The Power of Change
We like things the way we like them. We don’t have to think about it, it’s easy, it’s comfortable. It’s boring.
Change is the spice of life.
My wife loves to listen to Christmas music starting the first week of November. The switch to Christmas music is a welcome one. The change is nice. Then, in late December, the switch back to our normal music is just as welcome. Both changes satisfy some internal need.
We are programmed to notice changes. We notice changes in loved ones that signal they may need comfort or help. We notice that our wife got a haircut (or we learn to). We notice that construction has started on a new shopping center. We notice that our favorite French Fries have changed their formula again (not all change is good). The point is that we notice changes, and we come to need them.
Our brains have to work this way, otherwise we’d be fully focused on every detail of the world around us, even when those details aren’t changing. Our brains would overload and shut down. It’s just too much information to keep our attention on all at once.
Our brains, the very sophisticated organs that they are, have learned to apply this technique to patterns as well. When our marketing and branding efforts suffer from this problem, we call them stale.
Shaking things up in our marketing is one way to fix this problem, but it’s not a very sustainable one. We can’t constantly be trying to find new ways to do things—so maybe we can learn from Christmas music.
We can, if we properly establish patterns of change, create a sense of change that is manufactured, but that feels welcome and gains notice all the same. Some marketers do this by changing the whole look and feel of their campaigns to match the seasons (clothing companies are really good at this). Some might take advantage of the various holidays, perhaps sports seasons or themes.
A successful marketer will establish patterns of change to buy them the ongoing benefits of change, but will still brainstorm all year long for new ideas to shake things up. Putting the two of these techniques together will ensure your marketing efforts stay vibrant and fresh without fail.
