Metaphor Marketing

Metaphor marketing tells your story

Being able to answer that question, and convey it through metaphor marketing can do wonders for your small business.

Metaphors are powerful because they tell stories that make connections based on the audience’s knowledge and prior understanding. Being able to convey a short, compelling story about your business through metaphor will allow your audience to create an instant relationship with your product or services, and make your advertisement much more memorable.

A good example of the usage of metaphor is State Farm’s ‘State of Chaos’ advertisement:

This advertisement’s usage of metaphor is great because it conveys State Farm’s story of giving home and car owners a sense of security, even when life’s disasters come their way.

In the commercial, a Killer Robot wreaks havoc on a suburban neighborhood. A man, whose home and car have been destroyed, however, is depicted as calm and without worry, relaxing on his Lazy Boy recliner. The metaphor demonstrates that State Farm gives you security and peace of mind, even when confronting life’s unforeseen mishaps. The robot represents the various forms of chaos that State Farm can protect you against – from car accidents, to natural disasters, and even the occasional Killer Robot.

The greatest benefit that metaphors can offer businesses is that they take something that is already part of their audiences understanding, and tie it into the story that they want to express. Whether or not that story happens to be protecting your car and home, all businesses can, and should use metaphor to help spread their story, and sell themselves.

Take a moment and come up with one short, compelling story you could use to sell your business, and try to find a metaphor that could help you convey it. You could be surprised by the results…

Comments?

Note: The preceding post was written and researched by students in my Honors Marketing 351, Fall 2011 class, from the Mihaylo College of Business and Economics, Cal State Fullerton University, Fullerton California.  Many thanks to their time, talent, and contributions to both their career and this marketing blog.  Go Titans!