Comments for Branding Expert Martin Lindstrom - Author, Speaker & Fan of the Consumer

Comment on Sleeping with the Consumer by Duston B.

Duston B. — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 04:10:02 +0000

I love this insight. I have also lived and worked in the Philippines for many years now and I nearly came to blows with my former employer because he would not understand this very concept. He lived a life completely alien to most of the client base and he projected his base of reference on the customers. I took him to the workplaces, schools, eateries and average communities of our customer base and other than a permenant look of disgust I got nothing out of him, no change and no willingness to change his perspective and as such change the outside marketing efforts to reach the customers.

During my time there I spent many days giving presentations and talking directly with the customer base and re-training the inside staff to work on the right level with the customers. For two years the customer base grew and the business was successful but not AS successful as if the owner would have learned the very lesson you are expressing right here.

After two years of frustrations I left the company to return to the technology sector and am happily working with a VOIP provider (still in the Philippines). Yesterday I learned that now, only a year after my leaving the company, the customer base had dropped radically and the company has been forced to downsize by 50%.

If you don’t reach out to your customers on THEIR level and in THEIR terms then you alienate them and they will find somewhere else to spend their money.

Comment on Sleeping with the Consumer by Mái

Mái — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 15:01:32 +0000

All you have said is right! I´m working in a marketing research company in Colombia and I have proved all u´ve said. Companies don´t know their consumers!!… In our studies we have found many interesting things about colombian consumers and always there is a little detail that can change everything!!!

I´m only 23 but I have read almost all ur books and there are amazing!!!, in a few years I want to create my own company with a great idea (at least for me) that I have been developed for 3 years, and all your books and articles help me to improve my business plan.

Thank you so much for share with us all your knowledge!

From Colombia

Comment on New York Times: You Love Your iPhone. Literally. by Christie Nicholson

Christie Nicholson — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 20:07:55 +0000

“I would argue that perhaps their brains were reacting in that way, not because they love their iphone period, but rather because they love getting messages, calls and emails from friends, girlfriends and family members. In other words, perhaps it is not the iphone itself that causes those love-like feelings, but rather the act of having someone want to get in touch with you. People love personal attention.”

THIS IS A CRUCIAL POINT CHRISTIAN, thanks!

I would go a step further and say that the insula activation from just hearing the “sound” of the iPhone is just that, an activation…who knows whether it’s linked to love, or surprise, or just plain old ordinary shift in ATTENTION. Apparently there are many brain signals that are associated with the insula, like language, physical pain, memory retrieval, anger. So how can we conclude it was LOVE? What other pathways lit up? How do we distinguish one single emotion? Perhaps there are more details in the study. We are all conditioned to respond to phones ringing. Period. I don’t think it’s because we love them, we’ve just learned to pay attention to them! Would love to hear from Lindstrom on further details about the study that determine the love part.

Comment on Books by Martin Lindstrom by Brandwashed by Martin Lindstrom — Artisan Complete

Brandwashed by Martin Lindstrom — Artisan Complete — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:25:41 +0000

[...] read Martin Lindstrom’s Brand Sense and Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy, I am excited to read his next book Brandwashed. If you work in Shopper Marketing or if you are [...]

Comment on About by Why do we buy? Take a look at the truth and lies about why we buy : : rachelsaonoy.com

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:55:10 +0000

[...] Border’s going out of business sale, and I must say, it’s been quite an enjoyable read. Martin Lindstrom is Lindstrom is weekly columnist for Fast Company and the coveted TIME magazine. He is also a [...]

Comment on Ethics by The Dangers of Brandwashing: Are You “Brandwashed”? | Hubze Blog

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:01:34 +0000

[...] provides 10 Ethical Guidelines for brands to follow when approaching consumers, developed by “research and votes by more [...]

Comment on Branding Without a Brand by (Just) Logo Is Not Branding

(Just) Logo Is Not Branding — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 10:01:10 +0000

[...] 360 degrees that I briefly discussed last week. And 360-degree branding is everything.Full article here.Related posts:How to Create a Logo Ideally, your company logo enhances potential customers and [...]

Comment on Mini-branding Comes to the Net by Kaleb

Kaleb — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:54:35 +0000

I’m not sure if the mini-branding idea has anything to do with consumers being attracted to small things because they are ‘cute’. Well I definitely don’t think it is the primary reason people buy mini-products.

I think it comes down to guilt aversion. We are bombarded with messages about being the perfect weight, size, shape everyday yet it’s natural to crave a sweet treat. What better way to circumvent these thoughts (other than 2 for 1 pricing) than to offer the same product in a small form?

The consumer buys it, then may well get up-sold at the counter and everyone wins.

McDonlds had a similar strategy that they rolled out before everyone else. Offer salads and bags of fruit for the kids. Did it sell well? Nope. But it wasn’t designed to – it was designed to mitigate bad press surrounding fast food.

Comment on New York Times: You Love Your iPhone. Literally. by Lorenzo Ottaviani

Lorenzo Ottaviani — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 17:32:18 +0000

Veery interesting piece, indeed.

I’ve noticed such a brand loyalty from iPhone users that even when their iPhone is broken they can’t let go.

Check out http://www.iPhoneMorgue.com for interesting stories and photos.

Comment on New York Times: You Love Your iPhone. Literally. by Christian Gettermann

Christian Gettermann — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 08:41:29 +0000

I found this piece very interesting, although I would argue you make a few jumps I don’t think the evidence necessarily points to. First, the 16 subjects you mention were exposed to sounds or images of a vibrating iphone, that is, to an iphone receiving a call, a message or an email etc. The synesthesia is interesting, but not necessarily an uncommon phenomenon. The more interesting part is the activation of the insular cortex: “The subjects’ brains responded to the sound of their phones as they would respond to the presence or proximity of a girlfriend, boyfriend or family member.” I would argue that perhaps their brains were reacting in that way, not because they love their iphone period, but rather because they love getting messages, calls and emails from friends, girlfriends and family members. In other words, perhaps it is not the iphone itself that causes those love-like feelings, but rather the act of having someone want to get in touch with you. People love personal attention.

Second, and this is might be a more trivial point, the separation anxiety you mention is not limited to iphones. Before I had an iphone, if I left my phone at home, I became equally annoyed over being disconnected. Similarly, friends with Blackberrys and other cellphones feel just as annoyed over being disconnected. I think this emphasizes the point I made above: It’s not that people are stressed that they don’t have their iPhone, but rather, they are annoyed that they might be missing the calls, messages and emails they so love to receive.

Interesting piece nonetheless!

Best,

Christian Gettermann