Product vs Brand Story.
You are about to walk into some very uncoordinated thoughts and half ramblings on a topic that's currently having a go at my mind. I think I needed an outlet and that should explain why you're getting to read all these. I'm not really sure why I wrote it so I decided to come back here to drop this tiny foreword warning you and also trying to prepare your mind for what is to come.
Enjoy!
So I happened to spend four years of my university education in a school where you had to be corporately dressed every working day of the week. It was a strange thing to get used to for many of us but with time you just find out you're already used to it and it begins to feel like you can't do without it till you step out of the school premises and are no longer required to conform to those laws. It's at times like that the real you floats to the surface and for me, the real me was casual af!
I have always been someone who puts my comfort above everything else (or I at least always try to) and sometimes I feel it's just me being selfish except this is the "good" type of selfish. So if I'm the type to pick my comfort over anything else, then this must affect every part of my life including the clothes I choose to wear. Now, t-shirts are super comfortable and it's probably the reason why they're everywhere but that's a big problem. The problem of picking the right t-shirt by the consumer, and the problem of standing out from the crowd by the brands.
It must have been in a quest to achieve this differentiation that brands embarked on the journey of various marketing campaigns; telling stories instead of trying to sell products. It is why Nike tries to get into your head and motivate you to "Just Do It". Even Apple tries to make you believe that using their products makes you different from every other person on earth. So a story is crafted and packaged in a way that it can appeal to a certain group of people (read Target Market). Since most quality t-shirts are usually of the same material, does this mean that the differentiating factor is usually the brand story and the target market? It seems like that to me.
As kind of a natural storyteller, I tend to gravitate towards stories and how people try to pass ideas on to other people. Not all those who try to tell these stories do a good job of it and I seem to learn more from the bad attempts than from the awesome ones. At this point, it's safe to say that I'll be more swayed by the story behind the product than the actual product itself. This story could then be very easily turned into hype by the fans of the brand and these fans will come from the initial target market. This means that in order to have a story that sells, there's the need to identify who the story is for.
Thank you @fisteganos for the story, I'm glad that you ended it with a question which created an enabling ground for me to pour out my mind.
First of all I'll like to point out here the real determining factor over the buying of hypes and marketing stories by marketers; MONEY!
How do I mean? The bunch in my ledger is the key 🔑 to my ears 👂 and I think that humans seemed to be programmed that we, the more bunch the more our ears are opened for those marketing hypes and stories and the lesser our ledger turns then thicker our ears becomes over stories and hypes.
Design, color, style, and brand do influence my decision in purchasing a little, but frankly speaking my pocket is the chief decision influencer followed by brand.
Thanks.
Great..!
Great post bro.best of luck.
The marketing strategy you describe was outlined by Freud's nephew Edward Bernays in the early '20s. DeBeers diamond cartel used one of the most effective branding campaign with their "diamonds are forever" slogan, fully supported by an original musical composition. Listerine is another company that brilliantly used branding to sell a solution to a non-existing problem (bad-breath).
So it seems the key to great marketing is getting into the minds of the consumers and crafting a scenario you intend them to believe in. Like Henry Ford said “if I had asked people what they wanted, they’d have said a faster horse”
you almost twisted me at my first read. had to re read.
lol
Lol. Unlike you, I didn’t have the strength and courage to re read so I just moved on 😀
Any thoughts on what influences your choices?
The willingness to actually decode. It will be a waste of time if i dont understand
In response to the choice of clothes. I guess it is color and trend. I like bright colors but i also like whats new
nice post guys,.,.
If i have to choose a t-shirt the first thing that comes to my mind is the colour.
I dont like sharp colours so i go for dull ones.
Nice piece @fistegenos
Interesting. I think color affects my choice too. I was at a store the other day and just kept saying “no” to every shirt till I found something my eyes could stand.
Thank you 😊
That's Naija Schooling system for you. And students will still end up learning only "X and Y"
Comfort. I don't even go for branded materials. Brands are overrated. Garri is an awesome product that outsells indomie without ad!