A New Branding Concept: The Logical Biconditional or Duplicate Effect (Using Boolean Logic)
I think there is a direct link between branding and projecting a promising future. Consider how every successful brand has achieved this in our minds with its own distinct personality, which we refer to as brand identity.
For instance, if I wear a Rolex, my future is brighter. I’ll have a better future if I drive a Ferrari. AND VICE VERSA, i.e., I purchase Rolex as well since I am certain in the near future.
This is what bidirectional logic is all about. Imagine getting the great news from your boss the next week: “You will be Promoted.” How many of us are rushing to get those Rolex watches or Louis Vuitton handbags? Imagine you had insider knowledge that the company you own or work for’s stock would split, and you will profit $100,000 right away. How many of us will buy the Ferrari right away? You won’t purchase a Hyundai, do you? I have nothing against Hyundai, but it’s good to know that Ferrari is a more well-known brand than Hyundai.
Guaranteed Bright Future → Rolex Brand
Or, we buy the Rolex because we believe it guarantees a brighter future!
Rolex Brand → Guaranteed Bright Future
I believe that is why Brands are so powerful.
They have logical bidirectional or duplicate effects.
Brands ← (bi directional) → Guaranteed Bright Future
When you try to brand your service or product, it starts with proving it will bring a brighter future. The hardest part is the other way around, meaning a guaranteed brighter future, but you still buy the Brand.
By now, we hope that we agree that Hair transplants will bring a brighter future, at least for those who believe in them.
Get Hair Transplant → Guaranteed Bright Future (job promotions, social success)
Now let’s examine its duplicate or bidirectional effect to see if it can become a Brand. To make Hair Transplant a real brand, we know for a fact that the future is bright, but we still get the transplant. Am I clear?
Guaranteed Bright Future → Do we Get Hair Transplant?
Notice that something is not quite right. Not many of us prize ourselves with Hair transplants, or do we? That is why Hair Transplant might have a challenging time becoming a Brand. Look at the Bosley Hair Transplant. Is it really a brand? Have you ever heard someone praise himself with a Bosley?
Let me give you a humorous example to help lighten the mood. Let’s say you want to be married the following year. For the wedding, your prospective wife is trying to convince you to have a hair transplant (shallow, but keep going). Regardless, the future is promising. Decided on Bosley? You could also choose a less well-known physician who might charge less. My hair transplant experience revealed that patients opted for a reputable surgeon at a reasonable price.
Is hair transplantation truly without hope? Maybe this explains why branding is such a mystery. All can depend on how you view the picture.
Let’s first examine the cosmetic industry. Notice:
Use Cosmetics ——> One Can Get a Nice Look, Pretty
No doubt the condition above holds beautifully for cosmetics. Now let’s examine the reverse:
Granted Nice Look, Pretty ——> Use Cosmetics
Notice the condition above also holds. Why? Please see images below:
So using beautiful actresses to brand the cosmetics proves that cosmetics can be branded effectively.
Please notice the purpose of these practices and examples is to show that math or logic plays an important role here. We are not trying to teach or establish the methods for branding. We will do that after proving our formula first.
Now let’s go back to Hair Transplant. Dr. Chaffoo, a hair transplant doctor in Newport Beach, in his ads says he is the hair transplant doctor for actors.
Now let’s see:
So the jury might still be out there for Hair Transplant.
Let’s pick a simpler example. How about Tide? Obviously:
Tide ←→ Brighter Clothing
Do you see the bidirectional effect? Meaning you buy Tide to make sure your shirt gets brighter, and it does not matter if it is bright or semi-bright. This means
Tide → Brighter Clothing (makes any type brighter); this is just because of the power of Tide
But any heavy duty detergent can also give us:
Any Heavy Duty Detergent → Brighter Clothing
So why do we buy Tide?
How about when you own delicate and bright clothing? Do you still use Heavy Duty Detergent? The answer is obviously NO!
Delicate and Good Quality Bright Clothing → Tide
Aren’t we a bit more careful when we want to clean bright clothing, especially when it is of good quality? That is why:
Tide ← (bi-directional) → Brighter Clothing
The Tide example says if Tide were a heavy-duty detergent that only made clothing brighter but might damage good-quality clothing, it could not be branded. Since Tide is powerful yet gentle on quality clothing, it is a great Brand. The logical Bidirectional effect holds for tides beautifully.
Absolut Vodka
Swedish Absolut Vodka was able to create a very successful brand in the late 80s and early 90s with the Yuppie crowd as a sign of higher status (the look of the bottle helped). You drink Absolut because it is a good-quality Vodka. No doubt! It has been filtered several times compared to other Vodkas. This is a fact. Let’s just say, for simplicity, that drinking Absolut Vodka makes you feel good.
Drinking Absolut Vodka → Makes you feel good
Here is a good question to ask when thinking of branding: Let’s say you feel good today and are in a good mood anyway. You got good news or you are just happy today. Do you choose Absolut or Stolichnaya (another brand of vodka) at happy hour next to your high-status Yuppie friends? Absolut made sure:
You feel good today → You choose Absolut and not Stolichnaya vodka with Your Yuppie Friends
It seems Absolut has been able to create a Bidirectional logical condition or:
Drinking Absolut Vodka ← (Bi-Directional) → Makes you feel good
Every product demands its own personality (Brand Identity) and a bright future.
How do you do this on a website? Testimonials create a bidirectional effect.
Have you ever seen a commercial for Google on TV? Radio? So why is Google such a powerful Brand if branding is only achieved by TV advertising, as is taught in marketing textbooks? It is now no secret that Google is by far the best search engine.
Google → Will always give Awesome Search results
Notice the Bidirectional effects as we defined it exist.
If you want Awesome Search Results → Choose Google?
How? This is mostly done through testimonials or the viral effects. Google example shows that you don’t need TV commercials to create a brand. You just need an awesome website, landing page, or other Twitter or Facebook posts that can create the same viral effect as Google, Amazon, eBay, etc. did.
If you have a Gem like Google or eBay, creating a viral effect is easy and almost automatic. Once you have a more competitive service or product, such as plastic surgery or addiction recovery, creating a viral effect is very hard. The more creative you are, the better.