30 Mar Emotional Branding
Johannesburg, more colloquially known as “Jozi” is a city without a singular characteristic. You are probably thinking – Um, don’t speak about my city like that. But actually it is way, way better.
Jozi is branded by a diversity of different characters that have the ability to suck you into it’s colourful, creative culture and somehow keep you without having to ask for your consent.
Now in a city that is such a distinct brand itself, how could you possibly encourage potential clients to look at yours?
No, this does not mean sending an airplane into the air to write your name in purple smoke; or sending out massive press releases reading: “(Your Brand) taking Google by storm!” – Although these could be pretty cool.
First of all let’s get down to the basics. What a better way to promote yourself than making use of something that people are already proud of, as inspiration? This is what we would refer to as a “trust indicator”
Johannesburg is filled with so many cultural aspects that people are proud of such as local:
- Arts & Crafts
- Theatre
- Restaurants
- Museums
- Galleries
- Advertising
- Fashion design
Saying this, the opportunities are endless.
Coca-Cola is a prime example of a brand that has made use of it’s surroundings and what people are proud of, to their advantage. Although they are a massive brand, every brand had to start somewhere. If you analyse their adverts, they have targeted the average individual; and this is what is important to remember – although every person is their own individual, by connecting people to what is around them triggers emotional connections all over the country.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGXrvk6d80c
Something even more recent that has been based on local inspiration is an Ad broadcasted by Santam. They,However, they flipped the concept of this ad on it’s head by portraying South Africa from a foreigner’s point of view and making use of the unique aspect of the country to Santam’s advantage.
Although these examples are based on South African culture, making use of the idea behind them is important.
Whether you are a jeweller, actor, writer, store-owner, sports coach or whatever else you may be; you have something around Jozi that people are proud of and using this to your advantage can encourage a greater sense of success than you realise.