It’s safe to say that there are brands that stand out more than others. Just like there are personal brands that stand out from the masses. You are either going to stand out or blend in to the noise of advertisements, voices, messages, etc.
I believe you will never stand out being like everyone else. But, it’s pointless to stand out if your target audience doesn’t like what you are expressing. When you look at some of the major brands out out there, you will find there are two primary methods these brands are using to get their messaging out to the public.
1. Some brands spend big bucks to get their message seen over and over again and rely on costly repition.
2. Other brands focus on standing out by intriguing their audience. (Not to say big bucks are not spent here, but not always the case)
The problem with the first method is, it is costly and does not necessarily build any kind of brand loyalty. Plus, you end up getting into price wars with your competitors, which leads to less profits.
The second method is something that you should examine to see if you are currently doing. FastCompany has reported that “brands that engage their consumers emotionally can command prices 20% – 200% higher than competitors”.
So how do you engage your target audience emotionally? There are many ways, but I want to focus on one primary way that we see on a daily basis. And that is “Intriguing” your audience.
Many years ago it was estimated that our attention span was around 20 minutes. In today’s text message society, it is now estimated to be around 9 seconds. Which means you have seconds to stand out and intrigue your target audience in a way that not only gets their attention, but holds it. Let’s face it, we are intrigued by corporate and personal brands that are larger than life. We see this in the media and movie scene from people like Hulk Hogan, Nicki Manaj, Angelina Jolie, to people like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hanity. We can’t forget others like Shaquille O’Neal and Dennis Rodman to the great CEOs like Donald Trump, Steve Jobs, and people like Tony Robins and Robert Kiyosaki. All of these have more of a larger than life image and for most of these, they all intrigue us for different reasons.
The following list of primary traits is something you should take and examine within your own brand and see how it matches up to standing out from the masses.
1. The Power House: These brands are powerful and in control. They make things happen even if it means facing opposition. They take control of the atmosphere around them. They don’t always look for roads to travel on, they make their own roads to get to where they need to be.
2. The Mystery Man (or Woman): These are the brands that hold something back in a mysterious way. Maybe it’s the personal brands that always keep you guessing about them, or something like Coca Cola’s secret recipe.
3. The James Dean: These are the ones that are not afraid to go against the grain of tradition and try something new and innovative. They don’t fit into society’s norm. These are also the brands that are not afraid to call out a brand about something that isn’t right or unjust.
4. The Honest Abe: People are always wanting to trust in something, when your brand expresses you are trustworthy, you will build loyalty and authority. When you speak, they believe every word and will take action on those words.
5. The Royal King: These brands that use this trait are all about the finest things in life. Their products and services are top notch. They love elegance and hold things to a very high standard and cannot tolerate things of low quality.
If you got real honest with yourself, would you find your brand blending into the masses or standing out and intriguing your audience? I suppose the proof is in the results you are getting. If you are a brand that intrigues people, you will not need to spend huge amounts of money to get exposure. People naturally talk about things they find intriguing. Could you imagine what life would be like if no one ever mentioned a thing when the next iPhone comes out? It’s almost hard to picture, because that will never happen. Apple has built a brand that intrigues and if you look close enough, you just might find the traits we covered being used.
So I ask you, can your brand afford not to stand out? Please leave a comment below!
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@PaulCooley
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I might be more James Dean personally (At least that's how I see myself, who knows what other's perception is), but my company is still languishing in development hell.
Hopefully we will get to a point this quarter with some shiny new stuff to get our brand noticed more.
Great post, Paul. I'll be back to this one frequently to refresh my mind.
Thanks Jeff!
Yeah, It is something to think about for sure. Knowing which one you are can help know what your strengths are as a brand, as well as areas that might need improvement when it comes to intriguing your target audience.
I hope this next quarter goes great for you! Keep it up! :)
Paul, very well done, I would have to say that a major challenge today is meeting and keeping that interest in those 9 precious seconds. I watch kids with Youtube vids, if it over 3 minutes long, they are moving on….I can't say that I am not guilty myself. Too often I see folks who are frustrated with the difference in this generations attention span, like there is something wrong with them. We can't justify it, it is the world they are being raised in, and we as professionals need to figure how connect with them on by their rules, they are the consumers.
Thank you Gerry! Yeah, it's crazy, but it is the world we live in. I think knowing that we have just a few seconds to grab their attention is very valuable as marketers. We do need to find way to connect and communicate effectively with our audience. Otherwise, there is a bunch of wasted effort.
Thanks again Gerry! :)