THINK ABOUT IT: Do You Need to Do More for Your Brand?

No matter how many times I, and many others, have said it and you’ve heard it, “less is more, less is more, less is more,” nor how it is said, “more is less,” “< = >,” marketers still opt for doing more.?

As attractive as "more" may seem, it produces less of what really matters. This maxim rings true for all aspects of marketing. Focus on those few non-urgent, critically important matters rather than those many urgent, noncritical issues to grow your brand and your career.

When it comes to brand messaging, “less is more” applies, despite marketers attempting to do more. Lots more than their messaging can hold.

Add additional benefits to your messaging, and you dilute the point of your brand—its competitive advantage.?

Multiple benefits obfuscate what your brand stands for (its positioning) and why target customers should prefer it.?

They also cloud the existence and chance for any relevant, meaningful differentiation.?

Your brand sounds like every other brand in the category.

It doesn’t end with the strategic message embedded in the Creative Brief. It leads to execution that, at best, “tells” rather than “compels” the target audience.

How can we communicate multiple, diverse benefits in a compelling Brand or Campaign Idea? We can't!

Andy Langer, a worldwide chief creative officer who has led the development of winning campaigns for brands like Neutrogena, demonstrated this to his clients with the help of tennis balls.?

He’d toss one tennis ball to a client to catch. No problem. It was a cinch!

He followed up by tossing out three tennis balls at the same time. There weren’t enough hands to catch all three.?

The client was lucky to snag one.

The mind can't catch, no less realize, multiple diverse benefits. The mind has to work too hard to absorb them, and even if it does, it can't process them in a way that proves persuasive, no less compelling.

So don’t try to do more. More is less!

Instead, focus on the point of the brand—its value proposition. Why the target customer should prefer, purchase, or prescribe, and use your brand. It's relevant, meaningful brand differentiation.

Eliminate any generic benefits from the Creative Brief, which customers ascribe to all brands in the category.

Remove responses to potential customer objections. Sales personnel can handle those.

Be ruthless in identifying that one benefit that, told through a BIG, compelling Campaign Idea, will trigger preference and achievement of the Brand’s Communication Behavior Objective.

Don’t try to do more than what is unequivocally critical to success.

To stand out from the crowd, be the only ONE!

THINK ABOUT IT:

• Does your Creative Brief list more than one benefit? If so, it's problematic.
• Does it contain multiple customer needs? This may be the origin of the problem. Which ones are unsatisfied? Which one is most important that your brand can satisfy?
• Are there any unmatched needs and benefits? Ah, this makes the brief multi-focal and impossible to find the focus.
• Is each benefit promised of equal importance to your target customer? No, then why are they included?
• Are there any generic benefits? They're diluting your messaging.
• Do any of the benefits respond to potential customer objections? Eliminate them from the Creative Brief. Sales personnel can handle objections.
• Does it include benefits that match competitors? They're generic and suck the essence out of your differentiation.

If your Creative Brief violates any of those mentioned above, you've MORE work to do. It’s the only time MORE is needed.

Less is More. LESS is more. LESS IS MORE. < = >. Enough said?

If you found this article thought-provoking, please follow me on LinkedIn?https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/richarddczerniawski/, where I share my perspectives from 50 years of successful worldwide “brand” marketing experience across many business sectors.

Peace and best wishes for making your marketing matter more,

Richard D. Czerniawski