Fascinate – How to Make Your Brand Impossible to Resist
Oct 26, 2016
How to Make Your Brand Impossible to Resist
I just read a great book called, “Fascinate – How to Make Your Brand Impossible to Resist” by Sally Hogshead. Today more than ever, brands need to find a way to stand out from all the other companies that do what you do. In her book she says that, “Different is better than better”. In my opinion if you were to learn just one thing from this book, it would be that concept.
You don’t have to be the best; you just need to be different to beat out your completion. Part of being different is getting really clear what your brand stands for.
What’s is Fascination?
According to Sally, the word fascinate comes from the Latin work fascinare which means, “To bewitch or hold captive so that others are powerless to resist.
How is it then, that the average brand can become spellbinding to its customers? How do you build a brand that is fascinating?
In her book, Sally Hogshead really dives into the science behind fascination. There are 7 core advantages, and once you understand these advantages you will know how to market to your ideal customer. You will also have a roadmap for applying these 7 core advantages to your business and your branding across all platforms
The Shrinking Attention Span
According to the book, the average attention span used to be about 20 minutes long. That was one minute for every year of age up to the age of 20. Things changed greatly with the internet, smartphones and other distractions. According to the BBC, “The addictive nature of web browsing can leave you with an attention span of nine seconds—the same as a goldfish”.
If you’ve ever watched a goldfish, they will look at you then swim away right in front of your eyes. A similar thing happens with people. When was the last time you were having a conversation with someone and they whipped out their phone and start checking emails? Or maybe someone was making a presentation to a group and people in the back of the room are having a conversation of their own. People are more than a little distracted these days.
Remember – You Have Just 9 Seconds
9 seconds; that is really mind boggling if you think about it. You have just 9 seconds to grab someone’s attention and fascinate them.
That’s a pretty tall order.
If your brand can grab someone’s attention in these 9 critical seconds (fascinate them quickly), they will be much more likely to respond to your marketing. If you are not able to do that they will simply swim away like goldfish.
The 7 Languages of Fascination
Innovation
Passion
Power
Prestige
Trust
Mystique
Alert
Let’s Take a Look at Each One of the 7 Languages
Sally Hogshead goes into each one of these in great detail in her book, but let’s take a quick look at each one of these. In most cases, you will be able to quickly determine where your brand fits in to the 7 languages.
Innovation is the language of creativity.
Innovation brands are forward thinking, entrepreneurial, bold, surprising and visionaries. Innovation changes the game with a new approach.
Passion is the language of relationship.
The traits of passion brands are expressive, optimistic, sensory, warm and social. Passion brands are engaging and inspirational and they elevate our emotions.
Power is the language of confidence.
The power advantage is assertive goal oriented decisive, purposeful and opinionated. Power leads the way with confidence, purpose and always reaches its goals.
Prestige is the language of excellence.
Prestige brands are ambitious, results oriented, respected, aspirational and of course elite. Prestige communicates exclusivity and value.
Trust is the language of stability.
Trust is always stable, dependable, familiar, comforting and predictable. Trust delivers consistently and reliably. It’s always dependable and loyal.
Mystique is the language of listening.
Mystique is observant, calculated, private, curiosity provoking and substantive. Mystique reveals less than expected and provokes questions. It keeps you in suspense.
Alert is the language of details.
Alert is organized detailed, efficient, precise and methodical. Alert follows the rules. It persuades by defining deadlines and details. They create urgency.
If you take a look at each one of these, you will surely come up with a brand that fits with each one of these categories. Remember that brands will likely have one predominant way of being, but will likely be a combination of two or more.
Here’s an Example
When you think about mystique, the example that immediately comes to mind for me is Apple. Apple is no doubt an innovation brand, but they are very much a mystique brand. No other brand gets people to line up outside of retail stores to get something days ahead of their device being released, without any knowledge of what the new release actually contains.
For a large segment of the population Apple has truly built a brand that is impossible to resist. That is mystique.
What About Your Brand?
Once you know what makes your brand different, you will be able put these principles into effect to fascinate your ideal customer. In the book, Sally lays out a plan called, “Your fast track to a fascinating brand”.
This is a great book for anyone that wants to become the undisputed market leader no matter what your industry. If you want to make your brand impossible to resist, I highly recommend that you pick up this book.
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I just read a great book called, “Fascinate – How to Make Your Brand Impossible to Resist” by Sally Hogshead. Today more than ever, brands need to find a way to stand out from all the other companies that do what you do. In her book she says that, “Different is better than better”. In my opinion if you were to learn just one thing from this book, it would be that concept.
year of age up to the age of 20. Things changed greatly with the internet, smartphones and other distractions. According to the BBC, “The addictive nature of web browsing can leave you with an attention span of nine seconds—the same as a goldfish”.
When you think about mystique, the example that immediately comes to mind for me is Apple. Apple is no doubt an innovation brand, but they are very much a mystique brand. No other brand gets people to line up outside of retail stores to get something days ahead of their device being released, without any knowledge of what the new release actually contains.
