Messaging: The Crux of Discovery

I discovered Super Smash Bro’s at my mates birthday party when a collective huddled around a television to witness a live performance.

To start, I would like to ask you a question: How did you discover you favorite creation ?

Did you happen to stumble into a group of people enjoying the activity? Or was it an inspiring poster that pushed you to partake? Maybe it was a friend that told you a story of the magic that this creation would bring ?

Regardless of the case — whether its advertising, communication or witnessing a performance — messaging was the key to how you discovered that creation. This perspective, which is concisely analyzed here, raises a question about product and service design and whether:

• A creations form, function and affordances can promise an experience that sticks in a users memory, producing stories that are shared across the messages?
• Or whether it requires a storyteller/salesman, to inspire users to use a creation in a specific way that sparks this desired snowball effect?

Yes, trust me. You want that one.

In the case of messaging, the literature has unfortunately pointed me to the latter, and has raised awareness on the importance of markets, world views and frames and how these tools can help you figure out which creations are more desirable than others; which audience or demographics to speak to and what message to tell them.

There’s many points of focus where you can shine a light, but only one is the honest one.

As All Marketers Are Liars (Seth Godin), it is important to understand that these tools can be used to shine a lie on your creation that may be desirable — but not necessarily the best execution. That said, if emotion is the worlds most powerful contagion, its important to speak a lie that resonates with you and those that you want your creation to speak to.

Finally, above all else, the literature has preached that Stickiness is the key factor behind viral messaging. Stickiness, which can be defined as a visual, sentiment or something memorable that remains in your mind for a prolonged period of time; is vital as it acts a proof of evidence of value. If sufficiently powerful, this Stickiness, will trigger an individual to think about our experience — creating a form of social currency — which will help the creation spread like wildfire.

Oscar