In terms of memorable marketing, clothing retailer French Connection UK employed one possible strategy. It initiated a marketing campaign to differentiate itself from competitors by shocking its audience. Print ads as well as clothing with the controversial “FCUK” logo distinguished the brand as powerful and rebellious — and caused a significant jump in sales and profits in the first year. Clearly, such an approach is not suitable for every company, but it is important for all companies to find their way into the target audience’s memory.
To achieve long-term brand awareness, we must understand memory’s three-step encoding process. Information first enters sensory memory, but remains there for only one second. A striking first impression is crucial to ensure that your message reaches short-term memory. Short-term memory is available for only seconds to minutes, during which we want the audience to comprehend and value the material. If that happens, it will be stored in long-term memory, and will be retrievable for days and even years. Voila — brand awareness.
Three theories of memory are especially helpful in teaching us how to be memorable in branding and marketing. The “Similarity Effect”, utilized by French Connection, asserts that people are more likely to remember things that are different, rather than those that are similar to each other. The “Self-Reference Effect” states that people have better memory for things they relate to personally. The “Sensory Effect” refers to the impact on memory of sense features, such as color.
The Similarity Effect, first proven in a renowned 1964 study by Conrad & Hull, has undeniable marketing relevance, showing the need to stimulate a strong reaction so the audience will think about a message long enough to transfer it to short-term, and ultimately long-term, memory. Vonage Phone Service does this via TV commercials which involve someone doing something outlandish and dangerous. That “shock effect”, combined with a unique jingle and use of attention-grabbing bright colors, differentiate Vonage ads from countless “traditional” phone service commercials. A Vonage ad stands out as different, more thought-provoking, and thus, more memorable.
Common sense, experience, and scientific research (Craik & Tulving, 1975) all tell us that the more meaningful information is, the easier it is to remember. In psychology, this is called deep processing — and the deepest processing occurs when we relate material to ourselves. Leveraging this Self-Reference Effect requires understanding your target audience well enough to know what messages and images will best inspire a sense of personal connection. All audiences interpret new information through pre-existing frameworks or “schemas”. If incoming information does not fit our schemas, we are likely to downplay or ignore it. Many schemas are visual, and we tend to respond strongly to material that evokes characteristics like age, gender, and race — which highlights the importance of demographic marketing.
Advertising that strategically targets specific ethnic groups is ubiquitous. For good reason — a 1994 study by Martin, Lee, and Yang clearly showed that it works. In essence, the study compared the reactions of Asians and Caucasians to Asian models in advertisements. Predictably, Asians had stronger reactions and greater self-referencing. More importantly — in terms of marketing — Asians related to the content of the ads better, had more favorable attitudes, and expressed higher purchase intentions.
Sensory effects, especially colors, also influence memory. A 2001 study by Nickolova and Quilici proved that high color saturation led to improved memory recall when compared to low color saturation or neutral hues. In short, colors that stimulate the senses have the most impact. This concept is employed well in Apple iPod advertisements that feature dark silhouettes against intense color backgrounds. It’s also important to know that different colors evoke different feelings. For example, “hot” colors, like bright reds, oranges and yellows, have been shown to stimulate mood and appetite — and thus are used by almost all fast food chains.
We are also attracted to colors that are tied to past sensory experiences — an effect known as color recognition, which usually occurs without our conscious knowledge. This is a primary reason that a brand must be visually consistent. Coca-Cola is an obvious exemplar — Coca-Cola red is instantly recognized all over the world. That color reminds consumers that they are enjoying a Coke; seen later, it can also inspire them to want to enjoy a Coke. Indeed, Coke’s color recognition is so powerful that other cola brands often try to tap into it by employing a very similar red color scheme.
The lesson? If you want to make sales, start by making memories. Understanding how the memory process works can help you do just that. So can partnering with marketing and branding professionals who go beyond reciting vocabulary words (“memorable”, “differentiate”) and continuously seek the most effective ways to accomplish your specific business objectives.
As part of Kolbrener’s summer intern program, we asked each of our three interns to write an article on marketing. They were encouraged to consult with senior staff to sharpen their insights and polish their prose, with the incentive that the best essay would be published on our Web site. We were so impressed with their work, and the relevance of their topics for our readers, that we decided to publish all three. Making Memories was written by Jessica Dornseif, a senior Business and Psychology major at the University of Pittsburgh.
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