Tiffany over at Magic Pot of Jobs notes in a recent blog post that 'it's popular nowadays for marketers to use combinations of three words to describe their company. The three words are appealing concepts that the marketer wants the client to associate with the company, such as "Experience. Reliability. Success."'
Right she is. Studies of trial juries have shown that average people (ie, those on juries) are best persuaded by case themes using threes, like ...
- Red, White, and Blue
- Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
- Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
Additionally, as a marketer you probably know that people buy feelings -- not features: Volvo sells safety. Domino's sells convenience. McDonald's sells consistency. Home Depot sells empowerment (You can do it -- We can help.) And every insurance company sells piece of mind.
So check out Humanityquest.com -- an obscure online portal for "the exploration of more than 500 values, attitudes, principles and emotions." It's not a marketing resource, exactly -- but it sure is useful for brand positioning exercises.
Just for fun: See if you can match each set of three emotions from the first list with the companies from the second list. Post your answers below.
Feelings:
- Beauty. Balance. Elegance.
- Commitment. Cheerfulness. Dependability.
- Adventure. Freedom. Growth.
- Quality. Sharing. Fun.
Companies:
- Lexus
- Krispy Kreme
- Southwest Airlines
- Harley-Davidson
How did you do? Of course, I just made up those lists -- but you get the idea. Looking at Humanityquest, which three feelings does your brand promise? What is the locus of your "brand promise" on the perceptual map (just above)? Where are your competitors? Is your brand promise positioned favorably against the "holes" of opportunity in the market? And finally: Does your company's operating model support its brand promise? Heady questions. Often, there's a major disconnect between these issues, which is why I say that the best marketers can think holistically about their business and industry [see trait # 1].
Regardless, what I like best about little marketing tricks like this is what they can do for a business. For example, the word "sharing" in # 4 implies that the product is best used with a friend. The only other instance I can recall where a single word doubled the sales of a product was when Prell shampoo added the word REPEAT to their label: Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Here's a fourth word: Amazing.
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