Branding is usually referred to within the context of a business. When you consider the definition of a “brand” to be the feeling or perception that someone has about something else, it opens up a lot of ways to think about branding. For example, the May 09 issue of Wired magazine recently published an article about Teller, of Penn & Teller fame. Teller says that people are always surprised he can speak. That’s his schtick and after all these years we never see him break it. We know him as the little illusionist that doesn’t talk because that’s all we’ve ever seen. Consistent behavior is a powerful way to influence our perceptions of things and people. Performers, especially magicians, understand this concept very well. They call it “misdirection.” Teller is quoted as saying “People take reality for granted. Reality seems so simple. We just open our eyes and there it is. But that doesn’t mean it’s simple.”
The film “The Prestige” (based on a novel by Christopher Priest) delves into this concept a bit more by featuring real-life Chinese magician, Ching Ling Foo, whose entire life was based around an act of misdirection (being a weak, old man) in order to pull off a trick involving a huge bowl of water. After all, a weak old man couldn’t carry a huge bowl of water under his robes and between his knees, right? This trick was so important to him that he spent his whole life, on stage and off, as a weak, old man. That’s dedication.
While a strong brand (in the business sense) shouldn’t be based on a lie, it does need to be intensely dedicated to telling a convincing story and backing that up with a consistent experience. A business should ask, “how can I convince this person to try what I’m selling? And, how then, do I pay it off so they’ll do it again and tell all their friends?” It’s amazing how few business actually understand this concept and fewer still have actually mastered it.
What are your favorite Magical Brands?
0 Responses to “The Magical Brand”