Book Review: POP! by Sam Horn

Sam Horn is the author of POP!—an acronym for Purposeful, Original, and Pithy. This book takes messaging to the height of marketing genius with chapters chock full of ideas and step-by-step approaches plus, impressive examples of how products and services became stand-out-successes. Anyone who wants to make their cause, campaign, business, brand, product, or proposal POP! should read this book.

Why are we reading this book?

Because we’re always seeking new ways to tell the story that breaks through the crowd, stays top of mind, and makes maximum impact. Case in point: Aflac technique—a method to move people from a logical frame of mind to an emotional frame of mind.

Backstory:

Preschoolers participated in a study about relevance. They were given different animal names and asked to respond with the animal’s sound—cow = moo, sheep = baa and horse = neigh. When asked what sound a duck makes, their enthusiastic response was, “Aflac!” Horn refers to this brilliance as “the ultimate in brand owning mindshare.”

Challenge:

Insurance company has a daunting name that makes no sense and doesn’t relate to the product/service. Why would anyone give money to a firm when they don’t even know what its name means?

Solution:

Advertising team brainstormed the sound and appearance of an “Aflac.” The combination of an adorable duck image quacking “Aflac” catapulted that insurance company into the minds of millions with a most favorable name recognition—the key step in customer acquisition. GEICO also piggybacked on the winning idea with a cute gecko for its commercial spokesperson.

Solution Steps:

  1. Ask—Does company or product name relate to something in the real world, create a word picture?
  2. Ask—Is the name or product description nonsensical or known to limited number? If so, can it become a meaningful acronym that reminds people of action to take?
  3. Ask—How to link something intangible to something people can see, hear, touch and like?
  4. Ask—What aspect of service or product solves a problem or addresses a need?

Summary:

In our e-commerce world, people aren’t walking by brick and mortar buildings to see the product or service. Without something to relate to, company names like Gap or Harry & David don’t say anything. If the product or service is unknown, consumers need something to help them “get it” or “see it” by comparing and connecting the unknown item with something that makes sense to them. Create those connections with vivid word imagery and powerful pictures that imprint the story and motivate consumer action. The key is to “Make ‘em see what you’re saying”.