This is basically the uber-dumbed down theory of a conversation I had last week with Martin Weigel – Wieden Amsterdam’s sickeningly clever and lovely head of planning.
Without doubt if you asked for his articulation of what I’m about to ‘theory assassinate’, you would read something more informative, articulate and thought provoking than I could ever dream of producing – however as I am Jeremy Kyle to his Jeremy Paxman, you’ll just have to stick with the ‘everything for a pound’ version until he decides to get off his arse and write it up fully on his blog.
[When he does, I think you’re going to love it, especially because he has some wonderful research on how people interpret digital communication [which is not about the internet] versus analogue]
Anyway, the very, Very, VERY basic premise is that if human communication is as reliant on none-verbal cues as it is on language and words, then why do so many brands [and their agencies] spend so little time investigating [and valuing] the signals their brand communicates via their everyday, real World interactions?
Look, I know that sounds awfully like I’m rehashing my ‘little things can make the biggest difference’ rant … but that’s because I’m not explaining myself [read: Martin] properly … however even if you put all the really clever stuff aside, I just like the idea that if you think of brand communication in the same vein as how humans communicate, it might stop people going straight to creating contrived, one-dimension ads and start including, addressing and valuing the seemingly inconsequential elements that ultimately influences peoples views and loyalty to a far greater degree than any ad could hope to achieve.
In other words, don’t ignore the importance of brand body language.