February 28, 2005
Seeing, touching, hearing, smelling, and licking Martin Lindstrom's BRAND sense
Martin Lindstrom, you're a genius. I've always looked forward to your articles in ClickZ, and I've always been extremely impressed with your view of the world of branding. I like you, even though I've never met you, because you seem intelligent and you seem to get it. You understand marketing in a way that I may never understand it, and because of that, you will always have my deference. And you already have me thinking about how miserably I've been failing to include three of the five senses in my activities.So, I don't want this to come as criticism, but rather a critique. I know that of which you are capable, and because of that, I hold you to a higher standard. You missed a huge opportunity with BRAND sense. Maybe you were too close to the project. Maybe you tried. Maybe the publisher wasn't willing. I'm hoping that was the case, but I still have to call you on it. Mostly, due to the fact that I'm halfway through the book and you haven't addressed this issue yet. Maybe you do at the end. I don't know. (If so, you should have done it sooner.) Or maybe I missed it.
(UPDATE: I'm a little slow on the uptake here. But, I just realized that I can link to comments. So, I'd like to thank Martin Lindstrom for taking time to visit, read, and comment on this post. I hope he returns.)
While I still highly encourage everyone to read BRAND sense, I have to make one comment about your book...BRAND sense is an exploration of how companies should use all five sense (moving beyond sight and sound) to truly "brand" the company or product as an experience. I don't usually comment on books until I've finished them, so I may get burned here, but something has been bugging me.
As always, Martin offers incredibly thought-provoking arguments. This time, his arguments center on how companies could do more to further their brands by using all of the senses. And, how companies can make their brands "smashable." Like the famous Coca-Cola bottle, he proposes, you should be able to smash your brand and still recognize it from a piece of the whole. (The best part of Martin's style is that it really makes you think about stuff that you should already know and should realize, but haven't.) It's been a great read. But here's the problem: the book falls into the same pit as the companies it profiles.
What could Martin and his publisher have done to make the book a true experience of its message? (Ranked in order, from easiest to most difficult to accomplish)
1) Sight: The book looks exactly like every other well-designed business book out there. Attractive, but I wouldn't have looked twice if I hadn't had a great deal of respect for the author. And why does the BRAND sense book look so different from the BRAND sense Web site? The Web site pops. The book design doesn't. It should be an extension of Martin, who thinks differently than any marketing author I have read. It should look different than any other business book I've read, because it is.
2) Touch: Why does the book feel like every other business book on the market? Would it have been difficult to choose a paper stock that made the book feel different? Even the cover would have been sufficient. Do I think that BRAND sense feels like a glossy dust jacket? No, and I don't know that I know what BRAND sense feels like, but I'm sure Martin does. It should feel different than any other business book I've read, because it is.
3) Smell. I'm sure that Martin knows what his brand smells like. You want to know what the book smells like? A book. New book smell, but I'm sure that will go away soon enough. Why doesn't the book have an aroma of some sort? Or at the very least, why doesn't it have some form of scratch and sniff running down the borders of the pages so that, as I leaf through it, I am ensconced in BRAND sense? It should smell different than any other business book I've read, because it is.
4) Taste. I licked it. I did. I admit it. After all this talk about leveraging the senses, I licked your book. Want to know what it tasted like? Every other book I've ever licked. Again, given the availability of papers, inks, scents, and whatnot, I think the book could have been designed to have a taste that set it apart. Does everyone lick a book? I certainly hope not. But do people lick their fingers when turning pages in books? Yes. And what if that taste had been a unique, welcoming taste that made me want to consume the book mentally and physically? Pretty powerful, I think. What does BRAND sense taste like? I don't know. All I know is that it should taste different than any other business book I've read, because it is.
5) Sound. How many times have you opened a card that plays a tune or offers a message. Cheesy? Yes, it generally is, but I'm saying that the technology is available. Or maybe the book should have provided me a link to mp3s to download for listening as I read. Or maybe it should have shipped with a CD. I know the publishers can do that as they've been doing it books for years. In any case, I would have liked to know what BRAND sense sounded like. Even chapter by chapter. And, again, this would have been an interesting influence on paper choice. The paper doesn't snap or crackle or pop any differently than any other book I've read recently. A distinct paper choice could have given the book a sound unlike any other. It should sound different than any other business book I've read, because it is.
So, see Martin? You did get through to me. And I agree with your assertions, as usual. Thank you for taking the time to capture them and educate me. When your book goes out for a second edition, maybe you can bring some of these ideas in to play. Or better yet, you can do it with your own flare. I'm looking forward to licking your next book.
Have you read BRAND sense? What did you think? Let me know.
And please don't lick your screen. Hypocritical tastes the same as every other blog, for now. Will that change? You should return to find out.
Seeing, touching, hearing, smelling, and licking Martin Lindstrom's BRAND sense
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