Wednesday, May 22, 2013

'Them vs. Us' Marketing

Loyalty is a very powerful marketing tool to build your brand and its empire. Apple has used the same marketing tactic for years that has allowed their brand to grow to its position today. 

Scientific testing has proved that humans have a deep, unconscious longing to belong and fit in. Naturally, we want to be accepted and loved.  Because humans want to fit in we develop loyalty to to groups. By developing this loyalty to a group, we will then become emotionally attached to our group and in result set boundaries to distinguish that we are separate from other groups. Because we are naturally programmed to have this reasoning, Apple has found a marketing approach that has embraced this hardwired human characteristic

By allowing its users to develop a distinct division between 'them' (the PC users) and 'us' (the Mac users), Apple has created its own group with a sense of loyalty and making them prone to purchase their other products. For the past 30 years, Apple has made a distinction that we are different, we are not every other computer, we are Macs. Their video advertising has always shown the division between its users and the general public, reinstating this differences between its users and 'everyone else'. If you watch their videos ads you will see that there is little to no information on the actual product but just the reinforcement that their is a difference and the difference is you are either a robot just like everyone else or you a Mac. 

Some take-away's on how you can use the "Them vs. Us" Neuromarketing approach:

(1) Make a division : Find something that makes your business unique and different from your competitors. Teach your audience to embrace this difference and to be loyal to the difference. 

(2) Believe in your message : False advertising is not a foundation you should build your marketing strategy or your business on. But advertise relevant and TRUE statements about your brand. Make your audience believe in your message. Use different strategies to target your audience and show them that they fall in your business' division. 

(3) Embrace the separation : If you can create the division to your targeted audience telling them that they are different than the other groups they will believe in your message. Remind them of the difference, tell and show them directly and indirectly how they fall in your distinct group. Doing so will allow them to affiliate with your brand, increase your validity, and improve their status as a member of your 'group'.  

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