The power to persuade
A brand is a powerful thing. It can stir up an array of wonderful (and sometimes not so wonderful) human emotions – yet a brand is merely a bunch of humanly created qualities and characteristics personified in a product or service. Done right, brands connect with their market and can then persuade people to act on an offering. Done wrong, brands might not even connect with their market at all. Or worse still, they might connect in a negative way, and leave an unsavoury impression.
There is a fairly well known story of how Singapore Airlines invested millions in building the identity of their brand – and how this investment led to them developing a “Singapore Airlines scent” as part of a larger overall branding campaign. Yes, that’s right, a smell that was uniquely representative of their brand was created and puffed into the cabins of their aircraft. It even found its way into the hot towels and the perfume of the hostesses. This technique is not new, but has the power to set off a chain-reaction of positive memories of an experience with a brand, and build a memorable connection, one that asks you to return for another hit of that special feeling – that feeling that you only get when you encounter that scent. Of course all this happens on a subconscious level, but it certainly is a powerful thing.
For something different, we’re opening up this post to you. Use the comment form below to tell us about a brand you have encountered that has drawn you in, or set off a set of positive (or even negative emotions)? Describe the scenario and why you think you felt the way you did.
Shortly after writing this post, I actually had my own brand experience that I just had to write about. Read about it here.
