Brand Matters : Think Sideways

Find inspiration by taking a brand field trip

Create Desire
Next stop on our window-shopping tour is your favorite bookseller, discount store or wherever books are sold, because that is where you’ll find whatever book everyone is buzzing about. Whether it’s the current surprise seller, “The Shack,” or the event-driven books on President Barack Obama (and Abraham Lincoln biographies), even nonreaders can’t miss these sensations.

Author J.K. Rowling’s last Harry Potter book (and the other six) was both a marketer’s and a reader’s dream. Even if you aren’t a fan, you couldn’t have missed the preselling frenzy of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” It was extraordinary. Pajama parties at midnight were held at many local independent bookstores, and sales records were set at online retailers, book stores and other nontraditional outlets. It seemed as if the whole world was waiting for Harry.

Loosen Up
Now, let’s watch a few commercials. Even if you are a Tivo addict, you couldn’t have missed the quirky characters at Aflac and GEICO. Talking ducks. A “modern-age” caveman. Serious products and services not taking themselves too seriously. Campaigns that won awards and more importantly, produced results.

Is your brand too uptight? Do you take yourselves too seriously? How can you let go and give up some control? Kelly Mooney, in her book, “The Open Brand,” asks the question, “Are you dangerously closed?” If so, how can your brand open up? Maybe even poke a little fun at yourself?

The wine industry is a great example of one that has humbled itself over recent years. The snooty factor still exists, but the fun factor has sold a great deal more wine. Labels like Mad Housewife or Mommy’s Time Out, or even Harley’s V-Twin Zin, spark sales and conversations.

Encourage Treasure Hunting
Let’s go into Whole Foods. Here, grocery shopping is no longer a chore. Walking into the store is like walking into a local farmer’s market at peak season, only to turn the corner and be in a beautiful flower shop and then turn around again to find yourself at your favorite deli, cheese bar and olive bar, all in one. It’s mastered the concept of “treasure hunt” first documented by Michael J. Silverstein in a book of the same name, while adding the sensory delight of feasting on samples of exotic and organic foods. Your shopping cart becomes a picnic basket, a gourmet treasure chest waiting to be placed into your home pantry.

Anthropologie gets this, especially in its store designs. It is a sophisticated flea market of artsy finds that encourages the joy of discovery. You turn around and see china plates and funky fashions, then turn sideways to see eclectic books and vintage signs.

Back to the desk. Hopefully this little field trip inspired your soul and gave you some outside-in thinking for whatever you might be working on next. Dan Zadra wrote, “Imitators copy an idea; innovators build on it.” So, go wander and ramble and linger. See what sideways thinking can do for you and your brand!

Andrea Syverson is president of IER Partners, a strategic consulting company specializing in innovative brand and merchandising directions. She may be reached at asyverson@ierpartners.com.