How brands express their customers
Traditional brand practice typically views brands as form of top-down communication about a company and its products. Unfortunately, this broadcast approach can take brands only so far. What you really want is for your brands to express your customers, not just you. You want to elevate your brand from a silo of messages into a popular vocabulary, right at the customer edge. Let the inventive, living language that pours from customer lips carrry you and your products with it.
As an example, consider the secret “insider” menu for ordering custom burgers, fries and condiments at In-N-Out Burger. This off-the-record menu, purely verbal, developed over time to serve special customer needs. When you used this language, you were no longer a mere “consumer” of In-N-Out. In-N-Out became an expression of you.
A few choices:
3 by 3 = three meat patties and three slices of cheese.
4 by 4 = four meat patties and four slices of cheese.
2 by 4 = two meat patties and four slices of cheese.
3 by Meat = three meat patties and no cheese.
Animal Style = the meat is cooked and fried with mustard and then pickles are added, extra spread and grilled onions are added.
Animal Style Fries = fries with cheese, spread, grilled onions and pickles (if you ask for them).
You can see a fuller rendition here.
And, of course, In-N-Out knows the value of this appeal, so it now opens the door a bit.
