When I first saw Carvana’s car vending machine marketing metaphor, I had one reaction. Brilliant!
They took car purchasing and vending machines and created a unique point of difference. When you buy a car from them, you can drop a special coin into their device, and out comes your prepaid car. Carvana makes buying a car as easy as buying a candy bar.
Carvana illustrates how you can carry a powerful metaphor throughout your customer touchpoints. The vending machine becomes an “only we” point of difference. Only Carvana makes car ourchasing as easy as buying a candy bar.
It helps you see Carvana differently than all other car sellers.
It is amusing, playful, and memorable.
What’s Your Brand Marketing Metaphor?
When I work with clients to help them with marketing strategy, I’m always searching for a metaphor, analogy, or a visual pun that can explain who they are and what they do. Maybe they are the Netflix of sales training.
One client had an alternative software technology called Tradeparency for collecting data instead of using Microsoft’s Excel. Since prospects were addicted to excel and couldn’t break the habit, we used nicotine gum as the metaphor to help people break their excel habit. Playful, fun, and memorable.
We even handed out “make believe” nicotine gum packs at trade shows using this “break the excel addiction” message.
Analogies and metaphors are storytelling methods that take the complex and make it simple. This marketing framework helps you bring your marketing to life.
Little, tiny smart car brand communicated their core positioning by talking about threading a needle as you drive through a city.
The visual hyperbole is another brilliant way to communicate how a suntan lotion can provide shade and waterproof. The FLOS-LEK suntan lotion package provides shade at the beach
Type and font can help carry a strong visual message. In this example, the letters are part of the guitar and integrate what they want you to remember.
When the city of Dublin wanted to communicate the importance the collaboration between the public and BusConnects, they used Rubriks Cube visual to communicate the connection. These outdoor ads are pure analogies demonstrating that just the right combination of participation and cooperation are necessary to the system work.
And my favorite, the R180 Toaster that allows you to control the toast setting. The toaster manufacturer uses the paint chip metaphor to tell the story of what color you want your toast. Simple. Clear. Visually striking.
Does your business use a visual pun, metaphor, or analogy to tell your story? Can you use it so that everyone in the company can help communicate the essence of your different?
Consider how a metaphor could help you communicate more effectively to your customers.
Need help, metaphorically?
I can help. You can set up a time chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Our initial conver?sation is free. You talk, I listen. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com or call me. 919 720 0995. Visit my website at www.themarketingsage.com. Let’s explore working together today.
This blog was inspired by a post on https://blog.bannersnack.com/visual-metaphors/?
