When I was a kid, my mother told me a story, a quarrel between Wind and the Sun. Let’s recap the story in short to know what this whole discussion is about.
Wind once initiated a quarrel with Sun and challenged him that he is stronger than the Sun. Sun came out with an idea. He said, ”Brother, can you see that man on the earth covering himself with a blanket? One who pulls the blanket from him with our powers will be the winner”.
It was dawn and the wind started blowing making the atmosphere cool. The man held his blanket tight. The wind blew harder and the man’s grip over the blanket grew tighter. Agitated the wind converted into a storm but the victory seemed to be far away. Wind gave up.
Post dawn the Sun started rising, giving its warmth to the world. The temperature soon started soaring. The man realized that he was feeling hot and therefore he took off the blanket from his head carried it on his arms. By mid noon, the man searched for a shade and at last threw the blanket down and rested below a tree. Of course the Sun won.
How? The natural phenomenon that affects the physical patterns of an individual also affects the character of an individual as well as a brand. Say now the Wind in a hurry to achieve success went on a crash campaign, blowing constantly. Doesn’t it sound similar with brands, unceasingly hammering the psyche of the masses. Such brands do gain sales, but no respect. People are forced to buy due to constant advertising, but in due course of time lose interest due to lack of the perceived experience in the mind. And believe me no brand can constantly afford to spend huge.
The wind applied force. More a brand applies excessive force, more the reluctance of the customer. See the Sun on the other hand. He gradually gave the warmth. Constantly rising the temperature, to an extent that the man was convinced that the blanket has to be thrown down. Brands looking for a long term relation with the consumer apply the same technique of back-of-the-mind communication in a subtle way. Thus they earn respect for not forcing the consumer to buy but convincing them with facts and related experiences.
So lets adapt this quality of the SUN to evolve with winning brands to last for a lifetime.
No comments:
Post a Comment