WHY DO PEOPLE CRAVE SOME BRANDSAND IGNORE OTHERS?

CRAVE: 1. to long for; want greatly; desire eagerly; to yearn for; hunger for. 2. to require; need.

3. to wait all night in line so you can be the first to buy it.

SO, WHAT TURNS IT ON?

IS IT BETTER BRANDING?

MORE MARKETING?

SMARTER ADVERTISING?

MORE AGGRESSIVE SELLING?

IT ALL STARTS WITH

A BRILLIANT PRODUCT.

ANTICIPATE NEEDS• Demand creators start by understanding people. They know our aspirations, needs, what excites us and what frustrates us.

• They observe behavior and then innovate to make our lives easier, more productive, and more fun.

• They know what we want before we do. This enables them to create things we can't resist and competitors can't copy.

From Demand, Creating What People Love Before They Know They Want it, by Adrian J. Slywotzky, Crown Business Books, New York.

DEMAND CREATORS KNOW WHAT MAKES US LOVE A PRODUCT

…OR NOT.

ART & SCIENCE • Brand craving comes from making the right connections between evolving consumer needs and your product.

• Instead of trying to convince people to buy what you have, it requires seeing things through their eyes and creating something that will delight them.

From Demand, Creating What People Love Before They Know They Want it, by Adrian J. Slywotzky, Crown Business Books, New York.

THERE’S A HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SATISFACTION AND DELIGHT.

CONNECTION • Gallup attributes the difference between mere satisfaction and delight to the customer's emotional connection. • When customers are delighted, they become advocates and sources of new ideas for improving your product.

• Brands that achieve this emotional engagement enjoy an average 46% sales advantage over other products in the category. From Demand, Creating What People Love Before They Know They Want it, by Adrian J. Slywotzky, Crown Business Books, New York.

THE PRODUCTCRAVE FORMULA:

STEPS to CRAVE: 1. Find and capture the emotional space in your category2. Fix the things that annoy people3. Create a compelling backstory4. Find the action triggers5. Constant improvement6. Exploit market niches7. Create a revolutionary launchFrom Demand, Creating What People Love Before They Know They Want it, by Adrian J. Slywotzky, Crown Business Books, New York.

A REVOLUTIONARY LAUNCH

FIT IN TO AVOID

CRITICISM?

OR STAND OUT TO GET NOTICED?

STAND OUT: “Stand out or fit in. Not all the time, and never at the same time, but it's always a choice.

“Those that choose to fit in should expect to avoid criticism (and be ignored). Those that stand out should expect neither.”

Seth Godin

THE SECRET INGREDIENT:

“Creativity is overtaking capital as the principal elixir of growth.”

Thomas Petzinger Jr., Wall Street Journal

UNIGNORABLE“The old rules no longer apply when it comes to building a brand. They were created for another era when there was less noise, less hype, less technology; a time when people were easier to reach and influence – before they developed advanced mutant powers enabling them to sort, filter, manipulate, or just ignore information.” Alex Bogusky, CP+B

TODAY IT’S NOT THE VOLUME OR FREQUENCY OF YOUR MESSAGE.

IT’S THE CREATIVITY AND RELEVANCE OF YOUR BRAND.

SURPRISING“In the new media landscape, surprise is more important than repetition.

“To purchase awareness now, it’s not enough to buy more airtime. It’s critical to invest in creative ideas. And the return on that investment will depend on their ability to surprise, intrigue, engage, and stir conversation.” Alex Bogusky, CP+B

THE EQUATIONOut of the 5,000 or so product messages you’re bombarded with every day, why do so many fail to leave a mark on your brain? Not interesting. Not relevant.

We combine dead-on, kill’em between the eyes strategy with jaw-dropping creative. Strategy plus creative – kinda like Batman and Robin, they work best together

+ =

THE PROCESS First, we put ourselves in your shoes (after a quick spray of disinfectant – no offense). If it was our money paying for that prime space in your target’s crowded psyche, we’d feel cheated if our message looked the same as everyone else’s. Been there. Done that. It’s a little thing we call ignorable advertising. And it bears a striking resemblance to those 3,000 messages you ignored, say, yesterday.

STICKY IDEAS Instead, we work to create marketing as sticky as the proverbial ball of duct tape. We build strategy + creative as a one-two punch that your target can’t help but notice.

Work that’s good enough to create a buzz around the office cooler (and not just the usual four-cups-of-coffee-before-breakfast buzz). Work that gets noticed and talked about.

MEMORABLE Is this approach easy? Hey, do the caped crusader and boy wonder have it easy? Of course not.

But they have a mission just like us: to do great, memorable work for clients we believe in. (Actually Batman and Robin’s mission involves a few more belt accessories, but otherwise it’s virtually identical.)

COURAGEOUSAnd as a client, you won’t have it easy either. Because great marketing and crime fighting demand the same bottom line personality trait: courage.

Be brave enough to do something that stands out. Brave enough to make a difference. Brave enough to wear tights…wait, not necessary. Anyway, you get the point.

Grey Matter GroupWe’re a group of West Michigan marketing and design fanatics who help brands find their voice and then reach through the blaring noise and visual clutter of today’s frenetic marketplace to touch their audiences with a bit of truth, humor, and beauty so they can’t help but respond. Remarkably, we make all this magic happen within the constraints of your down-to-earth deadlines and budgets.

Grey Matter GroupOur philosophy can be summed up in one word: Respect. We treat your target audience as real people with a brain. You’ll also find that we respect your viewpoint and knowledge. And we achieve a unique creative/strategic synergy because our left brain strategists respect the viewpoint of our right brain creatives, and vice versa. We also respect the power of good ideas and the process required to make them happen.

Grey Matter GroupYou’ve heard the claim that “genius is one percent inspiration and 99% perspiration.” Some might argue over the actual percentages, but we know that smart strategy and stand-out creativity takes a lot of hard work. The big, game-changing ideas don’t just come floating along through the ether. Of course we know that other guys work too. But, we dive deeper, stay down longer, and come up with more fresh concepts for your brand.

Grey Matter GroupCapabilities: branding, marketing, advertising, strategic planning, creative development, direct marketing, graphic design, website/app design and development, video, collateral, media planning/placement, logo/identity, promotion, product development, p.o.s., package design, and production.

Grey Matter GroupSince 1991, we’ve been helping good clients

create and launch products and services with

dramatic results. We love the magic that happens

when the chemistry is right, the strategy is dialed

in, and irresistible creative splashes into the

community consciousness. It’s rewarding, and if

done right, fun too. Let’s talk about how to make

your products Brandelicious. Contact John Sawyer

at john@greymattergroupcom or 616-458-8750.