A Stack of Meaning

By: Monika Evers

What separates us from animals has everything to do with our abilities to manage complex social relationships and how we should market.

Have you noticed how on hearing gossip or 'The News' the first thing we always want to know is the name of the person, company or country that is being talking about?

One of the theories put forward by social scientists on what really separates us from animals is our ability deal with bigger numbers of human relationships. This ability of handle the complexities our social relationships is associated with the only part of the human brain that keeps growing throughout our lives, the neo-cortex. This region in humans is larger than in any other mammal.

For example it is often commented that men seek to establish...”Who is on top? Where am I in all of this? What do I have to do to get closer to the top? Women on the other hand seek to know who is doing what, with and to whom.

Understanding these aspects of our dual natures go some of the way to explaining why we value gossip and news. They are both methods by which we add in information into our understandings on the strata of relationships in our life.

Malcolm Gleadwell in his book “The Tipping Point” has researched that the maximum number of people we can have a genuinely social relationship with is limited to 150.

It is also the magical number he suggests that work groups, organisation departments and communities need to limit themselves to keep that genuine community/small business feel.

memory stacks create layers of influence

When people talk about a brand or person they use the name so it makes sense that names hold a strong social bias.

People who have already seen the "Anatomy of Influence" will know that name alone can skew a preference for a similar person or product by 400%.

Names influence and increase Brand influence as they become connected to the relationships and events of our lives. Often when the name becomes strongly associated with a brand mark logos or other design devices, they begin forming a "stack" of memories and influence. These "stacked" memory parcels are also referred to as stacked "memes". They are formed when two or more recall devices images, names, music, smells, emotion..." work together to recreate an experience in recall which can then influence a current behaviour.

For example when people say the name Disneyland, it brings back a flood of memories that include the way it is written, the castle logo, Walt Disney singing..."When you wish upon a star" and so many good memories of childhood of sitting in front of TV with my cousins on a Sunday night at 7.30pm

That is one massive stacked meme that is loaded with social experience and data. Does this memory stack (meme) have sway on adults like me buying for videos for children. You bet it does.

The nine layers of Influence

BRAND building is about creating memory stacks (memes) that can influence buying behaviour towards your company or person.

Over 20 years in the business of influence, I have been able to uncover the nine layers behind "stacks of influence" that when combined accelerate the influence of businesses and their BRANDS.

Businesses and personal brands that miss anyone of these layers, shave off a percentage of influence, sales and opportunities that should be yours.

If you know your sales cycles are long, losing sales, margins are being reduced, or your business is just not getting the credibility for its product or services, then I invite you to have a look at our presentation "The Anatomy of influence". Discover the nine essential factors that optimise influence. Then you can decide if this is, just what your business needs. How knows...for the same amount of effort you could be doubling your sales.

Call me direct on +61 3 9252 0609.

 

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