GROW IT OR SHRINK IT.

Make your product instantly more interesting to consumers by making it either much larger or much smaller than they thought it was going to be.

People have an idea of what size things should be, learned and refined from an early age. Having trouble getting people’s attention, especially #shoppers? Take your product, or an idea associated with your product, either blow it up to 40 times its normal size or shrink it so that it’s so tiny they have to lean in to view it. Works every time. I’ve deployed this idea for Unilever to improve its shopper #marketing, as well as for many other clients, such as my good friend Kelly Dowson.

These images were created by me using the #AI software Midjourney. AI will not do your thinking for you, nor should it. But it is a tool for thinking and so is semiotics, so that’s why AI is the semiotician’s friend. It’s not about being able to collect more “stuff” or count it, it’s about being able to express yourself.

“Grow it / shrink it” is one of hundreds of practical tips for marketers which you can find in my books “Using #Semiotics in Marketing” (now in a second edition) and “Using Semiotics in #Retail“, which won an award – Best Book on Sales & Marketing, Business Book Awards 2023. Both books are available worldwide, on Amazon, from my publisher Kogan Page and from all good bookstores. Look out for more great semiotics and marketing tips over the coming weeks.

Business Book Awards, Kogan Page, Food Innovation Solutions