Brand and Butter

Brand Memory: Why People Remember (Or Forget) Your Business"

Tara Ladd Episode 68

Why do some brands stick in our minds while others fade instantly? The secret lies in understanding how our brains actually process and store information. This episode dives deep into the psychology of memory and its critical importance for creating a truly memorable brand. The most memorable brands don't just look different – they create distinctive associations through multiple senses and meaningful experiences.

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Speaker 1:

you're listening to Brandon butter a straight-talking occasionally in your face. No BS branding podcast for modern marketers and business owners. Here for those who want to understand the influence and power of branding and how pairing associations, consumer behavior and design thinking can impact what people say, think and feel. I'm your host, tara Ladd, the sometimes funny, sometimes vulnerable and often unapologetically blunt founder and creative director of Brand and Design Agency. Your one and only hey, hey, welcome to this week's episode of Brand and Butter.

Speaker 1:

I wanted to kind of bring in a subject that I know hits well with a lot of you, and that is memory. Now, when we're talking about brand recognition, which is how easily someone remembers your brand, this is a common concern for a lot of people. How do I stay memorable? How do I stand out? How do I get attention? All of these things kind of stem right down into a lot more than just creating a nice graphic. I mean, graphics and visuals obviously play a part in it, but that's what I want to break down today. Now, if you're a long-time listener, I broke this down as one of the first episodes, I think, but I'm bringing it back because I know that it's a really important subject to talk to and I'm kind of diving into it at the moment across all of the content on all of the channels, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to bring it back up again. So I said that really fast, sorry.

Speaker 1:

What I'm going to be breaking down today is a lot to do with, like memory formation and the way that our brains encode information, and that's kind of important when you're doing things like design, because if you're wanting to be memorable, then you want to understand the way that we think and we act and we behave, and a lot of that comes down to visual and emotional cues. So, for instance, there is so much more than just seeing something. Right, you may go to a place and you've had a great experience there before, and it's going to bring back positive memories. It's very similar to if you listen to a song or you smell a scent, and it's the same with visuals as well. You may see a picture. It's like we have photos that's why we have photos and you go back and you look at a photo and it will remind you of that time, and so that's why memory actually has a much bigger role than a lot of people Well, I mean, people know that it has a role, but they don't seem to take action to figure out how to make their brands more memorable, and all they're looking at is these quick fixes and these surface level responses, and it just doesn't work.

Speaker 1:

So what I want to do I've got my previous blog post up, because it's a lot to it is talk to you about the way that the brain encodes information. You about the way that the brain encodes information. So there's multiple steps when we're talking about processing information and any teacher will know this too, because they need to understand the way to teach people in order for different types of learners to be able to digest and retain that information and when we're looking at this is one of the reasons why I studied psychology and behavior is because, as a communicator which I've also studied it is our role to create content and create material that people will retain, people will remember, but also ethically done, so that it serves its purpose, rather than just contributing to the copious amount of shit that is entering the world at the moment, which is a lot. So we want to talk about encoding, which is the first step of the memory process. So that's like the information entering your brain, and this is the beginning stage where we learn the information. So it's the exposure to whatever you're learning or understanding listening to a song, seeing an ad or you know, be that randomly or deliberately and then this stage is broken down into four areas again. So it's like a step within a step within a step. It's like a step within a step within a step. It's like inception.

Speaker 1:

And so the way that we look at encoding is visual encoding, acoustic encoding, semantic encoding and tactile encoding, and so all of those four things have different meanings. So, obviously, visuals is what you see. It's the sight bringing in the senses here. Then we look at acoustic encoding. So it's what you hear. It's the same thing as what I said before. You hear a song, it reminds you, but insight bringing in the senses here. Then we look at acoustic encoding. So it's what you hear. It's the same thing as what I said before. You hear a song, it reminds you, but it's hearing. And then we look at semantic encoding. So that's like what it means, how people are interpreting what you're saying, and that's up to us as there's a whole thing.

Speaker 1:

If you go and look at the way that people understand information, it's like there's a sender, there's a receiver and there's an interpretation in the middle, it's a whole thing. I should just draw an infographic and show you. But if the sender is sending a message and the receiver is not interpreting that message as intended, there's a communication issue. Now that doesn't mean that either have done it wrong, but if you, as the sender, are not sending the right message for that person at the other end to, then it's a messaging problem. And that can be visually, that can be verbally, that can be auditory, many things. And if we look at it in the terms of teaching, then if you're not teaching someone the way that they can understand, then they're not going to understand what you're saying. It's the same thing as like talking English to someone that speaks Chinese, like they're going to be like I have no idea. Neither are wrong, but it means that in order for you to try and speak to someone that is Chinese, you need to understand how to speak Chinese. You either find a translator or you work out other. I'm talking about this in a minute, so I'll come back to that.

Speaker 1:

So this information there's the four parts is how we encode information right, and so then we look at tactile, which is the fourth one and that's how it feels, obviously, the feeling and the texture of it it's, it's how something will enter your brain. So sight, sound, interpretation and touch, pretty much. So let me look at storage, right. So storage is when our brains go. Do we want to consume this information? And so I think we have our short-term memory, something like I don't even know, it's like seven seconds or something. It's like really short, like 15 to 30 or something like that, but it will enter that part of your brain and your brain will go do I need this information, yes or no? And if it does not serve a purpose, it does not hit emotionally, chances are it will completely be wiped from your memory. You won't even remember looking at it.

Speaker 1:

And so when we look at the short-term memory, this is giving us the short-term space right Before it will enter. It's like a pecking order before it will even get into the next level. And so, according to Harvard in my blog post, as I've gotten here in front of me, it's like your short storage space of, say, five to nine things at a time. So your short-term memory can take five to nine things at a time and it's usually limited by time, lasting around 15 to 30 seconds, according to Harvard. So that's when you will consider is this information worthy? No, that's why you say I just showed you five seconds ago. Or someone will tell you their name and you're like I have no idea who you are. I am so bad with names, I have to like. And again, this is how I remember people. I will visually add something to them Blue hat, blah, dah, dah, dah, dah. Do you know what I mean? That's how. It's how most people do things like that.

Speaker 1:

So, if you want to enter the long-term memory, something significant or something emotional needs to happen in order to stay there, or you need to consistently tell your message so that it keeps coming. So it's like five to seven brand impressions before someone remembers your brand. Same thing In order for people to remember, you need to consistently tell them over and over and again. This is why consistency will win. It's not that someone's doing better than you. It's just that they're there more so they're able to remember you more. That's the mere exposure effect at full play, which means that you know. It's like listening to a song you hear it once, you don't remember it. You hear it twice, you're like. You hear it 30 times. You're like, oh yeah, kind of get the vibe and then four, five, six times you start to get used to the song. Eventually you may remember it. You repeat, repeat, repeat, and then that's kind of how it works. So it's it's all of these different things that come into play. So when you say someone isn't remembering my brand, someone will be like, oh, you need to change your messaging. Yes, but also, is it worthy of being remembered? Is it funny, Is it memorable? Is there something that you're talking to or are you talking at them?

Speaker 1:

I see so many brands. I've worked with so many clients that don't listen and they will do things in their own way, naturally. So, totally do your thing, but when I suggest something, they will go off and do it on their own way anyway, and they will find that something doesn't work and they can't figure it out. Do it on their own way anyway, and they will find that something doesn't work and they can't figure it out. And I can break it apart so honestly that it's because they think that they know their audience and they don't. And then they communicate the wrong message to them and a lot of the times it's actually coming out from what they think that the audience wants and they will talk about it from their own perspective, without actually having a discussion or out without even talking to their audience or even listening to what their audience says. And the audience may even be giving them feedback, but they're choosing not to listen. That's where one of the biggest pitfalls I see is that the information is hitting them in the face and they're going no, no, I know.

Speaker 1:

So I would always say be really open to interpretation. Of course it's like choose your area, but if I would look at the source of who you're getting your information from as well, right? So if someone sits within your target market and they're giving you valuable advice, don't discredit that, because a lot of the times, giving bad feedback is hard to do and a lot of people just won't do it. So if someone's giving you feedback, don't be like grain of salt. Take it on board and see if anyone else may be feeling that way, because you may find a huge opportunity for you to reshape that recognition as well. Because if you have which I'm about to dive into brand association if someone has a bad experience with your brand, that enters the memory. So that's a feeling Someone feeling disappointed if they've had a bad experience with you. That is the feeling that they're going to remember when they think of your brand. So they will pass that message on to all of their friends about your brand and then you will have a bad connotation or bad, negative association attached to your brand Cure reviews.

Speaker 1:

So we look at the recall. How is it being processed? Is it worthy of being remembered and how is it entering the brain, right? This also comes into play with jingles. I think one of my examples that I used was the Vegemite jingle. If you're not Australian you won't know what I'm talking about, but it's my happy little Vegemites. I think that anyone could like memory recall that, like it's called memory like bang, you just start remembering things. It's why you can remember songs from years and years and years ago like so well, and then can't remember what you wore yesterday. It's the same thing. It's it's an emotional connection.

Speaker 1:

So that's that's the beginning part, right. That's how brands or brands or how information is entered into your brain. So you've got three parts, which is like the encoding. Then there's the information processing and the recall. So I'm like, is that right? Storage? Sorry, information processing. So I'm like let's just go back and confirm that it is encoding, storage and recall, and so then we look at the main parts of how you can then use this right. So how exactly do you use this to your advantage? Well, one, take a look at your audience and see what the hell they want.

Speaker 1:

I cannot stress enough that people are just not listening. They are or they're just not looking at the right place. I do in-depth research every week on my audience. Every week I'm looking. Now, if you don't have the time to do that, find someone that does, maybe and I know there's a lot of people in a lot of different places I find that the people that are really struggling and I mean, you know that's an entrepreneurship for you it's a hats on many people. I'm in the same boat at the moment. I'm the only person doing anything, seems like you know, answering emails on the order cage, but then I've got my side hustler, stacey that, just there, ready to go. So once we grow again, I'm like bringing her back in, but she's there whenever I need her. So she's there at an arm's length, but, like most of the times, I'm doing things on my own.

Speaker 1:

However, I've spent big dollars investing in things that that will enhance the business. So, instead of me trying to sit here and spend because time is money, just so you know you know you're either spending money or you're using your time, and I would much rather my time be spent on the things that I know are going to bring me more bang for my buck. And sometimes that has meant me putting myself in a very hard position where I have had no money coming in and I'm like, look, this is going to feel real orcs. But if I don't make any money and it has been shaven for you know, really close to the edge there where I've, like, pushed the limits but it came back and I think that's just purely because I invested in the right time at the right place. You know, timing does play a big role, but also I spent the time investing in the thing that was going to generate money, as opposed to just splitting my brain into eight different places.

Speaker 1:

I think, as entrepreneurs, we're trying to do a bit of marketing, you're trying to do a bit of ads, you're trying to do a bit of what you actually do, and then you actually let what it is that you do best slip. So this is something that I've had to really come to terms with was trying to market to get more work meant that, you know, I needed to really be focusing on that experience of the client from end to end, and so I've been trying to fix that as best as I could, and I'm having open discussions with the clients that I'm working with at the moment and, look, I don't always hit it out of the park, I don't but I do really try to fix that. But this is where I find a lot of people even people that I've worked with or suppliers that I've invested in is that they actually don't give you that need. You've spent money with them or you know whatever, you've service swapped or whatever, and they actually don't give you the attention that you've given them. And then you find that that's where it falls down. So it's like, where is the shared space there of actually getting the benefit and the experience that you were hoping to get? Because if someone has invested in you and the thing that they've actually bought from you is something that they're not providing you because they're too busy being focused on other areas, then that's a massive, massive downfall. So that was one thing that I had to have a hard wake-up call with. It was about 18 months ago when I was trying to do all these other things but I was letting my timeline slip and that was really impacting some people and I was like shit. So I actually had to go back and completely rejig all of my and I'm in process of like rejigging things now, um, to make it way more streamlined and more communication and listening and feedback, and that's the whole thing. So, again, processes and systems have a huge role in the way that you run a business. So, so finances, by the way. I'll bring that out another time.

Speaker 1:

But the second part that I wanted to talk to, leading into the next part, is semiotics and universal memory. So when we talk about this, it's how visual symbols, which is what I was talking to you before about the language difference is that visual systems have an ability to go beyond language. So we see the role of semiotics play out every single day. If I was to say there is a bump in the road, I bet you could visualize what that symbol looks like. If there is a stop sign, you can visualize what that looks like.

Speaker 1:

Now, even a stop sign could be said in different language, but the shape of the sign and the color, all of that signifies a meaning. It's the same thing that I always say when you're walking across a crossing, you will have that pedestrian person's like walking and don't walk and the color codes that they're using and the sounds that they use. I know Australia uses sounds, but those are the things that people also can translate without even having to speak a language. So you can hear the sound or you can if you're in Australia. We have braille or we have like a vibration on the toucher as well. So like it's when it's time to walk, the person flashes when it's time to stop. Like all of these things are symbols. They're all like they signify things. So you know the red man as you're walking across the road. Flashing means stop walking because the light's about to change. Like all of these things tell you things where they're not even communicating in.

Speaker 1:

You know written language, so words are important, but visuals also transcend words because they're able to communicate beyond that language barrier to an extent, and so and obviously not in the same way, but they can really well, which is why visuals and copy together are really important combinations Like one's good, one the other's good, but like together they are. That's where it, that's where happens. That's why I will always work with a copywriter, by the way, um, but then we look at, like you know, memory triggers and universal symbols in terms of signs, right, so if you go to an event and I mean this is obviously in a an event in your language, but the signage sucks, it completely changes that experience. Like you trying to find the toilet, for instance, and you can't find a toilet sign, or you know, things are just really all over the shop and confusing and the navigation is all out. Like you have a really bad experience and you hate it. But when the clear, the signage is clear and you have a really distinct and you know I guess well, clear is the right word to say but a straightforward way of getting from A to B because everything is so well laid out, then your experience is much better. And this is so, like you know, if you ever go I know that I think it's Melbourne, is it Melbourne airport? One of them has like these really big like toilet symbols as you walk in and I'm, every time I go there, I'm like this is so cool, but it's you. You don't have to do things boring either.

Speaker 1:

Like the way that you can design things is really important and that's that's what we call place branding, by the way. So a lot of people will be like, oh, it's signage, but it's not, it's it's. There are different types of branding. There's like product branding, business branding, personal branding, place branding, all of the brandings. But it's just, it's like shaping an identity, right. So you go to the airport, it will have a specific type of branding. So everywhere you see, signage is the same. You can have an event. Event branding will have the same, like all of these things are designed in a certain way, but someone has designed that.

Speaker 1:

That is what we consider design thinking. So it's starting at the core, which is how we work at your One and Only. We start at the core what the problem is, what the empathy is, what empathy can we drive? Sorry, like the human behavior and the issue that's at hand and how you can solve that problem. That transcends design. Design is obviously part of that package, but you know what else can you do? So it's like when I say, if you were to look at a remote control for your TV, there are specific buttons on your remote control that will tell you. You know the main buttons. There are some buttons that have a hierarchy, obviously, and some buttons that you'll probably never use. To be fair, I know that that middle button, the select button, and around that they've got like a menu pad with arrows. At the top You've got a mute button and an on and off button, and even my control has a Netflix button, which I find really cool. But they're done deliberately so that you know if you're picking something up it's easy to find. It's the same with phones, it's the same with all of these gadgets that have been designed a certain way.

Speaker 1:

If it's not clearly distinguishable, then the design's broken, like it has to be functional. We have so many instances where people have created these beautiful designs like, don't get me wrong, but if the design doesn't work and it doesn't emphasize the message or clearly articulate the message, then the design isn't working. So the way I say is when I'm working with a copywriter is that our job for design is to amplify the way the message is to be said or is to be translated. So, for instance, if the message is really powerful, we're not going to add anything to that. We're going to keep the design as simplistic as possible and provide as much emphasis on those words as we can, so that that becomes the core prominence of that piece. Because if you go and add all of these extra things around the edges, that may not even make sense. What that's doing is overwhelming the person that's trying to read the information, so adding to our encoding.

Speaker 1:

If they've got two seconds to read something, or three seconds, whatever it is, and you've got three or four different pieces of graphics or things around the outside, they're trying to find where to look at first and their brain regardless of whether you think they're trying to find where to look at first and their brain, regardless of whether you think they're doing it or not, like you may have the font in the middle really big and whatever, but if they're having to fight through, your brain's still having to source through what's more important, what's not, and if they're not going straight to that message in the center, you've already lost it. That message in the center, without any kind of you know, just words on its own can be hugely emotional and impactful. That is a design choice, by the way, to just do typographic style. So it is a. There are a range of different things. However, if you're looking at like, say, a statistic, having a stat just in written word is not as powerful as if you were to have a visual data visualization, for example, like a graph or you know an infographic that can align to that stat, because then I think the stat was 353% more likely to be retained with an illustration alongside a graphic. So you have to know these things in order to be communicating, because that's how information stays in the brain. And if you were to look at it another way, if the words make sense but you need an image on there, what you can do is you can visual prime and you can do like an eye gaze. For instance, you can have a person that is looking at the headline or the main body of copy and naturally a human being will look to the human first and then they will look to where the person is looking.

Speaker 1:

In most cases, I did a test on this last. I might repost that actually I did a post on this with visual priming and how I got people, based on the way that I designed and formatted my carousel, to follow a certain way of of looking like I made them look all over the shop and they completely missed a part that I told them to. At the very end I was like but did you see this? And they were like, oh my god, no, and it's a really interesting test. And now bringing that back in. If you heard, last week I actually uh, tagged the or tagged I.

Speaker 1:

I dropped the link of the selective memory test. Is it attention? Whatever, it's the gorilla one. Basically, it's just two teams, team in black and a team in white throwing a basketball, and then a gorilla walks into the middle of the scene but because they've asked you to look at how many times someone has thrown the basketball, you basically completely miss unless you know it's coming. You completely miss this person in a gorilla suit walk through because you're too busy trying to count how many times the basketball has been thrown, because you've been primed to count the basketball, not look for a gorilla. And so at the end they do a rewind and then you go oh my God, there's like a legit whole person that walks in the middle dressed as a gorilla, and I did not even see that. Now, obviously they're in black and white, so the gorilla dressed in black is obviously going to blend in with the black person.

Speaker 1:

If he'd walked in with a yellow suit, I think that it might've been slightly different, but it just goes to show that your brain, when it's focused on something specific, it will look there and completely miss everything else, and so that's another thing to take into consideration on how words and visuals align feeling anything that you can wrap in that can make people think beyond just what they're looking at. This is why reels took off, or video took off is because there's multiple aspects of a video. Right, there's sound, there's movement. This is what I'm saying where we're looking at brands now moving into that dynamic aspect, like you need to have an evolving brand now. I can't be static. It has to be constantly moving, um, and I think we're watching this play out in real time and it also needs to just simply align with cultural alignment.

Speaker 1:

If you're not listening to what's happening around you and you're simply just doing the old way, we're moving at a really quick pace now, like, unfortunately, it's almost like a full-time job, which is why everyone's getting overwhelmed, because it is, and can be, quite hard, but once you find what it is that you need to do, it's quite easy to keep going right. You just kind of go okay, this is what we're doing now, this is what seems to be working, and you test and you test and then once you kind of go, okay, this is what we're, this is what we're doing now, this is what seems to be working, and you test and you test, and then, once you kind of build that momentum, it does it. Honestly, I swear it does become easier. But what you need to do is, when you do find that is to not become complacent. It is to then jump up and continue to evolve and move in minute places uh, my minute steps forward, as opposed to going, oh, we're behind. Now we need to take one giant step. You just keep adapting as you go, small adaptations as you go, and you will constantly stay in front of the game, and that's really what you need to be considering when you're talking about.

Speaker 1:

How do I stay in front? How do I get a brand that stands out? Really? It's all about the emotion. How are you making people front? How do I get a brand that stands out? Really? It's all about the emotion. How are you making people feel? How are they actually engaging with your brand? What is it that they're seeing about you?

Speaker 1:

That's different, and this is why I've created the positioning content that I have recently, because this is the pillar of what people are missing. I've got a market advantage gap workbook that has been rolling out through our email series, so if you've signed up to the email series you will get that. I have got it. I'll drop it into the show notes, but it's basically helping you to identify four core parts that a lot of people don't see. So you could be finding pain points and I ask a range of questions throughout that document. You could be looking for underserved markets. So underserved are who are the outskirts of the of the audience that you're trying to target and how are you not? How are the? How are they being ignored, essentially?

Speaker 1:

And then you look at the um, the combinations, like so how can you combine two things to create something? And then, of course, the last one is like the delivery method. So can you deliver that in a different way? All of these things tap into memory encoding because if you're doing things slightly different to the way that everyone and I'm talking slightly different I'm not talking about huge big upheaval slightly different to the way that everyone else does, it's just enough to make you noticeable. I can guarantee you. It's just enough to make you noticeable. I can guarantee you it's never this huge big thing that can come from really cool packaging.

Speaker 1:

It could come from a tone of voice or a different personality. It can come from simply you showing up in your own self. That's just different to the way that other people show up. The way that I see it is that we all have different friends. We've all got friends, and you know they. They come to us because of who we are. We haven't had to carve ourselves I mean, probably in the past, when we were younger, we did but you know, we, as we get older, we kind of just become ourselves and we find out who our friends are, and it's really just that it's like finding who you are within friendship groups. It's the same with brand. It's literally like trying to make your brand a person and then rocking up in its whole authenticity.

Speaker 1:

And that's where we're looking at at the moment is to figure out ways to tap into that. Memory encoding, or memory recall is what I like to say, and by memory recall we're looking at that as being like a consideration set. So before someone chooses to work with you, they're going to look at three core brands that they'll probably bring up, maybe five, but a consideration set is that they've been exposed to that brand long enough to know that that would come top of mind when they're ready to use said service or buy a certain product. So if I was to say to you, let's go buy a TV, you would probably think of three brands that come to you and they're your own consideration set. Someone else may be exposed to different content or different communications and they will think of something else, and that's important.

Speaker 1:

Also, then we look at the different attributes of decision-making, which I will talk about later, because that is a whole different podcast. But the different decision-makers and how they make you know how they choose to buy. So you will have people like my husband chooses bomb price. I am so not like that. I will definitely choose quality. So we meet somewhere in the middle. It's really interesting, and so if you're targeting someone based on the way that you buy, you could be missing a completely different audience. So yeah, there's a whole thing there. We'll talk about it later. I will drop the link into the show notes if you're interested in that, but I will drop that email. Sign up too if you haven't got that. That's just five days of giving you some good info and that's completely free. So let me know if there is any questions after today, because that was a pretty heavy one, I mean there's.

Speaker 1:

When I say that this goes deep, I'm talking really deep, and I studied behavioral neuroscience, which is really fun, but also learning about the memory in that as well was super, super interesting. And when you know the memory structure at such a deep level, you're like wow, okay, now the knowledge gap is really big. How do I pave the gap? It's like when I try to explain to someone, they're like how do I learn about branding? And it's the same thing. I'm like well, here I am trying to teach you at stage five when you need to be at stage two, when really I could take you to stage 15. It's like you have to figure it out, and I think that's the biggest issue with a lot of brands and businesses I should say. Is that trying to figure out what that knowledge gap is, what type of communication that you need to be pushing out for someone to want to know what it is that you're talking about? Because sometimes you may be either talking in too much depth, like about what it is that you do, and you may need to scale it back, because we obviously can stitch together information that other people don't know because we have encoded that memory. So, yeah, there's a lot to talk about here.

Speaker 1:

We'll talk about this more in the coming weeks, but I hope you liked that episode. It was talking about the memory. I think I speak to this earlier one in an earlier episode as well, so you may want to go and listen to that. It's probably similar content, but this one's obviously more evolved to now, and if you have any questions, you know where to find me slip into my DMs and let's have a chat. Otherwise, I will chat to you next week. Did you like that episode? I hope so, because if you did, why don't you head over to whatever platform you listen on and rate and review? It's much appreciated and helps others know what we're about. If you want to follow us, you can find us at yourwannanonly underscore au on Instagram.

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