In this episode. We’re going to be taking a journey down the silk road. How your brand can burn into your customer’s minds and make it memorable. How can it define what your product is?
Transcript
Today.
Speaker:We're going to be taking a journey down the silk road.
Speaker:I want you to imagine for a second, that you're on a dock.
Speaker:You are on a dock and there are ships coming in from all around the world.
Speaker:And crate upon crate is stacked on top of each other.
Speaker:And you have to figure out where was that coffee from that?
Speaker:So good.
Speaker:You know, the word to brand means to sear in.
Speaker:Like it literally means to burn into, and we want to think about our brands.
Speaker:Is, are they something that are burning into our memories?
Speaker:Is it something memorable?
Speaker:Is it something that defines what our product is?
Speaker:And is it something people want to attach themselves to?
Speaker:So if we think about the early days of mark-making, we were talking
Speaker:about some cave paintings, some face painting and flag making but also
Speaker:it was used in marketing cattle.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:And so literally burning into literally burning into their flesh and, while
Speaker:that's not a nice image, the reasons for that wouldn't just delineate ownership.
Speaker:It would also speak to animal husbandry practices.
Speaker:So like the lineage cattle, the way that they were fed, the places that
Speaker:they were raised, where they came from.
Speaker:And so, mark-making also became really important in the early days of trade.
Speaker:So when ships were coming across, people would be able to tell which
Speaker:products they had purchased before.
Speaker:And, they'd be able to tell where things had come from.
Speaker:Maybe where they're going in the quality of the product.
Speaker:And so that's where mark making became so important.
Speaker:And if I even think back to some of the history of my family, I've been
Speaker:studying the origins of my matey roots and thinking about Phillip
Speaker:Turner, who came in the 1700.
Speaker:When he would pick up something in the early colonial history of
Speaker:Canada, he would have to, know if it's something that he could trust.
Speaker:He'd have to know if it's something he wanted and there's even a letter
Speaker:of him requesting, a really high quality watch because he wanted to make
Speaker:sure he was as accurate as possible.
Speaker:He would have, there'd have to be marks on those shipping crates to know who
Speaker:it was going to and what was inside.
Speaker:So then that leads me to the question.
Speaker:Are we searing anything in, you know, when we work with our
Speaker:clients, Amin, I'm wondering what message do they want to sear in?
Speaker:And I know you have some key questions that you ask to, to make sure that
Speaker:people's message is driving home.
Speaker:What are some of those questions that you might ask?
Speaker:Yeah, great point, Heather.
Speaker:So whenever we're working with a client, we want to make sure that if we're
Speaker:helping them with their marketing or their messaging, that we're actually, first of
Speaker:all, speaking to the right person, because if you're talking to somebody that let's
Speaker:say is a car enthusiast, but they're into carburetors and you know valves.
Speaker:Well, they're going to be speaking a different language than somebody is
Speaker:into an electric vehicle, like a Tesla.
Speaker:And they're talking about rather than horsepower, they're talking about, you
Speaker:know, Watts or other forms of power.
Speaker:And so I think that's really important is that, you know, as part of the
Speaker:searing into information, we want to make sure that we're using the
Speaker:words that your clients are using.
Speaker:So that's where I start by asking them, well, tell me, you know, what
Speaker:your clients are, what your ideal client does or where they hang out.
Speaker:And then, then we can take that and convert that into a message that
Speaker:actually seers into their brain and not, and doesn't confuse them.
Speaker:We really want to make sure that we're not confusing people
Speaker:when we're talking to them.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So the words we use are a huge part of our branding.
Speaker:And from a visual standpoint, some of the things I look at are where are
Speaker:those ideal audiences going to connect?
Speaker:So if it is a more Satan masculine driven product, I might take
Speaker:a look at some of the feeling that's created by sports teams.
Speaker:And I might try to integrate that visually into a brand, or if I have something
Speaker:that feels a little bit more corporate and maybe even more government focused,
Speaker:I might actually implement some colors from the government that they tie into.
Speaker:So there are some subtle notes that can happen in the weaving of the
Speaker:creating of the visuals of the brand and the storytelling of the brand.
Speaker:But what we want to do is send some sub conscious messages to the brain so
Speaker:people know us like us and trust us one brand that comes to mind right away.
Speaker:When you talk about this, and this is something that, you know, our kids
Speaker:are very familiar with is Amazon.
Speaker:When we get an Amazon box right away, they know it because it's
Speaker:got the words, Amazon, it's got the little arrow that goes there.
Speaker:And there's a few things I love about this brand is that.
Speaker:I don't know if you know about this, but the Amazon logo to
Speaker:me, it looks like a smile.
Speaker:First of all, because of the curve, but the arrow actually
Speaker:take points from a to Z.
Speaker:And that's what initially I think was their intention, was that they sell
Speaker:everything on their store from a to Z.
Speaker:And that's the arrow, but it also looks like something they shipped,
Speaker:it looks like there's so many elements to it, but that's great.
Speaker:Branding.
Speaker:Do you have any examples of branding where, you know, the company may not have
Speaker:done a very, very good job, but it did sear into your mind and you're like, I'm
Speaker:going to avoid that brand at all costs.
Speaker:Avoid that brand at all costs.
Speaker:I'm not sure, but I just want to kind of want to back up to that Amazon logo
Speaker:and the simplicity with all the layers that are in there is what is key.
Speaker:Like it, it looks so simple, but it, it Sears in because of that simplicity
Speaker:with a lot of thought, you know, we just had, somebody approached.
Speaker:Us for a logo and they ended up going a different direction and
Speaker:they have integrated about 10 different visuals into that logo.
Speaker:So really branding should be the distilling down into the essential
Speaker:nature so that it hits home.
Speaker:So if I think about a brand that I decided that I would want to stay away from, I'm
Speaker:trying to think that's a hard question.
Speaker:It's hard question for me.
Speaker:I think about car brands like car companies often, you know, if
Speaker:you're looking to buy something.
Speaker:You know, Ford comes to mind from a long time ago.
Speaker:I think Fords have come a long way, but you know, F O R D fix or
Speaker:repair daily found on road dead.
Speaker:And when I see that blue circle with the scripted for you sort of think
Speaker:maybe I should stay away from that.
Speaker:And then, you know, there's car, like I mentioned, Tesla or Honda or Toyota
Speaker:or Mercedes, and, you know, Mercedes is a very simple three pointed star.
Speaker:But yet it stands for so much in terms of quality and elite and you
Speaker:know, so it's, it's quite interesting.
Speaker:It's quite fascinating how a visual really simple visual can convey so
Speaker:much information in such a quick way.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And it's important because it lets us know if we belong there or not.
Speaker:Like, for example, I have so much respect for Harley Davidson and the
Speaker:things they do, but I don't fit there.
Speaker:That is not my people, but I really think that they're doing an amazing job.
Speaker:It's just not my thing.
Speaker:You know, so like art supplies, that might be something where I look at, I'm
Speaker:always looking for the golden label or I'm looking for the top of the line because
Speaker:I got archival quality art supplies.
Speaker:And so if I see a name that I don't recognize, I don't buy it because
Speaker:I don't know, like, and trust them.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:Because it's important to me that my artwork.
Speaker:Archival quality.
Speaker:So as we take a look at the silk road and we travel back down and we think
Speaker:about the reasons why people start to mark their crates, I want you to
Speaker:take the time to think about if your brand had a crate, what would be the
Speaker:essential information that you would want to steer into somebody's mind?
Speaker:And then next episode, we're going to be talking about what it takes
Speaker:to be build longevity in your brand.
Speaker:It's going to be a great episode.
Speaker:Thanks so much, Heather, for your amazing insights and wisdom into this.
Speaker:And I'm looking forward to chatting again next time.
Speaker:Thanks so much for listening to the remarkable branding podcast.
