Not too long ago, a well-known fast food restaurant chain ran commercials with the tagline, "Good Mood Food." The implied promise was that unlike other fast food restaurants, this one would make us feel good. Unfortunately, when this campaign was running, Consumerist.com, in a survey of 115,000 consumers, rated it among the worst commercials in America.
Old school marketing suggests that every ad should entice consumers with an explicit promise backed up by some logical support for that promise. The problem is that consumers have grown up faster than advertising. This formula may have worked in the past, but today's consumer is more socialized. Technology continues to provide more ways to discriminate between legitimate promises and lame puffery.
Audiences have matured. The Internet has contributed to their resourcefulness. Consequently, consumers are more able to make up their minds without our archaic attempts at persuasion. Additionally, given the opportunity to forum their complaints for all to read in social media, they are less forgiving when expectations aren't met. A recent President once said, "Fool me once, shame on - shame on you. Fool me - you can't get fooled again." For today's consumer, no truer words were ever besmirched.
The solution?
Contrast the "Good Mood Food" tagline with Taco Bell's "Live Mas." If you visit Taco Bell's website, you'll see a manifesto that talks about the importance of things like "kicking up some dirt, making waves, trying what you've never done before." And in that manifesto there isn't even a hint of a promise.
The Taco Bell Brand is all about empowerment. It is about a belief to subscribe to, a value to uphold. And bold, 'never-been-done-before products' like Doritos Tacos support what this brand stands for. Instead of selling a promise, Taco Bell is selling a worldview and using its products as support for that worldview. Is it surprising that Taco Bell is growing stronger than any other fast food company in America?
USP's aren't enough any more.
Evidence is abounding that today's consumer wants and expects more than boastful descriptions of our USP's. And they have little patience for hyperbole. They want inspiration. More importantly, they want their intelligence and aspirations respected. Marketers who continue to rely on the promise/support syllogism will continue to risk being vetoed, especially when the logic behind that coupling is suspicious. If you're like me, you have to look for the button on your remote control that changes channels or the one that increases volume. But locating that fast forward button is immediate.
Certainly we want consumers to understand and appreciate us. But consumers want us do a better job of understanding and appreciating them. Specifically they want us to recognize what they believe is true about their lives. They want something more than unique features and benefits. Beyond any functional need we can satisfy, there's no satisfaction that quite measures up to feeling supported. Consequently, consumers need reinforcement for beliefs they can live by. They want to know that somebody truly gets what they're all about, their life challenges, desires and aspirations. And they will gravitate to brands that demonstrate genuine rather than manufactured compassion.
For today's consumer form is content. The way we approach them says as much or more than the words we use to tell them who we are and what we do. It's as if what we whisper is louder than what we say. We can entice consumers with chest-thumping, self-congratulatory claims all we want. But what our audiences really want and need is reinforcement for the way they see the world. They want and need to belong to something bigger than a new sandwich.
Brands bought can become extensions of our brand's purpose or its cause beyond making a profit. If all we are selling is our product's function or how we outperform, out taste, out-do the competition, we are missing out on a huge opportunity. Keep in mind that someone who follows what your brand stands for is more valuable than someone who just buys it. There's no greater endorsement than one that comes from a believer who is emotionally involved in a brand's purpose.
Look Inside
So before you hire outsiders to find the single most powerful promise that will entice consumers, look inside your organization for ways you can empower them. It's far more effective to find what you stand for from your history, your vision and the beliefs that are passionately practiced within your organization. And if what you stand for is nothing more than your product's point of difference, look harder to find the point of view that fuels that difference. Find that unique cause around which your employees and your customers will rally. Promote that through your advertising! But don't forget to live it. Because your best guard against competition and your best chance for success will always be found in your walk, not in your talk. And the more everyone in your organization is walking together, the more likely your customers will walk with you.
Jim Signroelli is the CEO of ESW Partners, a marketing/communications agency based in Chicago. Jim is also the author of StoryBranding: Creating Standout Brands Through The Power of Story. You can read more about StoryBranding at http://www.eswpartners.com/storybranding and http://www.storyati.com
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