Advertising has moved further and further along the lines of mystery branding and non sequitur in recent years and this has been under a lot of scrutiny. Last year Sue Unerman published a story for the Guardian entitled “Do consumers care whether brands tell the truth?” The article outlined the importance of clarity and a candid approach, “Of course consumers care about truth. We all do. So the best way to sell stuff to them is to tell them the truth. Half a century ago David Ogilvy said: “The consumer is not a moron, she is your wife”.”
Unerman was concerned by the level of detraction from honesty. It could be argued however that with well established, trusted brands the need to build up trust isn’t as great as with new and unknown products and services. For example, Cadbury’s have used non sequitur advertising techniques for years. Examples of this are the Phil Collins drum playing gorilla and the dancing eyebrows adverts. The purple colouring is the only clue throughout the advert which does not even feature its products. Instead fallacy, detached entertainment and happiness are selling points.
The other reason why clarity isn’t quite so important for big brands is because they will have complaints structures and engagement through social media that will have competent teams running them. On the other side of the fence a lack of clarity through mystery branding has been heralded as useful by all sizes of brands. This technique ultimately encourages online interaction and traffic through curiosity. Examples of this are:
1. QR Codes on packages and media can deliver clues and challenges. (Clues can contain information you want the customer to know)
2.Cross-brand promotions can create bigger engagements around mystery and increase shopping time
3.Retail, online and outdoor can interact like a three dimensional tic-tac-toe game
4.Physical clues that require a return to the store can increase foot traffic
5.Mystery involves surprise and there are many ways to deliver the “pop” of delight when something is revealed or a secret is figured out
Largely both of these advertising techniques are used in a way that isn’t often a concern to the consumer. If you know a brand well enough to identify in from a highly irrelevant advertisement then the chances are it is well trusted and has approachable restitutionary channels. Small brands do need to build trust through trust and transparency. When it comes to mystery branding, this is a safe approach for any sized brand, as long as the consumer is directed to or can easily access what they can expect and terms and conitions.