build brands like bands
In the world of marketing, it’s hard to debate the data-based rigor of Byron Sharp & his theories highlighted in How Brands Grow. Bigger brands are bought by more people, slightly more often, & their consumers generally show a bit more preference as a result (not the other way around).
Yet, myths persist that marketing builds emotional equity that drives people to buy… quite literally the opposite of what the data says. Especially in this age of data-obsession, why do these myths draw in marketers and, all-too-often, end up driving recruitment & penetration strategies?
We think advertising and marketing’s impact should generally be thought of more like someone becoming a fan of a band and less like someone being persuaded to change their mind.
Metaphor at play in this Deep Cut:
Fandom & Persuasion
One major factor in misaligned marketing is that the metaphor of persuasion is the dominant understanding of advertising. And that’s understandable… It’s even intuitive to think advertising:
1. Presents something consumers don’t know or haven’t thought about…
2. That triggers them to consciously consider or reconsider a brand…
3. Then ultimately gets them to decide to make a purchase
That’s got to be how advertising works, right? Wrong.
First, effective persuasion requires a focused or interested listener. Well, guess what? People aren’t very interested in advertising. Is there good creative advertising out there that catches attention? Sure. But most people are more likely trying to ignore what you’re trying to tell them than trying to engage with it. And in reality, if there’s a group out there that does care, it’s more likely to be those who already buy your brand – because they’re the ones who are invested in what you have to say.
Second, persuasion changes someone’s mind in the moment to reorient how they view the world right then and there.
That would be like trying to get someone watching the Super Bowl to drop their nacho, leave their viewing party and run to a store right after they see your toothpaste commercial. Even if you have the most incredible ad of all time, nobody’s going to be convinced they suddenly need what you’re selling so badly they’ll give up on what they‘re actively choosing to do with their time to go shell out money for your product.
Advertising is more like getting someone to open up notes on their iPhone and add your book recommendation to their list of “things to do on a rainy day.” And I don’t know about you, but there’s a lot of books on my list that I still haven’t read.
Metaphor Application:
Build Brands Like Bands
So, what’s a more accurate way to think about brands and advertising? A more accurate way to think about how brands work is in how we become fans of music. Not just music generally, but music we really like. You know, the bands you tell your friends about. The bands that amplify your enjoyment of the moment when you hear them. The bands you might add to your playlist, request from the DJ or actually pay to have in your collection.
Walk with me here for a story about a band I like. Have you heard Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats? They’re great (see there I go recommending them).
If you were to ask me about when I started actively liking the band, I’d probably say it was sometime during early 2016 just after I had moved from Denver to Chicago when their song S.O.B. was getting pretty popular. I’m pretty sure I can even remember a night in Chicago out with friends having a great time when I heard that song and actively had the thought, “Hey, I love this band!” After that, I would say I “liked” the band. I played them. I added them to playlists. I even looked them up and found out they were from Denver – which I found pretty cool since that’s where I had just been living prior. I even recommended them to a friend a time or two.
I would say that moment in Chicago was as close to an actual inflection point as I have experienced with the band – basically my “purchase” moment. Yet, if we as marketers only focus on that moment as the point of interest in my “relationship” with the band – which is where persuasion advertising would focus – most of the story would be missed.
Like I said, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats are a Denver band. Before Chicago, I had lived in Denver from 2011 to 2015. Nathaniel Rateliff was performing around Denver on the local bar, venue and festival scene and likely getting some radio play… Be it with his band Born in the Flood from 2002-2008, with his band Nathaniel Rateliff & the Wheel from 2007-2014 and after forming Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats in 2013. Long story short, I had been hearing bits and pieces of his sound for years and I only made the conscious decision that I “liked” it years after initial exposure once I encountered that familiar sound in Chicago with the increasingly popular song, S.O.B.
Much of modern marketing thinking would assume I was served the right song in the right environment in Chicago and that’s where a big marketing bet should have been placed to “convert me” to a fan.
A more accurate model of this “consumer journey”:
A long series of touchpoints that don’t even cross the cognitive threshold
A singular moment where a DJ happened to be playing the song when I finally consciously noticed them
A post-rationalizing long tail of learning as I collected info that supported my affinity
Why is this change of thinking important for us as marketers? Well, conversion happens over time and real marketing value is built through broad reach tactics that don’t all necessarily drive immediate action.
Tactics & Specifics:
Recruitment Strategy
People almost always experience big brands at a variety of touchpoints long before they really think that much about them. These initial touchpoints are, at best, split second considerations… or more often, only processed by the subconscious in a way that slowly builds familiarity. And that isn’t a shortcoming or failure of advertising and marketing – that should be the point of most effective advertising and marketing.
We as advertisers love to put ourselves on the pedestal to say we converted a consumer to our brand, but it simply doesn’t work that way. All elements of a business and brand proposition (and almost always a little luck) must be working in alignment over time to make an actual “conversion.”
This means most brands should:
Focus on building quantity over quality of fans first – you need a ton of consumers to make your business work and you can’t spend that much 1:1 time with any of them
Find your distinct spot in your consumers’ playlist – owning a specific mood and moment is as far as you can get with most users. Few of us have songs that live in both our “romantic dinner vibes” and “pump up jams” playlists
Aim for always on media – an ad doesn’t need to find someone in the buying moment (or even their buying season) to build familiarity. Putting all your eggs in one basket is the brand version of a one-hit-wonder
Realize deep emotional attachment is a byproduct of size – If you play widely enough you’ll eventually become part of some people’s special moments – just like a song that happens to be playing on someone’s first date – but this is a numbers game more than marketing magic
