I find it strange how many people on the internet are convinced ads and branding just... don't work? They obviously do. Even if you think they don't work on you (which you're probably wrong about), they work on everyone else.
No no, I think we buy the branding thing. I'm pretty sure part of the reason I have the car I do is a branding thing, etc. etc. I'm like the #1 brand sucker on the planet. But that's at the "these guys are outdoorsy", "you're sophisticated", "you're cool" level not at the "this represents classic American values vs. this is the new generation" thing. That sounds like nonsense to me.
Just clarifying that it isn't whether branding works but the shape of the working. Like, I admit being easily influenced by them, just not in that direction. Like Red Bull is cool action sports, right? But I've never had a Red Bull when I've gone skiing. Not saying branding doesn't directly modify my associations, just that the way isn't what yodon said.
Ironically (coincidentally?), I think you can apply a direct analogy between the tastes of Coke and Pepsi, and their branding. People have a preference for one drink over the other, but they can't articulate why. Most people can't tell one from the other in a blind taste test, much less describe what specifically they prefer about one over the other. They can still taste it, though, and the experts can break down the flavors and sensations to describe the differences between the two.
I suspect the branding is perceived the same way. People pick up on all of these things, and the experts have a language to describe their branding strategy, and they're very deliberate about what they do and do not include in their ads. People don't express it or notice it consciously, but they can still tell when the marketing feels "wrong" compared to the ads they've seen before.
I didn't say they don't work. They do. And in tune with the article on averages (and curse of dimensionality) on the front page now[0], I'll happily concede that different brands may work strongly on different people at different times. Hell, myself I had periods in my youth when I had fanboy-level attachment to a brand or two.
My point is that I doubt that the typical relationship with a brand is as sophisticated as 'yodon described. If it was, we'd all be falling victim to advertising bullshit much more often. So e.g. when Coca Cola airs another commercial with a grandfather pulling up coke during family supper, I believe almost everyone watching either smiles or rolls their eyes. I don't think their minds race to the memories of their family dinners, or old times, or whatever. That would be a dangerously strong emotional reaction to an ad.
