If there is a car brand that is synonymous with trust it has to be Toyota.
Corolla, Camry, Hilux, and Landcruiser are all icons of reliability. When a brand oozes trust like Toyota you have a potent asset. The challenge for an advertising agency is to get the message across with flair and creativity. Here is one of my favorite Toyota adverts. It comes from Spain. We laugh because the underlying message that you can trust a Toyota resonates and rings true.
When you discover a compelling difference that sets you apart from your competitors leverage it for all you are worth.
Commerce Bank, from New Jersey, offers its customers extended opening hours - which typically run from 7:30am to 8pm, 7 days a week. These operating hours mean Commerce Bank is open for more hours than any other bank.
To drive its difference home, the branches follow the ten-minute rule. Branches open 10 minutes early in the morning and stat open ten minutes later than the official closing time. Can you remember the times when you ran towards your bank to see the staff close the doors at 4:59pm?
The 10 minutes dramatizes Commerce Bank’s key differentiator by adding an additional burst of creative magic.
One of the things that I admire about Disney World is the way it transforms its low paid workforce into a cast of brand evangelists.
Walt Disney understood that the words we use frame the way we think and often behavior. Disney created his own language to support the Disney mission of delivering happiness through entertainment.
In Disney Speak:
Rides or shows are always called ATTRACTIONS
Employees are always CAST MEMBERS
Customers are always called GUESTS
Jobs are always called ROLES
On the surface, language can seem superficial or trite. But words create images that reinforce assumptions. Take the word GUEST. A disgruntled customer evoked a different image to an unhappy guest. Guests always deserve special treatment, while customers often evoke images of indifference.
If you want to create a service culture where staff stay in role or on-brand, start by changing the vocabulary you use to label staff, roles and customers. The right words really can mobilize your culture.
