There are three heuristics or key mental shortcuts that help people decide between brands.
These rules of thumb are what behavioural scientists call the ‘availability heuristic’, the ‘affect heuristic’ and the ‘processing fluency heuristic’.
Put simply :
-FAME : If a brand comes readily to mind, it’s a good choice.
-FEELING : If a brand feels good, it’s a good choice.
-FLUENCY: If a brand is consistently recognisable, it’s a good choice.
All of these conform to system 1 of Kahneman & Tversky. The reflexive instinct is the path to consumer relevant positioning.
This brand impact is aided by availability but not only due to it. In fact, analysis will not get you the magic.
Those who don’t understand the magic of branding theorise and do endless analytical brainstorming only to go round and round and round.
As Wordsworth said :
“Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:
We murder to dissect.
Enough of Science and of Art;
Close up those barren leaves;
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives.”
Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann in their seminal work, The Social Construction of Reality showed that the world we each perceive is not objective and given, but shaped by the stories we are told about it, the language we use about it, and the many ways in which society has evolved shared and predictable habits of dealing with it.
This is the highest act of positioning : that brands can shape your view of reality. It has been done by great practitioners Ed Bernays, Ernest Dichter, David Ogilvy, Bill Bernbach and many more
