What your motivations say about your brand?
Lately I’ve become very interested in the fact that the underlying motives of the people who create marketing are increasingly transparent to the people at whom the marketing is “aimed.”
I wrote a little bit about the effect of motives on UX a little while back, but it strikes me that the same is true for any kind of marketing or content that we create. Our increased sophistication in decoding marketing, along with our growing desire for multiple threads is (I think) leading to an environment where marketing is deconstructed against a variety of different criteria, one of which is “what was the person who created this thinking?”
For example, when a marketing program is created solely to generate entertaining content (i.e. funny advertising) a subtle yet visible hierarchy is also established. The brand – and the creator of the advertising – are the focus, they are to be watched. You, the customer – must watch. Extending this, I think that this brings with it a host of other associations, the watcher is less important, has less to say than the brand or creator of the advertising, and so on.
While I don’t think we typically process this consciously, I find it difficult to believe that we don’t feel this at some very basic level; and that this doesn’t have some impact upon what we think and feel about the brand.
Conversely, when a company focuses its marketing upon making the experience better for its customers, an equally subtle yet visible hierarchy is communicated. This company believes its current customers are important – it would rather serve its existing customers than pursue new ones. Additionally, this company sees itself at the service of its customers rather than above them.
Again, I doubt we are conscious of this, but I am sure it’s felt. What do you think?