This question could quickly take you back to the younger years of gathering in a circle to play “Truth or Dare”, or “Would You Rather”, or it could be the key to your next successful marketing strategy. Have you ever noticed that there are an ever-increasing amount of animal branding icons for many of the world’s most powerful brands?
Much like a brand, an image or thought of a specific species of animal automatically is associated to certain characteristics. Both have this magical power and reserved space in the minds of each of your customers. Each customer may have a small deviation between how they see your brand (or the animal) compared to the next customer, but the general ideas are very similar. These associations are in essence the magic behind a brand.
For a little warm up, let’s do an exercise – When I say an animal, you list off the first 2 characteristics that come to mind … Ready?
- Snake
- Fox
- Koala
- Horse
Now, unless we grew up on separate planets (well … I guess I do live in outer space) , we should have similar perceptions of each of these animals.
Now for quick results:
- the snake probably instilled a negative connotation of deceit and vengefulness
- the fox most likely brought about thoughts of cleverness and resourceful
- the koala made you think of a calm, cute and cuddly creature
- the horse came trotting into your mind with thoughts of strength and freedom
A good branding icon is informative. It emits messages of the brand’s core values through its symbolism. Choose wisely.
Brand well and prosper.
Cyndi