I enjoy hot, spicy food. I’m a consistent 5+ star, on the hot index. I love hot salsa with habanero peppers. A few years back, I got together with my friend Scott, from New York. Being macho guys, we embraced the challenge of enduring a hellish, batch of my internationally acclaimed, thanks to You-Tube, salsa recipe. Although the version I prepared on You-Tube is extremely tame, I went a little overboard with this batch. The habanero peppers, caused a feverous response. We were dripping with sweat within minutes. It was definitely, not bland!

I live in Seattle, home of Nordstrom, a 109 year old company that built a reputation of exceptional customer service. The Nordstrom name has become synonymous with customer service and over the years, a retail pace setter.

My friend Ally, who at the time of this wrting is getting married in 28 days, works at the corner Starbucks. She said: We give good service because we love to, not because we have to. I knew she meant it. Her and the crew provide exceptional service. They make their jobs fun by getting to know their customers names and interacting with them. Customers need to feel like you care. It’s not enough to say your company gives Nordstrom service. Excellent customer service is expected from everyone in business.

Good Branding creates a link to an experience that relates to a feeling. It evokes a response, positive or negative. Words are cheap. In Marketing and advertising, if I had a dime for every cheap marketing cliche, I’d be rich… I’d also be rich if I got a dime for the cliche, If I had a dime for every…

When a movie soundtrack features, China Grove, a Doobie Brothers song from the 70s, during a montage sequence of a road trip, I relate to my own experiences. Where was I in the 70s? What was I doing? But I’ve also heard,  if you remember the 60s, you weren’t there!

Songs create positive or negative links depending on our personal experience. For me, I can retrace my entire Grade School, Jr. High, High School and College history by listening to the music of my past.

A song can trigger a memory and a vivid emotion linked to that memory. It’s a powerful thing. No wonder so many songs of the past are being featured in movies and commercials, creating links for the boomers, the largest consumer group. 

Years ago, my wife and I sat down to a lovely Salmon lunch in South Seattle with two other couples. My first bite was interrupted by Bill’s Septic next door, and graphic-sounds of human excrement’s being sucked through a rubber hose, splatting against a steel wall. Graphic-sounds, do you get the picture? At the time, it really sucked, but it was definitely funny, and an experience worth remarking about.

Your brand message should evoke a response or it’s not working. A logo is part of the brand, but your brand is you and what you say, do, and how your message sparks a response in someone else.

Good old Nordstrom service is no longer a unique characteristic. When I see ads “We provide excellent service,” what a yawner — same old stuff different day. What it’s saying to me is, nothing. Come’ on tantalize me, wow me! Give me a reason to click on your link!

I see a lot of blanding not branding: We have the best service — We have the lowest prices — Everything goes! Don’t become like a hopeless furniture store with a perpetual, going out of business sale, that runs 365 days a year –year after year after year.

What’s your brand? If you want to get a habanero response in your ad campaigns, you had better get their attention. Do something that sparks curiosity, something funny, joyful, or make someone angry. Find out if your customer has a pulse!

Thirty-five years ago, my family admired a bill board, advertising a roadside truck stop outside of Browning, Montana. “Good Food, Eat and Get Gas.” Now that’s good advertising! A good brand builder creates unique word pictures that invite a response. We wondered about it, but I have a hunch that that bill board was not an accident.

If I grossed you out, made you laugh, or made you reflect a little, then I guess I did my job. Maybe I stirred up a response or triggered a memory.  At the very least, enjoy my Salsa Recipe! Make me laugh, make me mad, make me happy, disgusted, or sad but don’t make your brand, bland.