gapingvoid: "cartoons drawn on the back of business cards"

Maybe one way to think about branding is just making people aware of the story's author.

Associating Author <--> Story, which is both backward-looking (based on known stories) and forward-looking (encouraging anticipation of future stories).

A recurring theme in Kathy Sierra's blog is that people want a product that is about them, rather than about whoever is creating the product. So I would say that brands, i.e. focusing on trying to get the customer to fall in love with the company, goes against that. The success of Apple as a brand, I think, is more about who the customer becomes when they buy the product and join that elite group ... or cult, if you feel that way about it.

"Conversation" at least includes the end user, customer, client, whatever. I'm not sure "story" does that, but it's important for other reasons.

Why do you have to make one metaphor the hero? I think these are all elements that work together.

I'd describe the Apple story as "Storytelling at its finest".

The story can be about "Us" or "Them", "I" or "Thou". It doesn't matter. What people like are stories they can project their own narratives on to. And that's the art of it.

> As much as I love the Cluetrain, "Conversation" as an all-purpose marketing metaphor started to grate on my nerves surprisingly quickly.

Urgh, tell me about it. I never understood what the heck this meant anyway, but it's quickly becoming synonymous with "I'm a Marketing Weasel(tm)".

**Not to mention, good luck selling the idea to other people, in what is already a fatigued and over-supplied market**

Shit. Good luck? If it were hard to sell fatigued and over-supplied ideas, we wouldn't have network TV spots, all ISP company web banner ads, consultants, SPAM, infomercials, designer diaper bags and most software. Selling it is as easy as pissing on the broad side of a barn. Waking up every morning, and feeling good about selling it is another thing.

Metaphors - the inapt leading the inept - are dead. End of story.

bmo:

Death is also metaphor ;-)

Excellent post! (Probably because it conforms to my opinions, but anyway...)

"Conversation" grated on me because it only furthers the mercantilization of every human interaction. The whole "cluetrain" group-think thing bugs me because we're all "clueless" to a great extent, and those onboard the "cluetrain" haven't seemed to have happened upon that particular clue. I dislike the phrase "get it" for much the same reason. They're phrases intended to merely rearrange hierarchy in the competition for rank, rather than reduce it; which is rather surprising given the enthusiasm for a "flat" world in some quarters. Maybe it's just enthusiasm for groovy new "memes." Maybe I'm just a cynical curmudgeon.

And finally, the previous two comments regarding death and metaphor provided a superb "daily moment of Zen."

A most worthwhile visit.

“Brand image is the sum total of your customer’s experience across all contact points with your product or service.” We can have conversations with our markets to communicate the brand image; do it well we succeed. Tell the brand story (I haven’t read the new Godin book so please forgive me if I misuse “story”) well and we convey the desired experience.

Brand image, conversations, stories, these are all concepts are they not? It's hard to kill a concept - especially a valid one.

Are we getting too bogged down in semantics? We marketing types seem to enjoy gaining attention for the subtle shifts a new word or metaphor can make in our minds. Differentiation is not dead afterall.

Personally, I like them all because they keep me thinking – on my toes. That said, however, it is how we interpret these metaphors that really matters, right? Our actions produce more results than our words.

while you're at it, meme is way overused and annoying as well.

Everything you need to know about this topic begins and ends with Seth. If it ain't remarkable, all the pig lipstick in the world ain't gonna help.

di, hell, "meme" sounded annoying the first time I heard it.

Bruce, yeah, I know what you mean.

"while you're at it, meme is way overused and annoying as well."

Concur. Hence the "scare quotes."

Where the F**K did meme come from anyway? Let's decide to kill it RIGHT HERE!

Jim Autry, retired CEO of Meredith Corp. once wrote:

"Becoming a manager has much to do with learning the metaphors; becoming a good manager has much to do with using the metaphors; and becoming a leader has much do do with changing the metaphors."

As you suggested, Hugh, if the metaphor works then use it. If it doesn't, kill it!

I also believe, however, that metaphors evolve. Witness the change in meaning of "the Dot Com economy" pre- and post-bust. That being said, I believe brand has evolved for many - and for the better. But there are still folks stuck in the lip-stick on the pig paradigm. Check out the rant over here: www.acleareye.com. And please join in. I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Hugh: I can't think of a metaphor for how much I agree with you on this, but perhaps you can take it as read...

Hugh, yes, Death is a metaphor. But dead is dead!

Brian,

Oh, no it isn't....

;-)