When visiting family in San Francisco recently, we passed a small corner store, of which there are many in the city. But as we drove towards a particular one, I noticed three words on the front that grabbed me—“Beer, Bourbon, and Hummus.” Riding in the drivers’ seat in a car going around 40 miles an hour, it struck me with enough emotional impact that I had to whip out my phone and take a picture.
I’ve seen a lot of things in my 48 years. But never a sign for beer, bourbon, and hummus. And before you discard the hummus message for being completely not like the other two, you should know the name of the store is “Healthy Spirits.” So maybe it’s not so far off brand.
The point is, San Francisco has countless storefronts that look exactly like this. They are on a corner. They have wine and liquor in the window. A few signs are pasted on the outside. The names are non-descript. There is typically nothing that would make one of these stores stand out for me over another. Nothing that would make me grab my phone as fast as I could to take a picture to share on social media.
Until hummus.
And so it goes with your audio brand. Maybe it plays the hits, kicks out the jams, has soft and relaxing favorites, delivers the news, or talks about sports. And you may do it very, very well.
Just don’t forget your brand’s “hummus.”
