Making a brand memorable
What do you do when you’re one of the best-known brands in the world and want to come up with a new brand message?
If you’re Coca-Cola, you simply look at yourself from a different point of view… and as you can see for yourself, the results are simple, eye-opening, and… dare I say it? Absolutely refreshing.
Much like the Coca-Cola T-Shirt written in Hebrew my parents brought back from a trip to the middle east, there’s no need to read the entire logo in order to know whose ad you’re looking at. And the big, happy-go-lucky grin makes you smile from the get-go.
Coke’s 2010 “Enjoy Summer” branding promotion featured an equally impressive twist on reality. By using the negative space between a pair of flip-flops to create their iconic bottle shape, they tied the Coca-Cola brand to beach, sun and sand, plastering it on everything from product packaging to summer beach gear like coolers, beach bags and giant towels. When they own something, they own it… and it’s red, white and refreshing all the way through.
Okay, so now you’re probably thinking, “What is it that makes my brand memorable? What can I do with it to invade the public consciousness, capture their imagination, and take over the category like Coke did?”
Begin by analyzing what makes you different. Is it what your product or logo looks like? Is it what your product does? Or is it what it doesn’t do, like the old VW “Think Small” ads? Remember, it’s the twists that make your message memorable. Many successful branding campaigns have been built around a pun or a play on words, and it may be what your product or company name sounds like that gets you noticed.
Speaking of which, did you hear about the farmer whose wife left him? She sent him a John Deere letter.
