How many of you know the fable of The Gnat & The Bull.
If not, here it is. It’s short. Very short.
A Gnat flew over the meadow with much buzzing for so small a creature. He settled on the top of the horns of a bull.
After he had rested for a short time, he made ready to fly away.
But before he left, he begged the Bull’s pardon for having used his horn for a resting place.
“You must be very glad to have me go now,” he said.
“It’s all the same to me,” replied the Bull. “I did not even know you were there.”
Why the fable?
There is a lot of communication in our industry. There is value messaging. There is health messaging. There is sustainability messaging. There is price messaging. There is promotional messaging. There is… you get the picture.
We (brands, retailers) are the Gnat. Buzzing around making lots of noise. Landing on the shelf or online page. Thinking shoppers must notice us.
Shoppers are the Bull. Just looking to buy what they need to buy and move on. Often not knowing the communication is there. Let alone taking it in.
That’s why each year (well, we are onto our third year now…) we like to let you know about our alternative year end awards. The Insight Traction Lions.
They are a set of awards that are firmly anchored in the real world.
A world that understands that shoppers spend much less time thinking about our categories and brands than we do. A world in which shoppers get bored much less quickly than we do. A world in which shoppers buy your product not your purpose.
Awards that honour simple, clear and effective shopper communication.
Simple. Communication that says less. That uses few words. Short words. Everyday language.
Clear. Communication that is really easy to process. That tells a shopper what a product is. What it does. Why it’s good.
Effective. Communication that frames choices effectively. That makes a brand the most obvious choice for shoppers.
They are awards that look at things from the perspective of the Bull not the perspective of the Gnat.
The awards that most brands probably don’t want to win. But probably should want to win.
We will start sharing the Insight Traction Lions winners from Monday 14th November on Linked In. They will run over 4 weeks.
Just follow Insight Traction to see them.
Then spread the word.
Maybe you can join us in the good fight. The fight for simplicity. The fight for clarity. The fight for effectiveness.
The fight for a world free of Gnats.
Feel free to forward. Have a great weekend. Speak to you in fortnight.