May08
30
When Brand Promises And Experiences Collide…
In my spare spare time I’m a drummer. Not the hard core, head-thrashing, authority-hating type, but more into jazz, funk and classic rock sounds. I’ve been playing now for about ten years but am not nearly the drummer I could be owing largely to the fact that I seldom get the time to commit to practicing as one ought to with any musical instrument.
Going to the music store to upgrade or splash out on new equipment is always a highlight for any musician. I know though, remembering back to my early days as a beginner, that going to a specialist store to ask about specialist equipment is often pretty intimidating. It’s that same feeling many women (and men who seldom admit it) feel when going to have their car serviced. You land up speaking to the greasy dude that couldn’t care what your level of experience is, and you feel more like a plantar wart on their foot than the customer who should be king…
I went to Marshall Music in Woodmead the other day to buy my first guitar, having decided to diversify my musical interests. I was nervous - just like those early drumming days. I knew they’d say things I wouldn’t understand and ask me to play the instrument in front of them - aaargh. Now Marshall Music have a pretty good reputation as a music store and recently got a boost when their ad agency, BBDO, received an international Yellow Pencil award for a brilliant radio ad they produced for them. But in my experience seldom is the case that sexy ads translate to great experiences in-store. This was different.
The salesman who helped me, Brent, took an interest in my individual needs from the get go. He didn’t use his superior knowledge to impress or intimidate me and I left the shop a short while later with a great guitar at an even better price. Brent clearly loved what he did and to quote him directly “took as much interest in the sale of a plectrum (guitar pick) as a huge PA system”.
So whereas many ad agencies concentrate on making ads that pay lip service because the client doesn’t follow up on the brand promise, here was an experience that exceeded the recognition it had already gotten from the industry.
It’s not often the brand promise matches the brand experience, but when it does, the impression it leaves is priceless. I went back to Brent just the other day to spend another whack of hard-earned cash on sound equipment, and will go back again the next time I need something.
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