Tell them what you are not

Although it may sound counterintuitive, there are ways to successfully brand a product or service by publicizing and focusing on attributes it does not posses. This form of branding can be divided into three categories:


The first one is publicizing something negative about a business (or what it is not good at) in order to qualify the positive. Consider the famous Avis slogan “Were #2. We try harder”. Proclaiming to the world they are not #1 takes guts. The underlying logic of qualifying the positive, however, sits well; because they are not #1, they need to try harder. Motel 6 is another example: “Our rooms aren’t fancy; our prices aren’t fancy.” Because their rooms are not fancy, therefore they are able to charge non-fancy prices.
This idea was expressed by adman Ron Hoff. He said "I have often wondered why corporate ads always strive to make the reader believe that the company is infallible. Admit one negative and the rest of your advertisement will gain believability."






The second category takes it a step further. In this category, negative attributes are expressed without even qualifying anything positive! For example, Listerine’s original slogan “The taste you hate, three times a day” or Buckley’s cough medicine “it tastes awful. And it works.” Both these companies chose to focus on an attribute –bad taste- that is entirely not positive. Volkswagen’s Beatle slogan “It will stay uglier longer” or Crocs’ slogan “Ugly is beautiful” chose to brand themselves as being ugly. Both Beatle and Crocs not only have slogans that emphasize their ugliness, their very names emphasize it as well! Naming a car after an insect or a sandal after a crocodile is no oversight but rather a well-planned brand strategy.


Why does it work so well? Why did these companies go on to become “cult brands” with huge fan clubs singing their praises? There are a few dynamics in play. I’ll share one of them with you: People’s minds cannot perceive an item as being good in all areas. The term “Jack of all trades, master of none” may not necessarily be true but is a deeply embedded principle etched in the psyche of the human mind. We don’t believe a Jack of all trades can be master of any. Not only that, but because our minds think linearly, intuitively we don’t truly believe anything to be a master of more than only one idea. Because these brands chose to publicly divest themselves of extraneous positive qualities, we come to believe that they truly mastered the single quality they express. If Crocs look ugly, we conclude that they must be comfortable. If Listerine or Buckley’s taste bad, they must work. Otherwise, why would people ever buy them?


In a different vein, the third category is about saying what you are not, but never explaining what you are. I like to call it the vacuum technique. Consider Obama’s “change” or “Yes you can” message. While it may seem like they told you what he is, in reality you were only told what he’s not. The word “Change” means it will not be like whatever was before the change. “Yes you can” means your prior state was one of “no you couldn’t”. As for what the “change” will be or what will happen when “you can”, that was left open-ended.


The reason this works is because by only saying what he is not, a vacuum is created as to what he may be. Science dictates that all vacuums get filled. Who fills the vacuum? You do. The masses replaced any problematic, unchanged circumstance of the past, with Obama. Obama branded himself as your favorite uncle. Simply saying he’s different than the negative without articulating why, forced the masses to think and figure it out on their own. They figured out that he was going to change all bad into good and was going to enable you (or America) to accomplish things you never did. The vacuum technique is so strong because a) it can’t be misinterpreted and b) the target personalizes it. Whatever went wrong in your past will change for the good. Whatever you personally couldn't accomplish in the past, you can now accomplish. Quite a feat. The sound of silence is loudest!

It’s all about Perception...

At a recent meeting, a prospective client turned to me and said, “The bottom line is that if I have good products and service, my business will succeed; if not, it won’t.” I found that a bit odd because, prior to the meeting, he admitted that despite his business already offering good products and service, it was in need of rebranding. It seemed he was torn between his realistic intuition to rebrand and an inability to comprehend why it works. The following is my explanation:
The first thing we need to understand, is that even if the bottom line was really about good products, service and price, we still need the benefits of branding and marketing.
Here’s why: When you were younger, surely someone posed the following, or similar, question to you: “How do you know the color green is really green; maybe it’s a different color that your eyes just interpret as green?” An interesting question to which there is no good answer. (what a tease!) If you were a little thoughtful, (is that a big "if"?) you probably said “You may be right and I’ll never know for sure, but it makes no difference what color it really is. What’s important is that it always appears to be green.” How very profound! (I'll give you the credit for that answer)What something really is does not make a difference; how you perceive it and how it relates to you, does.
There are hundreds of research studies to prove perception influences more than reality. Here’s one I’m sure you will recognize:
A study of Danish general practitioners in 2002 found that 48% of the doctors surveyed prescribed a placebo (the sugar pill that does absolutely nothing except give someone the perception that he is taking medicine) at least 10 times during that year. A 2004 study in the British Medical Journal of physicians in Israel found that 60% of the doctors used placebos in their medical practice. A meta-analyses in 1998 found that 75% of the effectiveness of anti-depressant medication is due to the placebo effect rather than the treatment itself. "Them Doctors" (to paraphrase Rev. Wright) and research scientists obviously believe in the scientific validity of treatment through perception (or some might argue-deception).
Here’s a product that directly addresses the desire for good service-through perception: According to Storming Images LLC, research indicates that digital flash menu boards produce a 46% customer experience enhancement due to perceived wait time in lines being less than static menu boards. Bill Yackey reporting for Fast Casual (April 2009) writes, “Digital signage gives customers something to look at….The perceived wait time is shortened, and the customer remains happy to be where he is.”
The perception of a good deal or the “need” for low prices was the subject of an extensive research study that concluded: the best thing to do when customers feel the price of an item is too high is to introduce an even higher priced model into the very same category. Customers then perceive the original item as being an affordable alternative.
Having good quality, service and price, is not what wins over customers. What does win over them is the perception of good quality, service and price. It so happens, that reality is usually necessary in order to sustain the perception. However, branding and marketing is what creates and reinforces such perception.
The truth is though, the perception of good quality, service and price, does not by itself motivate people to buy either. If it did, we’d all be broke in a day. People buy things only because they have unmet desires or needs they want fulfilled. The offering that best meets those desires or needs will get the order.
Branding is the process of infusing an offering with signals that signify and create the perception that the product best corresponds to and fulfills their particular needs or desires. If the signals are in place, the objective perception should follow- followed by a sale!

Yaacov Weiss is a brand strategist and founder of Tug branding and marketing, based in Lakewood, NJ. If you’d like Yaacov to position your business, call 732-276-6432. You may also email Yaacov at yaacov@tugbranding.com.