4.14.2010: It's Everywhere, It's Everywhere

By Lori Rhoades

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to be a part of a mock jury. Unlike some mock juries, this one acted as a practice model for an actual case to be tried later. Of course the attorneys couldn't tell us the real names of the parties involved so they made up names for us. I readily took in all the information offered and like some of the other jurors asked questions periodically. During this process I couldn't stop my mind from trying to turn the case into a marketing situation. For all purposes it really is. Each side works at establishing a brand, based on the target demographic (the jurors). Then they try to lure the jurors into the fold. Once there, the attorneys build on the brand to gain your loyalty in hope they can get you engrained enough with them that one or two little pieces of information won't sway you to the other side.

This process took about three and half hours. At the end, all of the jurors seemed to be on the same side. Some of us were on the fence, but felt the word of the law bound us to that side. Luckily for the lawyers involved it was the side they intend to present to a real jury in a few weeks. After we told them how we would have voted and a couple of reasons why, they threw us a curveball. They gave us some "dirt" on the other side. They then asked us if that information would have influenced our decision. The answer was a resounding yes, it would have moved all the fence sitters squarely into their client's side.

The "dirt" wasn't admissible for this case, but it is amazing how one little piece of information can change everything. Which brings me back to branding. Every little piece of your business's image is stored together in a consumer's mind; the good and the bad. Your job is to make sure the brand is strong enough that one bad experience won't alter the consumer's core perception of your brand or, worse yet, send them to your competitors. Marketing plays a big role in our lives whether we realize it as marketing or not. Everything is a brand. What is yours saying?