“Republicans buy Nike. “
This is Michael Jordan’s reaction when asked about his views on socio-political issues. Compare that to LeBron James’ “More Than An Athlete” mentality on sociopolitical issues.
MJ and LeBron clients reflect the possible binary options that brands face today: take a social position or remain silent. As CEOs reflect on the decision, we value the way they gave us here and what will come next.
This begins with brand neuroscience and how it evolves in the minds of consumers.
Anthropomorphism
Anthro what? What neuroscientists call anthropomorphism, other lay people call it personification, and CEOs call personality logo. We have a tendency to characterize the human characteristics of non-human things like animals, rocks and events. It’s science that explains why we call our pets.
It is an ancient concept that was tried and tested in laboratories through studies such as Heider and Simmel’s 1944. The study used an interaction of two triangles and a point to make some participants cry. Here’s a look at what other people see in the image below:
Anthropomorphism is an innate habit that is expressed from the years of formation, when we associate personalities with dolls, trucks, etc. The tendency to impersonate becomes more powerful after the start of pets.
Adult life is also full of anthropomorphism. Ports are full of boats with people’s names, fictional or not, even herbal mistakes have personalities. Hurricanes and tropical storms have a first name. In 2020, COVID feels like a perverted person, and fires in California have a personality that helps keep ravaging relentlessly. Social media and journalism have personified the year itself, 2020 is not yet over with us. .
Anthropomorphism in business
What is a logo but anthropomorphism in business?Marketing specialists expand the methods to create a logo personality based on our anthropomorphic nature. Whether promoting flights, phones or fitness, Virgin is a rebel. Whether it’s movies, games or theme parks, Lego is a magical creator. Personality is taught in business schools around the world. See if your favorite logo matches any of the following: Innocent, Common Man, Hero, Rebel, Explorer, Creator, Ruler, Wizard, Lover, Caregiver, Jester, and Wise.
As corporations have matured and become more data-driven, logo personalities have matured accordingly. Technology logos such as Skype, Snap, and Twitter have uncovered tactics for conveying personality through sources, colors, and user delight in products that only exist in code.
Touchable or not, consumers respond well to a strong use of logos. They may not be aware of it, but a logo is a user in the consumer’s mind. Enter fictional characters like logo faces: Ronald McDonald, Michelin Man, Pillsbury Dough Boy, and more.
What better way to use a logo than a character? Move from a dummy user to a genuine user.
Back to MJ vs. Lebron
Consumers and brands have evolved in parallel. In the 1990s, Nike had a hero’s brand personality for consumers to buy Nike as a person. Michael Jordan’s depiction as a real-life hero validated Nike as a heroic person. .
It’s about accepting as true. Brands want customer trust, because accepting as true is a vital driving force of logo value. The personality alone was enough to earn the customer’s trust in the era of the MJ logo. Today, in the era of the LeBron logo, customers continue to personify the logos and yet call for more than just personality to gain their acceptance as true.
They claim socio-political positions in exchange for being accepted as true. Consumers evolve and brands will also have to evolve. LeBron and Maverick Carter include it organically and carry it out authentically. Study after examination has shown that social status is how brands now deserve consumer acceptance.
Edelman’s Brand Trust 2020 is one of many who show just that: nearly two-thirds of consumers say trusting a logo is a time for everyone. Sprout Social found that 66% of consumers surveyed need logos to take a socio-political position. Issues.
What hasn’t replaced (and possibly never changed) is the fact that we personify brands, what it’s replaced is a new set of features that consumers now require brands to see as people.
Brands were designed through marketers to be anthropomorphic people. Ironically, brands will now have to go completely through not only having a personality, but also opinions and positions if they need to have customer trust.
If LeBron can be more than an athlete, brands can be more than a personality.
Prince Ghuman is a professor and e-book of neuromarkettechnics Blindsight: The (Most) Hidden Ways Marketing Rehapes Our Brains
I am a professor at Hult Business School and CEO of the corporate neuro-marketing bootcamp PopNeuro. com. I’m also from the Blindsight neuromarketing ebook.
I am a professor at Hult Business School and CEO of the PopNeuro. com corporate neuro-marketing bootcamp. I’m also the one from the neuromarketing ebook Blindsight. Previously, I held the dual role of Director of US Consumer Marketing and Global Director of B2B. Marketing for OFX, a publicly traded FinTech company managing over $ 100 billion in overseas payments.