The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]

Sure, part of this is because I’m about as topical as an episode of Neighbours, but part of it is because I pre-write this rubbish so far in advance that by the time I get to something new, it’s already consigned to history.

OK, so I could write it and move the other posts around so it would remain ‘topical’, but I can’t be arsed, so deal with it.

The reason I am preambling is – you guessed it – because I’m going to write another un-topical/topical post.

Over the years, I’ve written quite a lot of posts about the London Underground [ here and here for example] and almost all of them have been positive.

Back in April, I talked about how they seemed to understand how showing empathy, humanity and personality could translate to building a real rapport with their passengers, well on Halloween, they did it again.

Nice eh!

I particularly love that they wrote the whole thing ‘straight’ – as if it was a real notice – giving the overall impression they’re a professional organisation but with a twinkle in the eye.

Brilliant.

Yes, I know lots of companies do Halloween ads, but this is not an ad – well, not in the way most companies do them – it’s a wonderful bit of brand charm.

OK, so I accept many people may have missed this sign – and some may even think it is childish and unprofessional – however, while many companies believe the secret to success is to run efficiently and show no personality trait that could alienate a potential customer, I am firmly of the belief that brands who express their personality or point of view have a real advantage over their bland, parity competitors.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying a strong POV or personality can automatically overcome those brands that offer mass distribution or uber-low prices, but it might get you a stronger and more emotionally loyal customer base than the casual/superficial/auto-pilot customers many organisations continually chase each and every day.

It’s for this reason that I’ll always pop into – and buy music from – Nottingham’s iconic second hand record shop ‘Rob’s Records’ … not because we share the same name or because I’m a technology luddite and only listen to my favourite bands via vinyl or CD … but because he has no problem expressing his personal opinion on the music he stocks.

Efficiency, professionalism, reliability and trust might be vital traits of a strong brand, but personality and character are what makes you fall in love.