Tuesday 27 March 2012

Iconic Imagery


Iconic Imagery

When you visit Vancouver Island, one of the must-see attractions is the famous Old Country Market at Coombs.  The market features local and imported foods, a bakery, fantastic ice cream shop and a really hip giftware section.  One of the quirky & fun things about Coombs Market are the goats on the roof.  Live goats.  Seriously.  The roof of the market is sod-covered and inhabited by goats.  People come to the market to do some grocery shopping, and maybe have a coffee, ice cream cone or a bite of lunch and stroll the other shops. 

The Old Country Market has come to be known as “Goats on Roof.”  The image on their bumber-stickers and t-shirts resembles a cautionary road-sign with the silhouette of a goat pooping off the edge of the roof.  This doesn’t have a thing to do with the commerce they are trying to encourage.  Why is this worth commenting about?  Because, this is a golden example of successful branding.


One simple symbol is enough for people to think fondly about the experience of visiting the Old Country Market.  The symbol has nothing to do with what the market wants to sell!  Do you feel the need to have diamonds and jewellery in every advertisement you do?  It should be your aim to burn a singular image into your customers’ minds that reminds them of the prestige, amusement, enjoyment, thrill or excitement of visiting your store.  For many it will be a logo, for some it might be a person’s face, for others it might be a building or locale.  For the Old Country Market, it’s a defecating horned beast. 

If there is no single image that comes to mind that symbolizes your customer experience, don’t worry.  It takes time.  Pay attention to the things that you have and the things that you do, and look for something that could grow into your very own iconic image.




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