Many brands invest significant time, energy, and money into crafting a beautiful identity that reflects their core values. They achieve many likes and shares, but it can be frustrating when sales don’t match these efforts. The issue might be that they’re stuck in the 'look at me' phase.
Understanding the consumer's mind
My ongoing interest in human psychology and behaviour and deep consumer research has provided valuable insights into what drives consumers to like, buy, and continue purchasing over time. The key lies in understanding human design.
Branding in monologue vs. Branding with dialogue
The first step in branding is creating a brand identity—a representation of how you want your brand to be perceived. This phase is often a monologue where the brand tells its own story. However, sales can be slow during this stage because the interaction is one-sided, and sales are voluntary.
Remember, these interactions sometimes don’t translate into sales, even if your brand collects many likes and shares. This kind of free attention doesn’t require cognitive reasoning, which is necessary for purchasing based on interests, beliefs, values, needs, budget, and urgency.
Engaging through dialogue
You must engage in branding with dialogue to turn that free attention into actual sales. Think of it as a dance between your brand and the consumer.
Step 1
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KNOWING YOUR DANCE PARTNER
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Understanding who your consumers are helps you tailor your approach. Like a dance, different moves are needed to lead your partner effectively. There are four types of consumers:
Available: Consumers ready to buy if your product or service meets their immediate needs.
Adapter: Consumers who aren’t actively seeking but are open to trying new things when presented with relatable information.
Adorer: Loyal customers who love your brand and return when they feel good.
Ambassador: Enthusiastic supporters who actively promote your brand to others.
Successful marketing creates harmony between your brand and the consumer, creating a smooth and enjoyable experience. Craft messages and campaigns that resonate emotionally with your audience, ensuring your brand's voice, visuals, and messaging align with their values and needs.
Step 2
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KNOWING WHERE AND HOW TO LEAD THE DANCE
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To spark meaningful conversations, understand how consumers comprehend information. People learn differently and generally in three ways:
Visual: Through images and visual content.
Auditory: Through sounds and spoken information.
Kinesthetic: Through touch and hands-on experiences.
People comprehend best when there is a shared value or interest and the right stimuli are used. Tailor your message to fit their preferred learning style. Focus on one key message and present it in a way that benefits them, not just you.
Step 3
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LEAD THE DANCE WITH YOUR PARTNER’S RHYTHM
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With technology advancing rapidly, consumer behaviour has shifted. Attention spans have shrunk from 45 seconds in 2016 to just 2.5 seconds today, impacting how businesses need to adapt their messaging. With consumers striking attention, you must make your message short and meaningful to capture and hold their attention swiftly before other interactive bursts of alluring content.
Branding with dialogue: Amplifying shared purpose
Branding today is not just about telling a story but engaging consumers in a conversation, where they become part of the brand's mission. Crafted by Canadian agency Cossette, this McDonald's Follow the Arch campaign creatively transformed the Golden Arches into directional arrows, serving as a perfect example of branding with dialogue. Imagine you're hungry while driving on a highway; this OOH (Out of Home) ad will instantly capture your attention and lead you to take the next exit for the nearest McDonald's restaurant. A good conversation always starts with a two-way dialogue: you express one message and let them respond. Just like a good dance, where both dancers are in sync, this campaign embodies the rhythm of effective communication. This simple yet well-executed idea culminated in winning the Outdoor Grand Prix at the 2018 Cannes Lions.
Colenso BBDO and Nexus Studios, New Zealand, executed this beautifully in Pedigree's Adoptable campaign. By utilizing AI to transform shelter dog images into high-quality photos for ads, Pedigree invited the public into the dialogue, leading to a 50% adoption rate in just two weeks. Their commitment to eliminating dog homelessness by 2026 isn't just a promise—they involve people in achieving it, making the mission a collective one. This campaign demonstrates how a brand can seamlessly engage people in a cause without asking directly, as the emotional bond between people and pets speaks for itself.
Similarly, Ogilvy, Shanghai, executed Dove's You're Beautiful campaign with an equally robust approach. They tapped into the often unspoken feelings of beauty and self-worth among women, inviting them to share personal stories through the campaign. This campaign resulted in 3 million women nationwide opening up, sparking a nationwide conversation on beauty. By giving women the platform and courage to express their stories, Dove deepened its connection with its audience, turning the brand into a catalyst for personal and societal change. The campaign illustrates how brands can effectively engage in dialogue that resonates with their consumers' most profound emotions, strengthening the brand-consumer relationship.
To make branding with dialogue truly successful, it’s essential for brands to have a comprehensive understanding of their target audience. When brands can speak directly to consumers’ values, desires, and emotions, the consumers will instinctively know how to engage without being explicitly asked. This deep connection allows brands like Pedigree and Dove to inspire action, where consumers feel compelled to participate and contribute because the message resonates with their personal experiences. The dialogue becomes seamless, and the brand's purpose aligns effortlessly with the audience’s actions.
What this means for your brand
In today's fast-paced digital world, the most successful brands are those who understand the value of genuine dialogue with their consumers. It's not enough to push messages out into the market. The real magic happens when a brand taps into its audience's shared emotions, experiences, and values, creating an open conversation that resonates personally. This kind of engagement doesn't need to be forced. When a brand truly knows its consumers, they respond naturally, sharing stories, making choices, and becoming advocates without being explicitly asked. Like Pedigree and Dove, brands that invite consumers into their narrative create communities of loyal followers who feel a personal stake in the brand's mission.
// Comprehension is
a brand lifeline //
What's critical here is that branding with dialogue requires more than just listening—it involves empathy, anticipation, and a commitment to understanding what drives your audience. By offering platforms for authentic expression, your brand can shift from being a voice in the crowd to becoming a leader in the conversation, gaining the trust and loyalty of consumers in a crowded marketplace.
Final thoughts
Brands that embrace dialogue as the foundation of their strategy will thrive in this era of connection. The brands that choose to speak to their consumers, not at them, create a relationship beyond products and services—they become part of the consumer's identity. And that's where the power lies.
Your brand doesn't need to shout but to be heard. Instead, it should aim to listen more deeply, engage in conversations that matter, and invite consumers to co-create a shared purpose. When your brand speaks with clarity and conviction, consumers will know precisely how to respond without you ever having to ask. Branding with dialogue is how you turn your brand from a commodity into a movement people believe in and actively champion.
Hi! I'm Nicki Wong, and I'm rooting for your success.
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