Insights

Did you know that there are over 50,000 brands actively being advertised in the German-speaking region? That around 26,000 new products enter the market every year? And that every person is confronted with 3,000 brand contacts every day? No doubt: We live in an age of brand diversity, but also in a time of information and image overload.

Consumers are reacting accordingly: Their contact with an ad lasts only 1.7 seconds (popular magazine), for mailings they take only 2 seconds for a quick initial relevance check, and they spend only 1 second on banners.

So we see that in brand communication, every second counts. To be noticed in such a short time, the brand style is essential, because it creates "instantaneous" association, differentiation, and shows the brand's character. In past years, we have observed the topic of brand style very attentively in our consulting work. Today we know:

• A coherent style beats advertising pressure: It is better to hone your brand style than to try to succeed with a fat media budget.

• Brand style increases advertising efficiency: Brands who use consistent style elements in their advertising are recognized twice as often.

• Consistency is more exciting: Brands that are advertised consistently are perceived to be less boring.

• Style creates perception: Whether consumers recognize a brand does not depend on its awareness or on whether consumers use the product.

• The number of style elements is not relevant: For the degree of recognition it is not essential whether one style element is particularly penetrating and recognized especially frequently, or whether the brand is recognized by several style elements.

Based on this experience, we have inferred three rules:

1. A brand style has to be unambiguous.

Henri Nestlé knew this way back in 1875, when he combined his brand with an image of a bird's nest. The Parisian Nestlé representative wanted a Swiss cross instead. But Henri Nestlé remained steadfast: "I am sorry, but I cannot trade the nest for the Swiss cross; people need to recognize my product at a glance. The nest is not just my brand, but my family crest as well ... I can't have a different brand in every country. Anybody has the right to use the cross, but nobody but me is allowed to use my family crest." (Source: Werbung in der Schweiz (Advertising in Switzerland), Markus Kutter, P. 27)

2. The brand style has to be self-similar

Example Shell: The shell logo of the oil giant goes back to company founder Marcus Samuel. He founded his enterprise in 1897, and in 1900 named it "Shell Transport and Trading Company Ltd." in honor of his father, who traded in valuable scallops. The logo, the image of a scallop, has been redesigned seven times between then and now. In 1971, the American industrial designer drafted the logo that has remained nearly unchanged to this day.

3. The brand style has to be assertive

Example SIXT: At Munich airport, the car rental company has a number of attention-grabbing brand touchpoints. They use the brand across many communication channels and make sure that it is recognized at the first level of perception – meaning instantly.

What is the color of Ferrari? How do you recognize the Dalai Lama, Napoleon, or Charlie Chaplin? What makes taxis in New York or London stand out? How do you recognize Nike or adidas? Consumers can identify these brands reliably and in tenths of a second because of their distinctive style. They are role models, because they show how you can be noticed and convince in our overstimulated world with a strong brand style.