How many times do you walk past a sign on the street and read it? In other words, how much visual noise in our built environment has ‘stopping power’? Difficult to answer and quantify, we know, as we see, filter, read and retain information subconsciously from the thousands of messages around us every day.
We exist in a highly visual culture, where every street corner is a communication touchpoint.
There is pressure on brands to keep producing new content to be noticed. We feel it at DMA Partners. It’s one of the reasons why we maintain our regular blogs. Sharing content is a way for brands to connect with their audiences and make sure that when the services they offer are needed, they are on the radar for clients. But more content does not always equate to more engagement.
So how exactly can your brand stand out?
Shunning witty copy and clever graphics in favour of simplicity, one North London pub has created a sign which speaks to the pub ethos: simple, reliable, good.
Their message is simple.
“Under old management”.
The copy is witty. In announcing proudly that things have not changed, and positioning permanency as its USP, the pub is cleverly attesting to a history of quality and giving people what they want.
New does not always mean better. Sometimes what consumers are after is reliability and familiarity. This pub has managed to stand out by doing the opposite of what many others do.
So maybe the next step in your brand strategy is not a radical re-design, but rather emphasising the quality of the features of your product or service that your customers truly appreciate. In an environment where there is constant pressure for innovation and novelty, perhaps it’s time to flip the narrative and look inward at what is already working well?
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