Buyology - Martin Lindstrom [48]
Successful religions also strive to exert power over their enemies. Religious conflicts have existed since the beginning of time, and it doesn’t take more than a glance at the news to see that taking sides against the Other is a potent uniting force. Having an identifiable enemy gives us the chance not only to articulate and showcase our faith, but also to unite ourselves with our fellow believers.
This kind of us vs. them mentality can be seen throughout the consumer world, as well. Coke vs. Pepsi, AT&T vs. Verizon, Visa vs. MasterCard. Think about the recent Hertz campaign, and its tagline “We’re Hertz and they’re not.” Or the TV spots in which the Apple user, played by the cool, good-looking urban professional most guys aspire to be, and the PC user, the chubby, bespectacled geek, debate the respective merits of their operating systems (with the Apple user, of course, coming out on top). In fact, what commercial or ad campaign doesn’t emphasize the reasons a given product is better than its competitors? This us-vs.-them strategy attracts fans, incites controversy, creates loyalty, and gets us thinking and arguing—and, of course, buying.
Sensory appeal (I’ll explore this further in Chapter 8) is another key characteristic of the world’s great religions. Close your eyes and walk into a church, a temple, or a mosque. You’re immediately enveloped in the ambience of the building, as you smell the air, the incense, and the fragrance of the wood. If you open your eyes, you’ll see the light reflect off the stained glass. Maybe a bell is sounding, or an organ is playing, or a priest or rabbi or minister is speaking. In a way, our senses allow us to “feel” the heart, soul, and sheer heft of a religion. Isn’t the same true for products? Products and brands evoke certain feelings and associations based on how they look, feel, or smell. Think of the unmistakable sound of a Nokia ring tone. Or the pristine, leathery scent of a brand new Mercedes-Benz. Or the sleek, aesthetically pleasing lines of an iPod. Whether it’s annoyance or longing, products’ sensory qualities almost always evoke an emotional response. That’s why, in 1996, Harley-Davidson took Yamaha and Honda to court for infringing on the copyright of the signature fast “potato-potato-potato” sound you hear when you rev up a Harley.
Or consider Toblerone. Chocolate in triangular shapes—now what’s that all about? If Toblerone were rolling out its brand today, Wal-Mart probably wouldn’t agree to carry it; the package isn’t stackable. But it’s the chocolate’s appeal to our senses—its irregular shape, distinctively sweet taste, and hard, subtly bumpy texture—that makes it uniquely Toblerone, and that, in fact, is the secret of its success.
Another integral part of religion is storytelling. Whether the New Testament, the Torah, or the Koran, every religion is built upon a heft of history and stories—hundreds and hundreds of them (sometimes gruesome, sometimes miraculous, and oftentimes both). And the rituals that most religions draw upon and ask us to participate in—praying, kneeling, meditating, fasting, singing hymns, or receiving the Sacrament—are rooted in these stories upon which the faith is built.
In the same way, every successful brand has stories connected to it. Think of Disney, and all the colorful characters that instantly come to mind, from Mickey Mouse to Tinkerbell to Captain Jack Sparrow. Think of the small canisters of salt and pepper that you picked up the last time you flew to London on Virgin Atlantic, the ones that say Nicked from Virgin Atlantic. Or consider Whole Foods’ recent decision to sell a limited number of bags inscribed with the oversized words I’m Not a Plastic Bag. If they’re not plastic bags, what are they? It didn’t matter. Sensing a story they could complete with their own meaning, consumers lined up in droves and the bags sold out almost immediately.
Most religions celebrate a sense of