Are you a better driver than the average person?
80% of people do believe they are a better driver than those around them.
Obviously, 80% of people are not all better drivers, except you, you are definitely a better driver than those around you.
Along those same lines, 60% believe they are more attractive than the average person and 90% believe they are more intelligent. Clearly, 90% of people are not more intelligent, especially if you take common sense into account.
But the Real Question is..” Are you more fascinating than the average person?”
61% of people think they are not that fascinating! Why do we underestimate ourselves and our ability to fascinate? Do you understand what makes you fascinating?
You have probably taken the Myers-Briggs Personality Test and various other means of gauging how you see the world. Think about your most impressive qualities from those tests. But how does the world see you?
Sally Hogshead launched Project Fascination to delve into how the world views brands and companies and what sets some apart from others.
She used the example of the drink Jägermeister that many people tried before they were of legal drinking age. If a room full of people are asked if they like the taste almost no one will respond that they do. She stated that it is the most popular brand that nobody likes and compared the taste to battery acid. And yet, it owns a specific place in people’s minds. Typically it’s the drink at 12 or 1am on a Friday or Saturday night when you want to have an “experience”
“Whatever platform you are working with, you don't have to be the best. It’s good to be the best but it’s better to be different,” Hogshead.
Another example she used was a ride she experienced at Epcot where riders are asked to choose the orange or the green ticket. The orange ticket had a warning stating that nausea and paralysis were possible, while the green ticket was explained to be for old people and little kids. She watched as those who chose the orange ticket stood in line taking photos and sharing their experience (that they had not yet had) with others and encouraging others in the park to come and ride it. The orange ticket built an experience around the ride. After riding with the orange ticket she rode with the ‘safer’ green ticket and said the rides were 95% identical.
She repeated this same idea on Halloween at her house. She had a line for ‘Baby Candy’ that anyone could have and a line for ‘Zombie Candy’ that required a parent’s permission. The ‘Baby Candy’ line had a wait time of about 10 seconds, while kids were standing in line for 30 minutes to get ‘Zombie Candy’. It was the same candy.
She concluded that you can just be 5% different and stand out in a cluttered environment if
every time you create content, publish, or promote your brand you do so with the idea to attract and fascinate. If you can make something fascinating it becomes valuable.
The thing that makes you different is what makes people love you. We often spend time leaning toward the tendency of making ourselves fit in, but what is better is to figure out what nobody has done before and stand out.
Creativity and data are not mutually exclusive properties but when creativity fights data, she said, “Ideas get lame”. But when creativity works WITH data, that’s when ideas stand out and the more information you have to feed into the creative process the more your ideas will stand out.
With an impressive background in advertising, Hogshead set out to study the Science of Fascination and share how she applied a creativity hack to every assignment she did.
“If you can solve a problem better, faster and more creatively it gives you an advantage.”- Sally Hogshead
There are two parts to branding fascination. How is the brand different? The answer to this will be an adjective because it describes your brand. The second part is how does it compare to competitors? This involves the key area of performance and that is a noun because it is a thing that is done the best. This is the data.
In 2010 Hogshead spearheaded a social media campaign that started with 30,000 people interested in doing an assessment of themselves and it grew to 100,000 by end of that year. “People want to know how they specifically are compelling and captivating,” she explained.
High performers at companies such as GE, AT&T and Twitter had some things in common.
High Performers - a specific specialty that they focus on.
Detail Oriented - not big picture and vice versa
Overdeliver in one specific area
They are not trying to be good in all things, but rather work to be extraordinary in one
area and that is what makes them stand out
"Different is better than better."
How do you capture someone's attention in a few seconds in a cluttered online environment?
You can either have the biggest budget and pound the information to you consumer by sheer scale or be the most fascinating. The goal really is to have the right messages to break through and stand out. To add value vs taking up space and to enhance your reputation through your communications rather than damage it.
The importance of the message cannot be overstated. A large volume of messages de-incentivizes people to listen to the message. Similar to the co-worker who raises his hand a lot during meetings to ask questions, but does not add value to the conversation. No one listens to him. Do not allow you message to be spam and have no value. Do not create messages for the sake of creating messages.
Lean into what makes you different. Be the most fascinating
The greater your risk, the greater the success can be.
Critique your own brand.
It is crucial not to compete when you are in an underdog situation. If you are not the most famous and or don't have the biggest budget, it is crucial that you do not compete directly because you will be at a competitive disadvantage.
Give value first and then ask for something in return.
People become attached to the message before the utility of a product. Build the message first, develop the media second.
The world isn't changed by people who sort-of care.
Project Fascination developed a test to determine a brand or person’s strengths and how to play that up and what to be cautious of that is detrimental. Knowing your persona will help to jump start building a relationship with an audience and it will get you far rather quickly.
7 personas to use for content/position
Power Brands - a leader who makes decisions
Passion - a relationship builder with strong people skills
Mystique -a solo intellect behind the scenes
Prestige - an overachiever with higher standards
Alert - a precise detail manager
Innovation - an untraditional problem solver
Trust - a stable reliable partner
Every brand has a unique fascination or more "YOU-ness" about them they need to embrace. The qualities that are memorable and that drive us to like and be passionate about something are the qualities that make it stand out..not blend in.
The major key to all of this is to be MORE of YOU. Whatever that is.. Do it, embrace it, know it and LIVE it. Only then when you be memorable and be Fascinating.
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