#255: Brand Promise, Expectancy Violations Theory & a Purple Cow
3 Ideas in 2 Minutes on Great Aspirations
I. Brand Promise
A brand is a psychological anticipation, says the astutely quotable marketing legend Rory Sutherland. A Brand Promise is the expectation your product sets, whether explicitly or implicitly. If a newsletter is called “3 Ideas in 2 Minutes,” it’s promising a structure. Three items, tight format, predictable rhythm.
Here’s Sutherland on what that means for marketing:
The relief of unease is the consumer’s primary drive, and therefore the proper focus of marketing.
There is no need, as Rory phrases it, for marketers to “ladle on the positives” in their communications. Removal of unease works differently. It creates the expectation that uneasiness can be removed by actions the consumer takes.
Reputation, for example, is a reassurance to customers that they won’t be disappointed, and that promises made can, with some confidence, be expected to be kept.
A strong brand is a special form of such reputational reassurance.
II. Expectancy Violations Theory
An unnamed marketing professor walks into your lecture hall. Everyone is expecting a monotone introduction about course logistics and deadlines. Instead, he starts by roasting his own field of research and hands out chocolate. The room shifts. People are paying attention. Slightly confused, but far more interested than five seconds ago.
That’s an example of Expectancy Violation. We come into any interaction with a set of assumptions about how the interaction will play out. Based on context, roles and past experience. When those expectations are broken, it creates a moment of cognitive recalibration.
Whether that violation feels positive or negative depends on how we interpret the behaviour…and who’s doing it. But in the right conditions, surprise becomes a powerful tool for grabbing attention. Just like when you see a…
III. Purple Cow
Coined by creativity guru Seth Godin in his eponymous book, the Purple Cow is a marketing concept about being distinctive enough to attract attention and word-of-mouth. It’s also the go-to template that YouTuber Mr Beast uses to go viral.
If you’re driving down the road and you see a cow, who cares? Who cares, it’s a [expletive] cow. But if you’re driving down the road and see a purple cow, like you’ve never seen that before and it’s something you werent expecting, you’re gonna go, “Holy [expletive].” And you’re goinnna tell your friends about it. You’re gonna remember that. You’ll probably think about it randomly for years.
It’s the same thing, just one was a little purple. And you can apply that same thing to ideas.
It’s not as easy to achieve as it sounds. Dining at a [expletive] float-through McDonald’s will probably be a memorable experience. But will you forever remember the day the “3 Ideas in 2 Minutes” newsletter featured a fourth idea?
IV. Logic Trap
It is much easier to be fired for being illogical than it is for being unimaginative. The fatal issue is that logic always gets you to exactly the same place as your competitors.
—Rory Sutherland, Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense
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Have a great week,
Chris
themindcollection.com