In Company Names, Slogans and Personas: Why the Bold Brand Wins

Yesterday I read an article about initiatives by some airlines to make it easier for passengers to sit next to someone they find interesting, while other airlines are making it easier to increase the chances of a smooth flight by not having anyone sitting next to you. . seat.

Most people probably have a preference for this. Either they would like to talk to someone interesting on a long flight or they would prefer to disconnect in solitude. The feelings of those who don’t care one way or the other are certainly less intense than the feelings of those who like or hate one of these options.

Indifference does not motivate. The attraction and the repulsion are.

And that’s why blandness and similarity to competitors have so little power when it comes to advertising, word of mouth, and customer loyalty. By not sticking out, by trying to appeal to everyone and their uncle, companies charge little to no energy. They gain little attention and fade into the background.

However, a bolder brand works because it doesn’t try to please everyone. Your goal is to please those you have defined as ideal customers. When implemented smartly, those who like the boldest brand really like it. Those who don’t like it don’t count. They are not a loss because followers are more likely to stick around, tell their like-minded friends and colleagues about the company, and promote the company and what it sells through articles, tweets, blog posts, and media coverage.

Certainly, you can take bold branding too far, for example by making it offensive in a way that embarrasses the company and its fans. Other than that though, a bold brand aligned with the desired customer base is very smart.

Brand elements include the company name, its tagline, and the personality a company takes on, as well as dozens of other elements.

Start with bold branding by clarifying who the name or other brand element should appeal to, along with whose opinions don’t matter at all. Warm up creatively by identifying other companies and ad campaigns you see targeting the same target population. Also identify your polar opposites: companies and campaigns that would make your target market cringe or turn away.

Then, throughout your brainstorming for new ideas, post those desirable and undesirable images on the wall to remind yourself that you’re not trying to please the world at large or yourself by coming up with ideas. You are trying to reach a certain set of people who have particular knowledge, attitudes, values, and preferences. Above all, do not hold a vote among the general public on branding items or allow the opinions of random people to count in any way. Instead, create a set of criteria that you can use to distinguish ideas that match the correct profile from those that don’t.

If you can keep your eyes on the target, you’ll reject boring branding elements and so will I and pick out bold names, slogans, people and more with exactly the right kind of magnetic charge.