Cracking codes
Kane Stanford finds there are two brand assets that can deliver big results when it comes to advertising cut-through...
During lockdown, I was fortunate enough to do Mark Ritson’s MiniMBA in Brand Management. It’s an awesome course; a great investment in your staff if you want to seriously up-skill your team, or a great investment in yourself if you did a marketing degree at university but spent most of your time in the student pub (hypothetically).
One of the topics Ritson covers under Brand Strategy is Brand Codes. They are the distinctive brand assets that help define your brand, remind consumers who you are, and trigger those memory structures. Logos and product shots are the most obvious and most used, but think also slogans, colours, tone of voice, and packaging.
Ipsos did some interesting research that revealed the most effective brand assets driving the most brand attention. You can read more about it here.
It’s well worth a look.
“If you have a sound asset consistently linked with your brand in your ad, then that ad is nine times more likely to have strong brand attention. ”
Sound’s good
Over a sample of 2,000 TVCs, THE best brand asset for gaining brand attention was sound. If you have a sound asset consistently linked with your brand in your ad, then that ad is nine times more likely to have strong brand attention.
Do you know the sound when you turn on Netflix? Yeah, you do. Tudum. Netflix understands the power of its sonic brand asset and even has tudum.com as a fan site that goes behind the scenes of its shows. That noise is distinct; it’s used consistently and it’s powerful.
McDonald’s has nailed it with ‘do do do do doooo’ and you know it’s a Magness Benrow ad the moment you hear Adrienne and John.
Alcohol brands don’t use this tool much these days and it’s a missed opportunity. I guess a can of Speights sounds just like a can of Export Gold when it’s being cracked open. Super Liquor do it well with their jingle “Super, Super Liquor”, which has been around for years. Or maybe it’s been stuck in my head for years? Either way, they realised the power of sound and used it well.
The eyes have it
The second most powerful brand asset was Characters/Mascots. Ipsos data shows that a Character/Mascot delivers six times more likelihood of your ad getting strong brand attention.
Globally, that’s Ronald, the Colonel or Johnnie Walker. Locally, it’s Stick Man, The 4 Square Guy, or the Briscoes Lady. Again, liquor brands don’t leverage this nearly enough. Most stick to using the founders, e.g. Jack, Jim, Johnnie... but not very much.
Liquor does have to walk a fine line – we don’t want to create cartoony characters who appeal to minors – but there is plenty of scope to create adult characters that tell an adult story to adults.
Retailers have played more in the space over the years. Super Liquor was originally Super Liquor Man when it was established in the late 70s, and there’s Liquor King too, but using the concept of character to its fullest seems to have gone out of fashion, despite the research showing characters make your ad more interesting, more sticky, more attention-grabbing.
A Quick Shameless Plug
When I’m not writing marketing columns the night after the deadline, I run the marketing for Besos Margarita. I’m lucky enough to have a real live founder to use, so I do. In every radio ad, billboard, and reel.
I’m turning the poor guy into a mascot, but he’s up for it and it works. Similarly, every time the format allows, I use his voice, his accent, his passion and start with “Hola! I’m Mexican Chef Luis Cabrera!” It’s not a very sophisticated sonic device, but over time, creative consistency pays dividends. It’s different from every other ad, it’s distinctly Besos, it builds familiarity and it grabs attention. Sound and Character.
So what?
So, whether you’re a liquor brand, a retailer, a distributor, or a big corporate – if you’re looking for effective ads, brands, campaigns and you’ve got the fortitude to stick with it... play around with sounds and characters, you’ll find some good attention-grabbing results.
Kane Stanford has worked for 13+ years in liquor marketing in New Zealand at Independent Liquor, Bacardi and now Besos Margarita, where he is GM. He is also Head Strategy Judge at the 2 Degrees Auckland Chamber Business Awards. Kane has nominated himself for several marketing awards, but never won.
