THERE'S THIS STATUE OF A DOG
IN A TRAIN STATION IN TOKYO.
This dog, an Akita, was owned by a Tokyo University professor who died when the dog was only eighteen months old. The dog, as the plaque reads, walked to the train station every day to await the return of his beloved master. He did this every single day until his own death ten years later.
THE POINT? This is the type of loyalty we need to build between your brand and your customers.
WE'RE THE HAMMERHEAD AGENCY.
An advertising agency with an intense focus on growing our clients’ business by fostering brand loyalty. In fact, we are so focused on creating brand loyalty that our reason for being, our essence, can be boiled down to one word.
ENGAGEMENT
We get to know them.
What’s inside their hearts and minds.
We court them. We woo them.
Win their loyalty and make them fall in love.
But engagement is also about war.
In our case, it’s a constant and fierce battle for the consumer’s attention.
And just like a military operation, we follow certain rules of engagement in order to create the most powerful and effective advertising possible. These rules of engagement are what make us effective. They help us form our battle plan and win consumers’ minds.
But more importantly. The rules of engagement help us reach into their hearts. And marry them with our clients.
THINGS ONE MAY ENGAGE IN:
Conversation. Study. War. Music. Thought. Love. Confrontation. An embrace.
There is no right or wrong way to engage people.
What’s important is that you talk to people in a way that is relevant to them.
That way, they will think about your product.
They will remember your product.
And above all, they will embrace your product.
THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
A Guide to Brand Loyalty and Successful Marketing
Rule 1:
Business is war. Only you’re not fighting to seize a piece of land or to defend a city. You’re fighting to win consumers. And as any general worth his salt will tell you, “Win their hearts and their minds will follow,” because the more people relate to your product, are engaged by your product, and become loyal to your product, the more likely you are to win the war.
Rule 2:
Maybe you’ve been to a cocktail party and have found yourself cornered by some guy who keeps going on and on about himself. He just won’t shut up about his scuba trip to St. Croix and how he sold some stock for a 152% profit – even though you’ve given him absolutely no sign that you’re interested. And maybe later at that same party you meet someone who engages in a conversation with you, finding common ground in things that pique your curiosity and hold your attention. Undoubtedly, this is a person you’ll want to talk to again.
Advertising is very much like a cocktail party.
Some of the guests are self-involved and dreadfully boring, some are interesting and engaging. Which do you want to be?
Rule 3:
PEOPLE ARE NOT LOYAL TO PRODUCT ATTRIBUTES.
Nobody feels a connection to lime-colored, carbo-loaded liquids, they feel a connection to the brand Gatorade.
There isn’t a single person who has strong feelings about a new reinforced steel chassis, but there are millions of people with feelings so strong, that a Lexus is the only car they will buy. This is why we engage people. So they will become loyal to your brand.
ENGAGEMENT ISN'T JUST A FANCY WORD.
It’s a battle-tested philosophy that has helped our clients grow. We live it. We breathe it. And before we put work in front of a client, we ask ourselves, IS THIS ENGAGING? The result? Well, just ask how many of our clients are number one in their respective categories.
YOU MAY NOT KNOW US BY OUR NAME, BUT YOU MAY KNOW US BY THE COMPANY WE KEEP.
