The Hammer of Memorability
Some small marketers break through the clutter with dramatic effect because they realize one small but critical function of marketing. The marketing toolbox needs to include the hammer of memorability, to drive the message deep into the mind.
One store has found its hammer: There is a bridal store on a county road in overtly rural Iowa called Hope’s Bridal Boutique. Its claim to fame is that it is located in a barn. And not just any barn—a pink barn. In fact, all the farm buildings are pink, allowing you to differentiate this bridal shop from the others, and helping you find it as you’re driving Iowa’s county roads.
It is true the product has to deliver once you’re in the barn, but if you can’t remember anything about the bridal shop, you’ll never get there. The next step is to make sure that all the keywords capture memorability, such as “pink barn bridal shop” or just “pink barn.” It’s great to be remembered, but you also need to be found—in the virtual world and physical world.
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle. After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant. He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.” Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.” One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College. Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board. Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.
