linguistic nuances of the language(s) spoken in the new markets. This might mean re-articulating, re-interpreting or re-prioritizing core ideas and tactics.
But equally as important as the process you follow are the people you partner with. True transcreation can only be done with in-market, native speakers that also have a deep understanding of the business and verbal strategy.
In transcreating your verbal strategies, your voice and messages will sound very different in English, Korean or Russian—but the relationship you build with customers through your communications will be the same.
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FINAL THOUGHTS
Verbal branding tools can be some of the most effective in a marketer’s toolkit—helping to draw audiences in to a new idea, alleviate customer frustrations when experiences fall down, and most of all, build relationships that drive loyalty. By taking an active and ongoing approach to your verbal branding strategies, you can help your organization use them to their full potential.
Prophet helps companies develop verbal branding strategies that encourage brand growth.
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LEGO, Fitbit, NPR and Etsy all understand the importance of speaking to consumers’ hearts.
Many brands attempt to inspire customers with energy, purpose or by creating a customer experience that is uplifting. Being inspired is one of the most admired and sought-after brand achievements. What brands have gotten there and which have disappointed?
The new 2017 Prophet Brand Relevance Index™, which measures the strength of 275 top brands from over 25 categories, helps provide some answers. One of the 16 measures in the survey was “Makes me feel inspired.” Looking at the results of that question there are some surprises.
The headline of the 275-brand survey: Pinterest was way out in front in terms of being inspiring. Way out in front! Why? Pinterest is the go-to place if you want to do something new and creative.
You can ask for help with a project important to you, such as cooking for your kids, decorating a room in your home, getting started on a craft, learning about a particular exercise, or really anything you want to do that is beyond your current activities. You’ll be connected with ideas and people that are also interested in your challenge.
When you go to the site, you’ll be greeted with content that’s selected based in part on past requests or interactions. These options, all presented with pictures that draw you in, are personalized to your interests and passions.
“You’ll be connected with ideas and people that are also interested in your challenge.”
Pinterest perceives itself to be the world’s catalog of ideas and has a mission to help people discover the things they love and inspire them to do those things in their daily lives. It stretches boundaries by enabling a person’s creativity and desire to try something new. The experience promises to deliver connection with others and a feeling of a sense of accomplishment.
These Pinterest themes can also be found in at least seven of the other top 15 brands in the “Makes me feel inspired” dimension.
Again, the common themes are enabling creativity, discovering the new, stretching yourself, interacting with others about a passion, and feeling accomplished.
Three other routes are suggested by the other top “inspiring” brands. The first is to provide entertaining stories of role models, real or fictitious, that are inspiring. Pixar at #2, Disney at #4 and Marvel at #11 all provide characters and vicarious experiences that can inspire. Each provides entertainment which undoubtedly creates involvement and heightens the emotional response and the potential to inspire.
A second is to be inspired by the mood or feelings that are put in place. Spotify at #7 and Pandora at #13 create music experiences that can add inspiration to the enjoyment of the moment and even contribute a mindset that leads to excelling in other activities. It is noteworthy that Spotify and Pandora, like Pinterest, also personalize content.
A third is illustrated by #6 Apple and #9 Nike. They are both known for being inspiring for their products, personality, message and expectations by their customers. Apple was #6 in part because of its leadership role, its relentless innovation record, its design flare, the fact that its products have enabled people’s lives to do more, and the dazzling retail presence. Nike at #9 is a brand that has always stood for performance that inspires. This consistent message has been long supported by innovative products and visible spokespeople.
It should be emphasized that the subjects in this survey are those that are active in the category and are familiar with the brand. In most brand surveys, many respondents may not be familiar with a brand or it might not be relevant to them and, as a result, brands that inspire their customers do not show well.
Why are the credit card brands in the bottom one-fourth of all brands? MasterCard has the 20-year-old priceless campaign and American Express is the quintessential statement brand. Have credit cards moved to be functional and taken for granted?
There was a time when the most inspiring products and brands were in the auto sector. Not now. A few car brands like Toyota and Tesla were in the top 15 percent of brands and a few more like Honda, Ford, BMW and Chevrolet were in the top 75, with Lexus a bit behind. But half of the 18 car brands in the survey including Mercedes-Benz and Cadillac were in the bottom half. Why are automobiles not as inspiring as they once were and why do these two brands score lower on inspiration than other car brands?
Why is KitchenAid #27 while Whirlpool and General Electric are not in the top 100; and Frigidaire, Maytag and Haier are not in the top 180? One explanation is that KitchenAid has added dozens of innovative new areas notably small appliances and offer some color options that allow a person to use KitchenAid to make a personal statement in their kitchen.
Why are Betty Crocker, Hershey’s, and Pillsbury in the top 75 and Heinz, JELL-O, Oreo and Kraft in the bottom one-fourth? It might be that the heritage effect of the first three is simply stronger with more warmth and positive memories.
Why is Alexa (#57) so much higher than Siri (#161)? Is it because Siri is a less robust iPhone? Or is it because Alexa has a different personality? Or is it something else?
What other questions can advance the brand inspiration conversation? What brands inspire you?
Prophet’s team of experts help brands create customer experiences that inspire.
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FINAL THOUGHTS
Brands that inspire people understand the importance of emotional triggers. Thye make people happy, deliver joy, help them feel safe. Speaking to people’s hearts is always an effective way to build relevance.
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The right phrase can create a new category, reposition a brand and deliver unique value.
When you hear the word “tagline” what comes to mind?
Perhaps “Where’s the beef?” “I’m loving it,” “Think different,” or “Just Do It.” These are unforgettable, timeless classics. But most of the taglines people remember are just that—classic and old. Where are the new classics?
Lately, taglines have fallen out of favor, and much has been written questioning their value. In this article, we’ll explain what’s really going on with taglines and why they still might matter for your business.
In the past, considerable focus was placed on taglines. They were often evaluated and scrutinized with the same rigor and energy we now reserve for new product launches and acquisitions.
Today, taglines are less critical. The power and effectiveness of advertising-centric marketing have been replaced by more personal brand engagement. In many cases, customers are simply not influenced by a short, static statement attached to a logo or used as a sign-off in an ad. Instead, customers are motivated by compelling, timely offers and intuitive experiences that demonstrate a brand’s relevance to their lives.
Tactically, taglines can create layers of complexity and cost. They need to be locked up with logos and translated for different markets—all while fitting into the hierarchy, both strategic and visual, with headlines and product messaging, creating significant work for brand managers.
Despite these changes and challenges, a tagline can still deliver unique value. A compelling verbal shorthand can convey the same meaning as a 60-second advertisement or a six-paragraph About Us section, capturing attention and moving audiences to a specific thought or action. In short, there is still undeniable magic to getting the words just right.
With this perspective, we’ve identified four scenarios when an organization should consider using a tagline—either introducing one or changing an existing line—and the questions they should answer along the way.
More and more, employees want to work for an organization with a strong sense of purpose and a values system that reflects their own. Meanwhile, customers are increasingly interested in understanding the character, purpose, culture and business practices of the organization behind the brand.
A tagline can be an effective tool to speak directly to an organization’s employees and speak to the world on employees’ behalf.
In this way, a tagline reveals a deeper insight about the company, its people, how they work and what they value. Siemen’s “Ingenuity for Life” and TransUnion’s “Information for Good” are examples of this type of tagline at work. They don’t necessarily describe the organization’s value proposition, but rather seek to tell a more emotional story about who the company is and why it matters in the world.
Questions to consider:
A brand tagline can effectively help organizations reframe what customers believe about them and enhance their overall value proposition. For GE, “Imagination at work,” helped to elevate the brand’s innovation profile and created a sense of whimsical curiosity, which was echoed in advertising. For McDonald’s, “I’m lovin’ it” shifted the fast-food chain’s story from convenience to enjoyment, and paved the way for the more ingredient-focused stories that followed.
It’s important to be substantive when repositioning. As these examples illustrate, successful taglines must be part of a larger marketing or branding investment. Cosmetic communication, which includes taglines, can frustrate or alienate customers if real change is not evident in the brand’s experiences.
Questions to consider:
In the start-up world where organizations are creating entirely new value propositions and business models, a tagline can help the brand introduce itself clearly and effectively.
In 1998, eBay introduced the descriptive tagline “Your personal trading community.” In 2001, it was replaced with the more aspirational “The world’s online marketplace,” and in 2007, it was replaced again with the much more suggestive “Shop victoriously.” Over time, eBay no longer needed to educate the market and could instead focus on making an emotional connection.
“Customers are motivated by compelling, timely offers and intuitive experiences that demonstrate a brand’s relevance to their lives.”
Brands still deploy this tact today. Dollar Shave Club’s “Shave time. Shave money” not only articulates the brand’s core value proposition, but also hints at the brand’s sense of humor in a “more blades is better” market.
Tactically, these kinds of taglines work well at launch, and as eBay illustrates, they can be used more sparingly or replaced when market education is no longer needed.
Questions to consider:
In markets with high levels of competition, price-conscious customers and intense marketing activity such as telecom, automotive, food and beverage and CPG taglines can support awareness, memorability and recall.
In these cases, brands use taglines to cut through dense communication environments and create a more emotional, memorable connection. Examples of this approach are BMW’s “Freude am Fahren” or “The ultimate driving machine,” Carlsberg’s “That calls for a Carlsberg,” and Nike’s “Just Do It.”
These taglines do little work to articulate the brand’s value proposition or core differentiators. Instead, they appeal to consumers’ emotional nature to drive loyalty to the brand.
Questions to consider:
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FINAL THOUGHTS
A well-considered, well-articulated tagline can be an efficient and high-performing asset to your communications strategy, particularly if your brand falls into one of these four categories. But remember, if you do decide to introduce a tagline, make sure that it’s informed by customer insights, supported by a holistic communication strategy, and most of all, made real in your products, services and experiences.
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