brain candy & why stories stick

If you missed last week’s brand marketing communications geek stuff and how it impacts success, check it out here.

For my upcoming trip to Turkey, I bought a new bikini. I was so thrilled when I tried it on that I started singing “itsy bitsy teeny weenie yellow polka dot bikini” in my head even though it’s neither yellow with polka dots, nor teeny weenie.

About 20 minutes later, after shifting gears, I realized I was humming the same song.

But instead of the yellow polka dot bikini lyrics, I was singing this commercial from the 90s.

Never have I ever in my long-legged life eaten Beanie Weenie. My parents were largely against processed foods (I found out about sugared cereal at slumber parties), yet this commercial has lived in my head rent-free for the past 30 years because it’s brain candy:

It used a repetitive jingle, told a story, and spoke directly to the right target audience — kids and their parents who related to the original version of the song from their youth.

(The updated song with original lyrics was also used by Yoplait in this ad a decade later to trigger women to succumb to bad diet culture to lose their Beanie Weenie weight with yogurt.)

Let’s remove hot dogs, beans, and yogurt from the picture and look strictly at why ads stick.

Marketing becomes compelling when it’s able to combine storytelling with elements that are both familiar and foreign to make new connections in our minds.

The brain likes candy just as much as kids do.

So how do you make your marketing more like brain candy and less like a list of services you perform?

Take a look at a recent email marketing campaign you’ve sent, pull up a social media post, or even recall the last time you introduced yourself to someone new.

Did you tell a compelling story?

Do people innately understand your values and how they relate to their own?

Did you take the time to directly speak to your audience and help them with their challenges?

Did you help them think differently and more deeply about the outcomes they seek?

Did you make them question a long-held assumption?

Did you show them what you do? (Or did you just tell them…)

Was your exchange transactional or transformative?

Look…every communication doesn’t have to generate fireworks , but if you’re not able to authentically connect with others you end up sacrificing both great relationships AND the ultimate rewards and results of aligned, easeful marketing.

True connection — the kind that fuels all of us personally and professionally — isn’t one-sided. It comes from knowing exactly who we are and speaking to exactly who we’re here to help.

What stories do you want to tell better? Feel free to use this free handy tool to help you get started, or join me to workshop your own connective stories in-person or virtually for this session on September 19th.

And, if you’re ready for authentic marketing that supports your business goals for 2024, now is the time to get on my schedule. Let’s chat.

Xox

Michelle