A New Type of Clutter Inside our Homes

My niece just broke up with her boyfriend.

This would not be significant if not for the fact that she is temporarily living with me, and that I am in the branding business. Watching this newfangled breaking up process fascinates me. Not only do they break up in person, but there is a whole set of additional breaking rituals: facebook, myspace, 4 email addresses—some shared by both of them, instant message habits, cell phone access, and more.

As a branding professional, this hit home (no pun intended) about how busy the minds are of people in their early 20s. It rivals the time commitments of single moms or dads, overextended entrepreneurs, and those that have absorbed others’ jobs due to budget cuts. There is simply not enough time in a day to make careful buying decisions.

So for many of us, this adds another layer of complication when it comes to stating clearly what we are delivering to our customers. Are you sure your customers are fond of what you are delivering? They are the ones that create the perception of your brand and control it. Also, we must consider whether our customers use any of these communication tools to talk about your organization—if so, opinions are being shared about your brand quickly. For example, my niece is on one or the other about every 10 minutes. It is time for all of us to consider how to revitalize our brands so they get through the clutter, particularly for those in the early 20s that can’t walk away from their instant, web-based, and emailed messages very easily.

Post contributed by Catherine Shaw.