Why Marketers Love METAPHORS
METAPHORS are a form of figurative or nonliteral language that help express something by using words, visuals that normally denote something else.
For seasoned marketers, metaphors are a way to persuasively communicate with consumers- Eg. “The engine is the heart of a car”.
Imagine someone trying to explain the movie SPEED to a producer as – It’s DIE HARD, on a BUS.
What Metaphors do is help explain something unfamiliar or unknown through comparison with something familiar and known.
When a vehicle is positioned as ‘LIKE A ROCK’ –
What it does is transfers all of our associations with rocks, tangible and intangible, onto the brand – Strong, reliable, rugged, unshakable, dependable, outdoorsy, tough, ability to take abuse.
(All this is communicated by using just 3 words).
So, do you have a METAPHOR for YOUR BRAND in mind?
Here are 5 reasons why you should
1. The right metaphors helps align thinking within the team and cuts distraction
– “What Titan is to watches, we are to deodorants as a category”
– “We are not a creative or communications agency, we are brand cartographers”
“METAPHORS BRING CLARITY AND HELP THINK CONCEPTUALLY”
2. Helps your communication leap
– Research has shown that ads with metaphors not only do better on recall (than functional and emotional ads), but also boosts retainability of the message
3. Makes the unfamiliar, FAMILIAR
– Helps consumers understand what is expected and how to interact with the brand/ offering
– Also helps amplify the brand / product benefit
– A caffeinated energy drink that ‘gives you wings’
– Curd so thick, you have to ‘scoop it like ice cream’
A pesticide company that calls itself the pied piper of bugs and another the ghostbuster of creepy crawlies (which would you choose and why).
4. Helps create the right associations/ symbolism (specially when used in social messaging)
– Terrorism as cancer vs terrorism as a virus (One is an internal issue vs the other which is an outside enemy)
– Illegal aliens vs Undocumented non citizens (One a threat vs the other a process concern)
5. Helps one grasp things quickly
– “Education used to be a fixed deposit, now it is a recurring deposit. You learn, unlearn and relearn” (Do pause and read this one again, it’s really thought provoking, a sign of our times)
– A brand of perfume that calls itself ‘the cloak of mystery’
“METAPHORS ARE ALSO FREQUENTLY USED AS BRAND NAMES – UNDER ARMOUR”
Three steps to find your Brand Metaphor
1. Assemble a group of your consumers / category users for a workshop
2. Ask each participant to carry a set of pictures, words that most strongly brings out their thoughts and feelings towards your brand or product – Ask then to explain in 2 lines why they picked those specific words and visuals
3. Look for higher order themes and the right deep metaphor match for your brand / product
Or keep Calm and Call Ormax 🙂