‘Convey don't say'

‘We should get the feeling it’s healthy, not be told it’s healthy’

‘The most luxurious hotels don’t shout about it. It’s subtle’

These may be verbatims from just two people, but they refer to something we hear often in our research: people pushing back at a brand or organisation overtly telling them what they want them to think or feel about them.

We also often hear that people want brands and companies to stay in their place – be realistic – not overclaim for what they can do for them.

‘It’s just a snack. It’s not going to change my life’

In other words, respect our intelligence, and be realistic about the connection we might have with you. 

This doesn’t mean it isn’t possible for the takeout to be that company or brand X is luxurious, healthy or will transform their lives. There would be no jobs in marketing if it weren’t possible to do this! 

The trick is to separate what you say from how you say it and, sometimes, give the what and the how different jobs.

 In our experience, the most effective combination is often a simple, rational, humble ‘what’ brand promise, with all the ‘bigger’, more emotional stuff – and anything that could beg questions or invite rejection - delivered through visual language, tone of voice and, in the case of environments, ambience too.

Thus we get:

The luxury hotel whose overt message is a peaceful haven, while its covert message - conveyed in pared-back brand identity, minimal colour palette and subtle use of language - is ‘you probably can’t afford this’.

The brand that wants to be seen as ‘healthier’ talking overtly about quality of ingredients while using visual cues associated with healthier brands like matt, unbleached materials and ‘cut out’ illustrative imagery.

Or the snack that talks about surprising intensity of flavour but expresses it in a way that uses graduated, increasingly more vibrant colour and more uplifting iconography than its competitors.

People sometimes get it wrong by saying one thing but conveying something completely different. This sets off cognitive dissonance and can feel like - or indeed, actually be - manipulation. Either way, it makes people feel bad.

The ‘what’ you say and the ‘how’ you say it, may have slightly different jobs, but making it work relies on cohesion between them - and a common a core of genuine brand truth. 

That way lies the gold.

Maddy Morton 
Director of Lucid,
insight consultancy