by: David Polinchock
Love this story from Brian Collins to describe what a brand is and how it should act. He always has great examples! Read the full article for other great stories that Brian told during the One Show presentation.
On Wednesday at the One Show Festival, design guru Brian Collins illustrated the power of branding with a history lesson about pirates.Or rather, just their flag.
Back in 1748, if you had the misfortune of being a single bobbing ship at sea when a tattered vessel with a skull and crossbones crossed your path, you knew instantly what to expect.
"You're fucked." (Collins, verbatim.)
"As you sail closer," he continued, "the brand promise is reinforced by everything you see."
A cannon fires, shots go off: the brand promise becomes brand immersion. In three hours, maybe less, the brand delivers everything it promised: death, pillage, and maybe a not-so-promising hostage situation.
The fulfillment of the skull-and-crossbones "brand promise" remained so consistent over fifty-plus years that, by the 1800s, pirates didn't even need to waste gunpowder. They had only to raise the black flag to yield the desired results (surrender, animal fear, free doubloons and maybe some teabags).
Pirates (TM!) succeeded because they connected brand promise to performance.
Link: Converting the Converted, and Other Tricks of the Light -- Adrants
Original Post: http://blog.brandexperiencelab.org/experience_manifesto/2008/05/converting-the.html
I can’t agree more, the pirate flag was firmly planted in the minds of the market and there was no mystery as to the brand promise.
A number of the companies I meet with tend to raise the white flag, surrendering to the market and its view of whom and what they are, what’s their distinctive competence.
A friend challenged me to write a short book, since most US consumers only read one book per year that helps non marketing people understand marketing, your brand and you position. It is a free download at www.outbsolutions.com . I am curious if having the explanation of these concepts in the form of a story is of value to your readers? My intent was to write in the form of the story so it becomes something memorable.
I want companies to intentionally plant their flags as a service to their current and potential customers in a sea of choices. They would be doing the market a favor.