Show DON'T tell

Fifteen years ago, I found myself working on a project alongside another brand consultancy.

They were leading an innovation process and I was bringing in the consumer insight. We met at the brand in the middle.

And in the kick-off meeting it was clear we didn’t see things the same way.

I was pretty much as I am now. Deeper needs, brand positioning, emotional connection.

They were brain models, vision and values, shared ways of thinking. I remember doing their HBDI test and coming out as a synthesiser.

Looking back, they were ahead of the curve with their neuroscience and purpose.

And I’d already been using need maps for over ten years by then, since 2000. There’s always a worry about becoming obsolete, although deeper needs don’t change. That’s why they’re the richest soil for your brand’s roots.

And neuroscience in terms of brand choice comes down to explicit and implicit goals, which is the same thing.

So there was common ground - ish.

But the difference that stuck with me is they talked about belief systems. People had them, brands had them, money was made where the two met.

Up to this point I’d always associated belief systems with religion, politics and philosophy. That felt a world away from shoppers in a supermarket.

Anyway, we kind of avoided the issue and the project went fine. The client emerged with a successful innovation.

I didn’t give belief systems much more thought until I started this blog in 2016 and came to realise I needed a clearer expression of my own positioning.

And without thinking, I wrote in a post (here):

“If you believe, like we do, that brands have to make an emotional connection with people, we can help move your target closer to your brand. We’ll do this by discovering an insight into their deeper needs that your brand can exploit and by moving you and them closer together.”

The next year I used another post (here) to expand this into five beliefs:

1. Brands have to make an emotional connection.  

2. Brand choices are driven by people’s deeper needs.  

3. All brands need a positioning.  

4. Insights need tension.  

5. Be noticed, be remembered.

So there you go, I do believe in belief systems.

Hopefully, though, I don’t bang on about them. I’ve always believed the rule to follow with beliefs is ‘show, don’t tell’.

After all, which is the better piece of writing?

“I felt scared in the dark room as I heard the wind blow through the trees.''

Or:

“Branches scratched at the glass as the wind moaned. Shadows crept from the corners and I shivered in the icy air.''