How’s that for restoring an appreciation for the familiar? A brilliant video by IKEA ripping off Apple, of course, while effectively restoring appreciation for a catalogue. Of all things, a catalogue. Well thought out and executed. Some things don’t deteriorate in value. Their value is lost in perspective. it is how you help people see the worth of your product or mission that matters.

Familiarity can rob us of appreciating value and worth. A great lesson from this IKEA campaign is that “selling” is not just about creating an awareness of your “product”. “Selling” can be translated as garnering support. It could be rallying troops around your cause or mission. “Product” can be mission or intent.

This ad is remind us of the importance of crafting your message. About helping those you lead or serve to appreciate “that thing” or particular aspect. To a great extent “selling” is a matter of language. It is not just what you say but how you say.

The Ikea catalogue, in this case, is not anything new. It is just being “sold” in a fresher way. There will be times where the work to be done is not necessarily on the products but on managing people’s perceptions of them.

It might just be that the work that needs to be done is not on the product(s) their presentation. Your presentation is one of the few shots you have at managing perceptions of your product.

People will get familiar with your product. They will get to a point of reciting your organisation’s mission. Because of this, they will need help by changing how you present your product. Your teams need to hear about your mission in different tones, nuances and expressions.

Never be slapdash about the things that matter. Choose your language with care. Reiterate the same thing differently. Continually explore saying the same things differently.

I prefer to learn from others and do my own thing. But, if it is your thing like IKEA, you could piggy back off someone else’s work ;-) Check out the ad.

Check out the ad.

How’s this for restoring appreciation for the familiar?

 

Published by Blessing Mpofu

just a guy changing the world

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