BRANDS ARE MADE OF MEMORIES

Memories are made of stimuli

Much of education isn't about learning, but about unlearning. Sometimes, it's easier to take in new knowledge than to let go of old ideas. For me, a good example was realizing that marketing is not about persuasion — it's about being easy to buy. And this small distinction carries major implications.

Research from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science has shown that brands grow through two complementary mechanisms: physical availability and mental availability. Physical availability refers to how easy it is to find the brand, whether in physical locations through good distribution and shelf visibility, or in digital spaces through SEO, for example.

Mental availability is about how easily a brand comes to mind. Whether it appears in the “search engine” in our mind when we need that type of product depends on how well marketers have built relevant memories. And persuasion isn’t the key, emotion is.

Shortcut 

The words “distinctive” and “different” may seem like synonyms, but the distinction between them is important. Something distinctive is unique and easy to recognize. Something different simply means it’s not the same as something else. “Distinctive” relates to how we identify something; “different” relates to how it compares to others.

If we’re in the candy aisle at the supermarket, we’ll easily spot the Snickers shelf. The bold, italic logo, the brown wrapper, and the image of the chocolate cross-section — all of these are distinctive brand assets that help us recognize it.

We also remember that Snickers is different from other chocolate brands. It’s not meant for indulgent moments, nor does it promise a luxurious experience or sophisticated flavors. On the contrary, it’s for a very specific situation when we want something sweet but are also a little hungry.

This message has been repeated throughout the 14 years of the “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” campaign, and we have good reason to believe it. Snickers contains more peanuts than other chocolates and is much more filling. It’s not just a dessert, but also a snack.

Years of repetition and consistency have firmly established in our minds the connection between how a brand looks and what it stands for. Distinctive elements act as a mental shortcut to the brand’s positioning, and recognizing them brings to mind a chain of attributes and associations built up over time.

However, a distinctive identity is not only visual; it can engage all the senses. Guerlain features the Guerlinade accord — a blend of bergamot, rose, jasmine, iris, Tonka bean, and vanilla — in every perfume. It has been the brand’s signature scent for over a century. And every time we watch a movie on Netflix, it begins with the “ta-dum” audio logo, two notes simple enough to remember and distinctive enough to be associated with Netflix.

Brand identity elements need to grab attention fast and be memorable, yet often the selection process is driven by inertia. Ipsos data shows that the most frequently used elements are logos, colors, slogans, and fonts but these are also among the least effective at capturing attention and forming long-term memories.

At the opposite end, sounds and characters are among the most effective yet least used brand elements. Combining the two — a character and a sound — can lay the foundation for a much more memorable brand than one that is distinctive only through its logo, font, and color. But more important than the exact configuration of a brand’s identity are how truly distinctive the elements are and the consistency with which they are applied.

The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute found that the public remembers only 40% of TV ads, and of those, only 40% are correctly linked to the promoted brand. In other words, respondents remembered and correctly attributed only 16% of ads, while the remaining 84% resulted in noise and wasted money. Viewers either didn’t remember the ad at all or didn’t remember which brand it was advertising.

Creativity (or the lack of it) explains why some communications stay in our minds while others slip through the cracks of memory. But consistency is what determines whether we remember them and who we attribute the message to.

Guerlain has produced hundreds of perfumes with the same Guerlinade base. Netflix has opened millions of viewings with the same sound. But brands that build sandcastles change their logo for their anniversary, for Valentine’s Day, and for any occasion that lets them blow up long-term brand equity for short-term trend-chasing.

The memory network

“I’m craving something sweet, but I’m also a little hungry” is a situation that triggers a decision-making process in which Snickers is more likely to be chosen than Milka.“It’s my mother’s birthday and I want to buy her something special” is more likely to lead to Ferrero Rocher than to Snickers. “I invited my friends over and want to share something sweet” will likely lead to M&M’s rather than Ferrero Rocher.

Each buying situation qualifies some brands and disqualifies others. Each one brings to mind two or three options to solve the problem. And to be among those options, brands need to be associated with specific purchase situations.

While most companies outsource message creation to copywriters, effective brands use communication tactics to intentionally link buying triggers to their brand. Through years of repetition and consistency, powerful associations have been created between Amazon and Black Friday, Coca-Cola and Christmas, Corona and summer vacations. These associations are often the first step in millions of purchasing decisions and represent a competitive advantage that is hard to undermine.

In 95% of cases, people make decisions based on mental shortcuts and associations. The so-called System 1, the subconscious part of our mind, drives much of our behavior through intuition and instinct, as shown by Nobel Prize-winning economist Daniel Kahneman in his bestselling book Thinking, Fast and Slow.

The implications for marketing communication are numerous. In order to be chosen at the end of a decision-making process that unfolds mostly in the subconscious, we must identify the relevant associations in the brand’s niche, prioritize the ones most valuable for its commercial success, and reinforce them through communication until the connection becomes automatic.

Needs, desires, moods, emotions, times of day or year, specific locations, social contexts — all can influence consumer behavior. Marketers can discover the starting points of the journeys that lead to the brand through customer interviews, consumer surveys, or a mix of both.

The emotions behind a buying decision can be uncovered using a set of questions that explore both the emotions before the purchase, whether positive or negative, and those experienced during and after consumption. Here are a few brands that understood that one of the entry points into their category is an emotion, and their buyers want to feel:

• Motivated to push their limits | Nike

• Smart and informed | The Economist

• Responsible and part of a sustainable future | Patagonia

• Excited to learn a new language | Duolingo

Beyond emotions, companies that want to stay relevant to consumers need to understand their motivations and the benefits they expect. Some functional reasons that lead to a purchase include:

• To easily build a website | Wix

• To securely share large files | WeTransfer

• To do graphic design quickly, easily, and without expertise | Canva

• To simplify project management | Asana

In certain categories, timing is the key factor determining whether a purchase occurs or not. Consumer behavior may vary in the morning vs. evening, summer vs. winter, Monday vs. Sunday, or in specific contexts, such as:

• You want something sweet but are also a bit hungry | Snickers

• You want to relax with a show | Netflix

• You want to buy something quickly without going to the store | Glovo

• It’s Black Friday | Amazon

Other key questions like “Who is the product used with?”, “What is it used with?”, “Where is it used?”, “Who is it bought for?” can also reveal the triggers that lead to a purchase. Once all the pathways to the brand are mapped out, properly prioritizing the most viable association and cementing it through communication tactics creates a mental shortcut in consumers’ minds between the buying trigger and the product.

As these connections mature, the brand can expand its messaging to include other purchase triggers. “There are many points through which consumers enter a category,” explains Jenni Romaniuk, Associate Director of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute. “Our goal is to be behind as many doors as possible.”

For brands with marketing budgets larger than the GDP of some countries, building a web of associations in the minds of billions is undoubtedly a very profitable investment. But even for those without such budgets or expertise, earning a place in the consumer’s memory remains, in the long run, the most powerful growth strategy.