Exposed! The Brands You Choose Reveals the Real You
In his book called “Emotional Branding : How Successful Brands Gain the Irrational Edge”, Daryl Travis takes a look at the emotional side of business and explains that a brand name is an emotional symbol.
In order to tap into the methodology needed to make this emotional connection between brand and customer requires a little intuitive thinking.
Cars are a perfect example of how the myth of a brand works on the buying public. Why are there so many makes and models of cars if all we’re interested in is getting from one place to the next? While price certainly plays a role, still there is something else at play here.
How does a Mercedes Benz or Volks Wagon make you feel? Why does a Jeep scream adventure or a Porsche precision? Each form of transportation we choose really does say something about us because of the emotional connection we make with that brand.
Geography Brands Us
The idea of emotional branding even includes geography (city, state, province, country, region etc.). We are often branded by others based upon the State we live in.I am branded a “Californian” and will be handled in a particular way by the bias of other non-Californians. When I travel out of the country I am branded an American and treated accordingly. The same also applies to cities. As an example, while chit-chatting with an attentive, talkative cashier in a pricey, elite boutique in San Francisco, we let it be known we were semi-locals from the “East Bay” (Oakland area). The salesperson’s nose immediately rose and the friendly chit-chat stopped.
Social Class Branding
This notion of associating tangible products with intangible emotions reminds me of what Paul Fussell stated in his 1983 publication “Class, A Guide Through the American Status System”. In it he describes that while the idea of class distinction may be seen by some as an adverse comment on American life, it is nonetheless present whether we care to admit it or not.
The use of class distinction is a universal concept. Regardless of the culture, there are those with more power and more money than others. Even admist the rich, there are more class distinctions.
The term “Social class” really can’t be defined. It’s not unlike the concept of what tells us that something is “obscene”. Like Justice Potter Stewart, we as individuals can’t exactly draw the line, “but we know it when we see it”. Class distinction is not just determined by wealth but more importantly by the whole image an individual reveals about themselves.
Try As You Might, You Just Can’t Hide
Everything in our life divulges information about who we really are. From where we live, to the place we work, the clothes we wear, the car we drive and even how we talk. Actually, a business which assists students with their reading proficiency promoted this very idea when they developed the slogan: “People judge us by the words we use.” Maybe you’ve heard of it: “Hooked On Phonics”.
You are familiar with the saying: “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” However, it could be said that the insurance industry earns huge profits by “judging covers”. They are not interested in opening our pages to discover what we are all about. At first, it does look like that their proceedure of measuring risk is prejudicial. A female, age 51, living in a big metro area will pay far less for auto insurance than a male, age 42, living in out in the country. If the city you live in has 150,000 people or more living there you will pay higher premiums than if you lived in a city of just 10,000. If you own a Pontiac your insurance premiums will be lower than if you owned a Jaguar. Insurance companies exists and are in business to make a profit. Using factual and accurate statistical data they are ensured in attaining those profits.
Insurance companies are not alone. Even you think in terms of category function that promote expectations and behavior. Since you have an opinion (if you don’t you must be dead) you are biased. If you turn down peaches with bruises, you are discriminating against them and practicing segregation by selecting peaches that don’t. In actuality you discriminate against brown, soft spots on fruit. It is who you are that determines what you do and what products you bring home all based on category thinking.
Branding also has the same function, designed to promote expectations and hopefully, positive behavior such as purchasing. Porche is the brand that says: “This is Precision Engineering”. Budweiser promotes its brand myth by stating: “Where there’s life, there’s Bud”. In essence, “Without bud you have no life”. The brand creates a myth designed to resonate with their target market. Marketing is all about connecting you with the myth in the hopes of directing your behavior.
The simple conclusion to all of this is: What we do, and what we have are all inseparable from who we are.
