Brand identity and signal detection

Successful marketing builds the physical and mental availability of a brand. Robert Woodruff, former Chairman of Coca-Cola once said that the brand should be "always within an arm's reach of desire". Coca-Cola does a great job of building physical distribution. How do brands build salience in customers' minds? The key is to create a rich network of relevant associations with the brand and ensure that the brand's signal is always heard above the noise of the marketplace.

Signal detection theory was originally developed to explain the behaviour of radar operators who sometimes missed or misinterpreted signals. It is known that the brain's neural system is "noisy", with neurons active even when they are not reacting to a real stimulus. Similarly, concepts of signal and noise are well understood by scientists who study multi-sensory processing, the way in which the brain interprets stimuli from more than one human sense.

Signal sense and brands

It is well understood that multiple sensory signals are enhanced when they come from approximately the same place and occur at approximately the same time (spatial and temporal rules). More importantly, even when a relatively weak signal comes from one sense, a weak "congruent" signal from a second sense can boost the overall signal, creating what is called a "super-additive" effect (the whole is more than the sum of the parts). On the other hand, when two different signals contradict each other they can be ignored or produce unpredictable results.

So how can brands "turn up the signal and wipe out the noise"? Firstly, by sending the same signal through multiple sensory touch points to multiply its impact. A sharp taste, combined with a sharp shape has more than doubled the impact of the individual sensations. And the more senses that are added, the bigger the multiplier effect.

Secondly, the brain interprets signals with congruent meanings faster than those with incongruent meanings. And the most important meaning of any signal is its emotional relevance. We all have short-term and longer-term goals, and the needs of the moment and the immediate environment shift our focus and make it more difficult for irrelevant signals to rise above the background noise. Emotionally relevant signals, especially when amplified across multiple senses, can cut through the noise and be heard.

Different signals for different brands

For example, Abercrombie & Fitch sends signals across a number of different touch points. It uses young and athletic talent in its advertising and in its stores, its talent is often dressed in red, its stores are closed and dark inside, it uses loud and up-tempo dance music in store, a strong fragrance permeates the store and its clothes (named 'Fierce'), and it keeps the lights low and focused in store so that customers have to pluck up the courage to dive inside. All of these signals speak to the emotional goals of being courageous, brave, competitive, and strong. In the language of archetypes, Abercrombie & Fitch is a Warrior (a word it has been known to use in their advertising).

An IKEA store interior... with its very own signals to attract and retain customers. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

At the other end of the spectrum, a brand like IKEA has a very different set of cues. Its advertising often features bare wooden furniture (unpretentious values) or the coming together of many different people (equality). Its stores are also bare and basic, with a well-worn path that everyone follows around the store (rich and poor), ordinary everyday furniture shown in realistic settings, efficient and cost-effective packing, and unpretentious value-for-money food served after the checkout. All of these touch points speak to IKEA's value of bringing good design to all (the Everyman archetype).

And does Coca-Cola manage to keep its brand 'always within an arm's reach of desire'? Coca-Cola has consistently followed archetypal values and touch point signals that speak to similar values to those of IKEA, with a large dollop of idealism and innocence. From "I'd like to teach the world to sing" to the latest "Open happiness" campaign it has always communicated the ability of Coca-Cola to bring people together. "Always within an arm's reach of desire" expresses their equality, optimism and innocent values perfectly.

You can read more about the role of sense, symbol and story in branding in Brand esSense: Using Sense, Symbol and Story to Design Brand Identity, published by Kogan Page, November 2013.