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The Monday Morning Memo

Brands are Built on Core Beliefs

March 3, 2014

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https://podcasts.captivate.fm/media/4d33941b-35a0-461f-b731-56c87bd35a06/MMM140303-BrandsCoreBeliefs.mp3

I look in the mirror and see the person I believe myself to be. You look at me and see the person you believe me to be. We don’t see the same person.

Businesses, too, see themselves differently than their customers do.

A flatterer disguised as a branding consultant will help you create an idealized self-portrait and tell you it’s your brand. I say “idealized” because we businesspeople judge ourselves by our intentions. Customers judge us by our actions.

Peace of mind comes from liking the person you see in the mirror.

But brand attraction happens when the customer looks at your company and sees a reflection of themselves.

We are attracted to brands that stand for something we believe in. Likewise, we are attracted to television shows, movies, books, websites, podcasts, newscasts and songs that confirm what we believe. This is known in psychology as “confirmation bias.”

Let me say this plainly: If you challenge a person’s core beliefs, they will avoid you. Agree with those beliefs and they will like you. This is the essence of brand building.

But not everyone believes the same things. This is why a brand-builder must choose who to lose. There is no message, no belief system, that appeals to everyone.

The Democratic party and the Republican party dominate American politics even though just fifty-eight percent of Americans align themselves with either of these two brands.

In a survey of self-identified “Liberal Democrats” and self-identified “Conservative Republicans,” Experian Simmons identified the Top 15 favorite television shows of each group.

Not a single show was on both lists.

Not one.

Liberals prefer shows of moral ambiguity like Mad Men, Dexter, 90210 and Breaking Bad, where the good people aren’t entirely good and the bad people aren’t entirely bad. 

“I don’t mean to make light of it, but Democrats seem to like shows about damaged people,” said John Fetto, senior marketing manager at Experian Simmons. “Those are the kind of shows Republicans just stay away from.”

Conservatives prefer shows where hard work and talent are clearly rewarded. Reality shows and contests like American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Survivor and The Bachelor scored high with this group.

Interesting information, right? But not really surprising when you think about it. Narcissus saw his reflection in a pool of water and fell in love with the person he saw.

Confirmation bias strikes again.

How can you use this information to make money?

1. Quit trying to change your customer’s mind.
2. Tell them they’re right.
3. Confirm their suspicions.
4. Demonize their enemies.
5. Let them see themselves when they look at you. 

Do these things and you’ll make more money. Usually, a lot more money.

But a strange thing happens when you

“go along to get along,” when you
agree with people you don’t respect, when you
fail to speak out against injustice, when you
allow etiquette and expediency to quietly replace
compassion and courage:

You look in the mirror and no longer like who you see.

How do we remain open to seeing things from a new perspective without losing clarity of self in the process?

If I ever figure it out, I’ll let you know.

Roy H. Williams

The painting at the top of the page is a detail from Echo and Narcissus (1903)
by John William Waterhouse.


Jeff and Tina Schmitt are Soybu, a super-hot lifestyle brand of women’s active wear. Their “of-the-moment” fashions give comfort and confidence to women of all shapes and sizes. Sports Authority, REI and CorePower Yoga are just a few of the major retailers who proudly carry the line. Last month, Soybu opened their first dedicated retail outlet. Listen in as Jeff and Tina explain to Dean Rotbart explain exactly how to succeed in the highly competitive business of women’s clothing. You’ll always meet interesting people and learn valuable things at MondayMorningRadio.com

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Random Quote:

“

Throughout recorded time, and probably since the end of the Neolithic Age, there have been three kinds of people in the world, the High, the Middle, and the Low. They have been subdivided in many ways, they have borne countless different names, and their relative numbers, as well as their attitude towards one another, have varied from age to age: but the essential structure of society has never altered. Even after enormous upheavals and seemingly irrevocable changes, the same pattern has always reasserted itself, just as a gyroscope will always return to equilibrium, however far it is pushed one way or the other.
The aims of these three groups are entirely irreconcilable. The aim of the High is to remain where they are. The aim of the Middle is to change places with the High. The aim of the Low, when they have an aim – for it is an abiding characteristic of the Low that they are too much crushed by drudgery to be more than intermittently conscious of anything outside their daily lives – is to abolish all distinctions and create a society in which all men shall be equal. Thus throughout history a struggle which is the same in its main outlines recurs over and over again.
For long periods the High seem to be securely in power, but sooner or later there always comes a moment when they lose either their belief in themselves or their capacity to govern efficiently, or both. They are then overthrown by the Middle, who enlist the Low on their side by pretending to them that they are fighting for liberty and justice. As soon as they have reached their objective, the Middle thrust the Low back into their old position of servitude, and themselves become the High. Presently a new Middle group splits off from one of the other groups, or from both of them, and the struggle begins over again.
Of the three groups, only the Low are never even temporarily successful in achieving their aims. It would be an exaggeration to say that throughout history there has been no progress of a material kind. Even today, in a period of decline, the average human being is physically better off than he was a few centuries ago. But no advance in wealth, no softening of manners, no reform or revolution has ever brought human equality a millimetre nearer. From the point of view of the Low, no historic change has ever meant much more than a change in the name of their masters.

“

- Immanuel Goldstein, Ignorance is Strength

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