Friday, October 27, 2006

Brand Sense by Martin Lindstrom 3 of 5

31. We don’t have a name for those who can’t smell or taste.

32. In an African village the people didn’t have names. They knew each other on the basis of the individual smell they had.

33. 90% of Japanese population have no underarm odour. Through research it has been found that the Japanese are more sensitive to the senses than US/UK.

34. Purex Tabs is a floor cleaner. It was a very effective product but smelt very badly. The new marketing manager felt that it would be better to change the smell to a more pleasant one which he did. The sales went down by 42 %. The smell was changed back to the original. The bad smell was associated with its effectiveness.

35. Our senses are finely tuned to pick up signals that warn us of danger. Jack Holly, a U.S. Marine stated “I am alive because of my nose. You couldn’t see a Commie bunker if it was right in front of you. But you can’t camouflage smell. I could smell the North Vietnamese before hearing or seeing them.” We need to brand our daily touchpoints.

36. Crayola Crayons have a patented smell. So when the Chinese imitated Crayola Crayons including the packaging it was very difficult to distinguish the original from the imitation except through the smell.

37. The no. 1 recognizable smell in USA is coffee. No. 2 is peanut butter. And no. 18 is Crayola Crayons.

38. We have been given our senses to understand our world. According to Prof. Gerald Zaltman (Harvard Business School) the brain processes smell more quickly than the other senses. Metaphorically from the nose to the brain would require 3 to 4 jumps while for touch would require around 1000 jumps. Our sense of smell registers in our emotional brain where judgements are made. According to Helen Keller “Smell is a potent wizard”.

39. We also remember smells according to the time when we were born. Before 1930 people would remember the smell of hay, pine, horse and meadow. After 1930 the smells remembered would change to J&J Baby Powder, Crayon Crayola and Vanila.

40. Smell triggers memories and affects brand perception. The McDonald’s smell is greasy and associated with stale oil. It makes you feel fat even before you enter the outlet. Smell creates brand associations. Burger King is associated with the smell of ‘grilled’. The smell of fresh popcorn is used to draw people into the cinema halls. Smell impacts purchase decisions. A new car has a distinctive smell. Smell can’t be turned off.

41. Within Barclay’s Bank they brew coffee so that the customer may feel at home.

42. The smell of a new car comes about with the car being sprayed 2 hours before it leaves the factory. Rolls Royce has broken up its trademark smell into 800 odour components and created ‘Eau Rolls Royce 1965’ which is sprayed into every new Rolls Royce. Post 1965 the sales increased.

43. Singapore Airlines patented the smell of its ‘hot towels’ in 1995. One can get the Singapore Airlines smell while one is on the aerobridge and about to enter the aircraft. The cosmetics used by the airhostesses are patented Pantone shades viz. SIA face colour, eye colour and lip colour. The way the plate is placed in front of the passenger is determined. There is a brand manager on every flight who notices if there is any infringement regarding any aspect of the Singapore brand. If there is any infringement then the person concerned goes back to the Singapore brand school.

44. In an experiment conducted in Las Vegas it was found that by spraying a particular smell people gambled more and the revenue earnings of the casino increased. In a Nike experiment 84% preferred the pair which was sprayed with a smell than the pair which did not have any smell sprayed on it. And they were willing to pay extra for the pair with the smell. Similarly it has been found that in the part of the store where a particular scent has been sprayed people spend more time and money than in any other part of the store which does not have any scent sprayed.

45. 82% felt that Coco Cola tasted better from a glass bottle than from a can. The tactile experience too is important.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Brand Sense by Martin Lindstrom - 2 of 5

16. There are certain words which are owned by Disney and are recognized by people as being associated with the Disney Brand. These words are : Fantasy, Dreams, Magic, Smiles, Happy, Creativity. The personnel in Disneyland use these words. These words are built into the lyrics of Disney songs. And so on.

17. Colgate owned the smile but it has gone to Disney and Mcdonald’s.

18. One needs to create a difference in the mind.

19. We are too focused on the visual aspect of branding. We need to see how we can brand ‘sound’.

20. The James Bond movie theme song. In fact James Bond has branded so many things around it. The logo, ‘Bond, James Bond’, ‘Shaken not stirred’, the gadgets, the vintage scenes, the title introduction, character names, the gun, the topic, the filming and so on.

21. The Olympics today are no longer about the 4 rings but about the rituals surrounding the Olympics like the carrying and lighting of the flame, the opening ceremony and so on.

22. Strong emotions are generated by rituals. Brands need to create rituals around themselves.

23. Always over-deliver. Martin Lindstrom went to The Peninsula Hotel. It’s known for having your own type of music made available, through downloading, for you in your room. This time when he went he was told that for some reason this perk would not be there. He felt disappointed. But he was asked what music he liked. He mentioned Eminem, Beatles etc. To his surprise he had hardly settled down in his room when there was a hotel room boy with the CDs of Eminem, the Beatles and so on. Martin has mentioned this story to now over millions of people through his seminars, interviews, books and so on. The cost of overdelivery was approximately $22 which was the cost of the CDs.

24. We need to ask ourselves the following questions :
# Which signal do we own ?
# What would we like to own ?
# Identify the top 3.
# Take it to the extreme.
# Secure ownership
# Establish a brand manual which is human and not legalistic
# Be patient
# Test for ownership

25. By the age of 65 a person in USA would have watched 2 mn. Commercials. This is equivalent to seeing TV commercials 8 hours each day for 7 days a week for 6 years.

26. TV commercials don’t work anymore. The recall level of ads has decreased from 34% in 1965 to 1.5 % today. The TV spends keep on growing. 20% would own a TiVo by 2007 in USA and 14% around the world. Murdoch will shortly be launching a set-top box which would be able to store all the movies ever produced in any language.

27. 83% of all information which people receive is visual. The visual is over-communicated. Branding is about all the 5 senses. Benjamin Franklin said “Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I might remember. Involve me and I’ll understand.”

28. We recall best what we smell more than what we see. The sense of smell emotionally affects human beings upto 75% more than any other sense.

29. The gradation of sensory importance shows that after visual there is smell and then audio, taste and touch.

30. The sense of taste and smell are one where the laboratory is the mouth and the nose is the chimney.

To be Continued.....

Friday, October 20, 2006

Brand Sense By Martin Lindstrom

1. Branding is what goes on in one’s mind.


2. Brand is not a logo. The test is that if one removes the logo, will one still be able to recognize the brand !


3. Traditional communication no longer works because we are being over-communicated to.


4. What appeals to as many senses will be remembered.


5. The story goes that the challenge given to Coco-Cola was to create a bottle that if smashed could still be recognized from its glass pieces. Therefore the meaning of ‘Smash your Brand’ is that one needs to look at all the small pieces which the brand can be broken into and see what the brand can make its own.


6. The Brand wheel is a tool which indicates portions of real estate which a brand can optimize and own viz. Picture, Colours, Shapes, Name, Language, Icons, Sound, Behaviour, Service, Tradition, Rituals and Navigation.


7. Orange has appropriated a colour. Absolut branded ‘spelling error’. So it’s variants are Rasberri, Vanilia, Kurant and so on. The brand needs to own something else besides the logo. Absolut has also branded the shape of its bottle.


8. The icon of the ‘Idea’ brand is the ‘Sumo Wrestler’. So if one removes the logo and keeps only the Sumo Wrestler the brand ‘Idea’ will be recognized.


9. Brand creates community and belonging.


10. Louis Vuitton was renovating its store in Paris. To do that it created a façade in the shape of its luggage bags and accessories. The people remembered the façade. In fact they identified with it. To the extent that when it was going to be pulled down after 2 years when the renovation was complete there was a demonstration outside the store.


11. The Tiffany Box is trademarked. The shade of Pantone colour used for the Tiffany box is owned by Tiffany. Therefore one needs to get permission from Tiffany if one wants to use the same shade of colour.


12. Branding is about consistency.


13. Today Pepsi owns the colour ‘blue’. Pepsi took it away from IBM. If one wants to secure ownership then one needs to stick with it.


14. The Peuguot car has branded the ‘0’ in the middle of its car plate numbers. The story goes that the creator of the Peugot car used to experience breaking the number in the middle into 2 pieces for using the crankshaft to get the car started. Because the crankshaft had to pierce that number. So he thought that if the crankshaft had to be inserted into a ‘0’ then there would not be any breakage of a number into 2 pieces. And so all Peugot cars have ‘0’ in the middle of their car plate numbers.


15. Ipod now has extended its branding to even its earplugs. By seeing a person with the Ipod earplugs one can recognize an Ipod user.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Strategies for Success - Zig Ziglar 4 of 4

61.The mission of Zig Ziglar’s company is “To be the difference maker.”

62.When the going gets tough then those with a dream keep going.

63.Dreams grow if you grow.

64.Somebody has helped you get where you are today. Honour them in the Hall of Gratitude.

65.Would rather have a fulfilling relationship with one’s wife/husband rather than a position in the Company or bucks in the Bank.

66. People are always waiting for ‘time later’.

67. The only way a Company can grow is by creating more leaders.

68. Better to train employees and lose them than not to train them and have them remain.

69. Women are more relationship driven. Men are only driven.

70. Men and women have different intelligences.

71. What happens at work affects what happens at home and vice-versa. Harmony at home makes one freer in the marketplace.

72. The Leadership Principles to follow consist of the following steps : Instruct, Expect, Inspect, Set Standards, Criticize the performance, Praise the performer, Failure is an event, Respect, Self-worth.

73. Problems need patience which leads to persistence and persistence creates character which has hope and hope creates power.

74. When developing people, do it in the same way one mines for gold. Don’t go in looking for dirt but for gold. One will have to sift through a lot of dirt to find the gold.

75. One cannot perform in a consistent manner which is inconsistent with one’s self-image.

76. Motivation addresses the ‘Wanting to’. Training addresses the ‘Education or How to’.

77. Always pull for them. Whether at home or in business when we understand that we are on the same side then everyone is a winner.

78. To find out WIN (What’s Important Now) find out what’s your real interest now . After articulating one’s goal, one should be able to state clearly after 24 hours why it is significant and appropriate now. If one can’t then it becomes a non-priority.

79. What one can do for 6 weeks straight without any real effort is one’s strength.

80. Genius focuses on the ‘now’.

81. When you leave for the day don’t talk about ‘That Company’ but ‘Our Company’.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Strategies For Success - Zig Ziglar 3 of 4

41. The more you know about anything the more valuable will be the new information.

42. Confidence comes from Competence.

43. There is a light switch in each of us. We need to flip it.

44. We confuse perception with reality. We need to respond to what we believe is possible.

45. Success is always to be seen from where you began and with what.

46. Life is like a wheel having many spokes viz. personal, family, business/career, physical, spiritual, mental, financial. A smaller wheel has to travel more. Aspire to have a larger wheel.

47. Difference between the comfort zone and the realizable is growth.

48. Who I am is different from what I do.

49. Marriage is grand. Divorce is 1000 grand.

50. Never change the destination. One may change direction.

51. You’ve got to Be before you can Do and Do before you can Have.

52. When setting goals ask the following questions viz. Is it really my goal ? Is it morally right and fair to everyone involved ? Will it take me closer to my long range objectives ? Can I commit myself to start and reach these goals ? Can I see myself reaching these goals ?

53. The day you practise for what you are not paid for is the beginning of a journey to where you are paid for what you have practised.

54. If one does everything with integrity then one always does the right thing and does not suffer from guilt or fear.

55. Everything is not relative. One can’t have a Chartered Accountant who says he was relatively honest while preparing the accounts.

56. Common sense is not common practice.

57. We surround ourselves with time - saving devices and yet very often nearly miss our flights.

58. If one makes oneself a slave to discipline then the world will become one’s oyster.

59. Priorities come before goals.

60. One can do a lot about one’s ‘personal’ economy even though one can’t do very much about the national economy.

To be contd...

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Strategies For Success - Zig Ziglar 2 of 4

21. A positive mental attitude will help do everything better than having a negative mental attitude.

22. If one becomes irreplaceable one becomes unpromotable.

23. One gets exhausted when one tries to fool oneself, one’s boss or one’s subordinate.

24. Do one’s best today to prepare for tomorrow.

25. Standing in the middle of opportunity, we lock ourselves up by what we can’t have when most of what we can have is within our grasp.

26. If planning one day in your life can make a difference then think what a difference planning one’s whole life will make.

27. Can one see what one wants ?

28. Truth can be denied but never avoided.

29. When hope is gone then growth is gone.

30. Identify one’s weaknesses and devote one’s whole life to converting them into strengths.

31. To change one’s attitude one needs to change one’s mental diet. Through tapes, books and seminars. Become a good-finder. Stop looking for others’ faults. Change one’s self-talk from negative to positive.

32. You don’t build businesses. You build people.

33. You can buy a man’s time but not his enthusiasm or loyalty. You must earn these.

34. People stay where they are respected and where they feel they are growing.

35. The food one grows in the valley will be the food one eats at the top of the mountain one has climbed.

36. One can turn things around because one has turned one’s thinking around. Like the word ‘Stressed’ is ‘Desserts’ when spelt in the opposite direction.

37. Similarly a ‘Loser’ can be seen as Loving Others Sincerely, Enthusiastically, Responsibly.

38. Fear and Faith have the same focus - Something happening in the future.

39. Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. One needs hope and a game plan.

40. We confuse activity with accomplishment.

To Be Contd....