Tip of the Week

Business SMART:	How Does Mind Share Work?
	By: Dennis A. Conforto Chairman & CEO of A-Z Media Group, Inc.

In the last two weeks I have addressed scrapbook manufacturers about how their business can reach more consumers with more frequency. This week I address how mind share works and how to get more mind share to result in more market share! Mind share is the result of the frequency of the message. The greater the frequency, the more likely it will make the advertiser’s message top of mind when the consumers consider buying. Before you can increase your market share, you must achieve more mind share. So how does mind share really work? Mindshare is all about getting a simple message out that the consumer can really understand. It is all part of a corporate identity program. Corporate identity programs take into account things like color, tags lines, music scores and other elements that are easily recognized by the senses and emotions. Mind share is captured by provoking human emotions, whether through thought or humor provoking. Mind share examples: A great example of humor is the very appealing GEIGO lizard who speaks with an Australian accent. There is nothing on television like it, so it is very memorable. The character is very likable, if not lovable. The name of the company is the name of the character so it’s hard to forget… That is mind share! Looking at another example, If I asked you whose tag line is, “We try harder”, you would come up with the answer, Avis. If I ask you what car company’s colors are yellow and black you should answer Hertz. Or if I ask what car company color is green and white you should come up with either National or Enterprise. It is the combination of tag lines and colors that car rental companies use to try to gain quick mind share. In the restaurant business it is the same: the colors of McDonalds being red and yellow; KFC uses red and white. In the mass merchandising business Target is a red and while with a bull’s eye logo; Wal-Mart is blue with a tag line “Always low prices. Always!” They want to own the mindshare that they have the lowest prices even though that is not exactly what their tag line says. Based on Wal-Mart’s results, the American public has bought into their lowest price model making them the largest corporation on earth. Never confuse perception with fact. The consumer’s perception is reality; as a result, that new reality becomes their facts. While Wal-Mart appears to most to always have the lowest prices, they in fact do not. However, through the power of mind share consumers believe that Wal-Mart does always have low prices. An example from a large manufacturer GE has a corporate identity program for the use of the GE “meatball” logo that is over 150 pages long. Having a net worth of close to $500 billion, they can’t afford for people to misunderstand who they are. Their tag line is “We bring good things to life”. The tag line means different things to different people, but all of it is positive, because they use the word “good”. It could mean. “GE brings good things to my life,” or it could mean that they invented a new jet engine that they just brought to life. It’s up to me how I want to perceive what they are saying to me and how I have experienced GE in my personal life. Branding and mindshare Companies that know how to brand know that the message has to be simple if they want to have mindshare. Coke, for example, just wants you to know “It’s the real thing”. With a $2 billion advertising budget you could say that they spend $500 million per word in their tag line to get their message out. Consumers’ views are formed in the blink of any eye. They know what they like and don’t like in a very short time. When thinking about mindshare, think of a message that you can convey in seconds for the most impact right now. Branding is the true art form of having mindshare. If you want a great definition of what branding is, it simply is a promise kept. Relationships Levi’s promises that if you have a favorite size and cut of jeans that no longer fit, it’s because you changed, not the jeans. Same with McDonald’s, the promise of the brand is the bathrooms are clean and the food will taste the same no matter where you go in the world. Mindshare focuses not only on using the senses, but also the consumer’s experience and relationship with the product. But once again it’s about how it makes them feel. When you think about promoting your products or services you need to have the right equation. As we’ve discussed in the past few weeks, Branding requires that you reach the right audience with the right amount of monthly frequency. From there, create enough positive impact to reach mindshare. One thing is for sure, market share never happens until mindshare is achieved. And that is what being business SMART is all about.