Simple Sells More – Why YOUR brand needs to be SIMPLE (Issue 17, Vol 04)

Judging by the number of e-mails I received from last week’s edition of Competitive Difference, it would seem that I really got you going and stirred up a lot of reaction.

If you missed last week’s edition, here’s a brief outline. The British union flag is more complex than it might appear at first sight. Although it looks symmetrical, in fact it isn’t – so it’s quite possible to fly the flag upside down. There are not many people who recognise this (and it seems to me that there are fewer who even care). The recent Royal wedding has of course seen many more union flags being flown than would normally be the case. I saw some flags being flown upside down by one of my local shops. I pointed out the error to the shop owner, and to my amazement she responded by saying that she didn’t care. At that point I elected to take my business elsewhere and she lost the sale. And now back to this week’s edition:

Your response

As I mentioned in the opening, I received a lot of e-mails from you, all of which fell into one of two categories. The first group comprised people wanting to know more about the British union flag and exactly how to fly it correctly (i.e. not upside down). The second group were all people supporting my action in taking my business elsewhere.

Interesting point

Not one person wrote me an e-mail suggesting that I overreacted, or that I was in some way focusing on a level of detail that wasn’t relevant.

So what?

The “so what” to me is that, generally speaking, people tend to respect each other’s values and positions. Some people wanted to know more about my particular position (i.e. the British flag), while others were quite willing to accept my position at face value.

There is a further point to make which relates to the British flag itself. There is a quite reasonable theoretical argument to be made suggesting that the flag is in fact overly complex. If it were redrawn so that it was symmetrical, then the whole confusion as to whether it was possible to fly it upside down would simply disappear. Now we know that this isn’t going to happen any time soon. The union flag will, I’m sure, remain the union flag for a long time after I am dead and buried.

Key point: There is a direct parallel to be made between the union flag and the messages (brand) that you put into the marketplace.

If your message, or your brand is capable of being misinterpreted (i.e. flown upside down) then you can be absolutely 100% sure that this is exactly what will happen. The simpler the message the easier it will be remembered. Witness:

BMW: The ultimate driving machine

Access credit card: Access your flexible friend

American Express: Don’t leave home without it

Anadin: Nothing acts faster than Anadin

BT: It’s good to talk

Carlsberg: Probably the best lager in the world

DHL: We keep your promises

Abbey National: Because life’s complicated enough

While I accept that these are more marketing slogans than they are fully developed messages, the fact of the matter is that they are all simple – you can’t really ‘fly’ any of these ‘upside down’.

Homework for this week? Review the messages you are putting into the marketplace about what it is you do for your customers. Do all those messages support each other, or are some of them in conflict? How easy are they to understand? Ask friends and colleagues for their views of what your messages mean to them. Do they all agree, or are some ‘upside down’?

Let me know how you get on.

This post was first published as one of Chris Davidson’s “Competitive Difference” emails. You can subscribe to Chris Davidson’s “Competitive Difference” (CDCD) Via the Active Presence website.You can also contact Active Presence Directly.