“Good marketing is good storytelling,” said Jack Trout at Tuesday’s IAA Networking Evening. The event was sponsored by Gulf News, and Trout was there to talk about the subject of his new book, In Search of the Obvious: The Antidote for Today’s Marketing Mess. He did this by telling stories himself about campaigns that had succeeded or failed in his “Five Tests of Obviousness.”
In Search of the Obvious is the latest of 13 books by the founder of Trout & Partners. Jack Trout is credited with inventing the concept of positioning as a marketing practice, and IAA UAE president Dr. Lance de Masi said in his introduction to the evening, “I refuse to trivialize his being with us by taking you through the list of blue chip companies who, over the years, have sought his advice, the books and articles he has written, the presentations he has given, or even the brands he has helped create.”
“I refuse,” continued de Masi, “because that’s all just supporting evidence for an unshakable fact: Tonight we will hear from a man whose thoughts and perspectives have been determinant in the shaping of the last nearly half-century of marketing and marketing communications principles and practice.”
Trout warned his audience that today, if a brand makes a mistake, a competitor will take that brand’s market share. “And you know what?” he asked. “You never get it back.”
Your brand needs to be positioned properly. That is, its marketing needs to tell the right story. As times change, you may need to reposition your brand, and start telling the story differently.
The right story for a brand, said Trout, is the obvious one. The obvious story, though, isn’t always… well, obvious. So he offered the assembled members of the IAA five tests to see if marketing is right. And he offered plenty of examples of brands that have passed and – often – failed the tests.
1. The problem that your brand solves must be a simple one. Mennen E didn’t realize this. Never heard of Mennen E? That’s because it’s a 1970s deodorant that contained vitamin E. The idea of needing to spray vitamins under one’s armpits baffled consumers into avoiding the brand, and it failed.
2. Does the brand check in with human nature? We are naturally insecure, argued Trout. When we are weighing up a purchase, we weigh up the risks, including: monetary risk (is it worth it?); physical risk (is it safe?); social risk (will my friends approve?); and psychological risk (how will I feel about myself?). It is also in our human nature to follow the herd and buy what others buy; and marketers need to realize that minds don’t change, so it’s not worth trying to make your consumer change their attitude.
To back up his assertions about human nature, Trout offered examples ranging from Xerox’s and AT&T’s failures to break from their core competencies of photocopying and telecoms respectively and move into making computers to Coke’s tagline. “Always Coca-Cola” was a great tag line, he said. It sold the story of the beverage’s heritage to consumers. “The real thing” doesn’t work as well. “What are you talking about?” asks Trout. “It’s Pepsi cola a lot of the time; that doesn’t make any sense.”
3. Can you put it on paper? Don’t just simplify, said Trout; oversimplify. If you can boil a brand down to one word you’re on a winner. BMW did this with driving. “The ultimate driving machine” told a great story. The car company’s new word, “Joy,” doesn’t make as much sense.
4. Does your idea explode in people’s minds? In other words, will it grab the public’s attention and stand out from the competition?
5. Is the timing right? To illustrate good timing for a repositioning, Trout held up Lotus. The software manufacturer invented spreadsheets for the PC. But after a while, Microsoft came creeping into their turf with Excel. So Lotus called in Trout. He focused on another of their products, Notes, which allowed companies to work together on projects. Lotus began to change its focus from “Spreadsheet” to “Groupware,” and when IBM came calling after a couple of years, Lotus was still worth $3.5 billion.
As de Masi said, summing up Trout’s presentation, “The biggest danger I and many academics see in what’s going on in marketing communications today is that in the frenzy to engage, in the obsession with the where – especially if it’s new, and in the unprecedented priority and permission given to execution, we forget the role of content in creating lasting brand relationships.
“In Search of the Obvious is a great opportunity to be reminded of the not-so-obvious ‘obvious,’ and the need – today more than ever – to keep the obvious front and center in 21st century marketing communications.”