Page 44 - MYM 2015

In marketing, everything else is secondary to the job of getting into consumers’ minds. And without a powerful visual hammer, that job is exceedingly dif cult to do.
Volvo continues to drift downward. From a high of 113,267 vehicles in 1986, Volvo sold just 56,366 vehicles in 2014. That year, both BMW and Mercedes-Benz sold more than six times as many vehicles as Volvo. Even Audi sold more than three times as many vehicles as Volvo.
Volvo’s biggest mistake was to abandon a successful visual hammer. And after it did that, the brand suffered.
Over the long term, a consistent visual hammer is even more important than a consistent verbal nail, although it’s better to have both.
Consider Chevrolet. Logical managers tend to prefer ideas that encompass everything. Like Chevrolet’s latest slogan Find new roads.
Even if Chevrolet manages to put that idea into prospects’ minds, where’s the motivation to buy a Chevrolet vehicle?
Then too, when your idea is a high-level abstraction, it’s almost impossible to nd a visual hammer that will drive the idea into minds.
Effective visual hammers need narrow nails like driving and safety. (Real hammers need narrow nails, too.)
How can anyone nd a visual hammer that symbolizes democracy, loyalty, trust, happiness and other high-level abstractions?
Consumers tend to take verbal ideas like Find new roads literally. It sounds like an advertising slogan for Range Rover, whose owners often get off the main roads to explore the back country.
Abstract ideas needs to be brought down to earth before they can be turned into visual hammers. And if you want to build a global brand today, you are going to need a visual hammer or your efforts are likely to fail.
Visuals speak louder than words!
Authors: Al Ries is the chairman of Ries & Ries, a global marketing consulting rm located in Atlanta, Georgia USA. He is the author, along with Jack Trout, of “Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind,” rst published in 1981 and perhaps the best-selling marketing book of all time. Laura Ries is the president of Ries & Ries. She is the author of “Visual Hammer,” a book that is revolutionizing marketing by shifting the emphasis from a verbal to a visual approach.
44 I October 2015