The Nuisance of Nuance

BY: WARREN TOMLIN  |  Uncategorized

Nuance:

It’s often the smallest things, and the most easily overlooked, that can have the biggest impact on a consumer.

I suppose it is the nature of what we do, and more specifically what I do, at Fuel, to continuously review - and to ask “why?”. As part passion and part sport, it is my nature to always be critiquing strategies, brand experiences and how I am marketed to. Because of this drive, I consider it only appropriate to share some thoughts on the experiences I experience, and the nuances that make them great (read: memorable) or average (read: forgettable).

As I write this entry, it strikes me that only the most polarizing of experiences are those that I can cite as examples:

Caesars Palace Las Vegas: We had a series of client meetings there this month, and every time I called the hotel operator for anything ranging from laundry to a wake up call - any time day or night, I was greeted with “Have a lucky day.” I know it’s small, and even - to some - not worth mentioning, but that is exactly why it is important. It is this smallest detail that makes the sentiment that I remember. Think about memories you have of experiences and products from yesterday, or last year. It is most often the very smallest thing or detail that sticks - and to the peril of brands it is these smallest nuances that are often the most overlooked - or first to get cut. Have-a-lucky-day-lady, please know that what you are doing adds more to the package that was Vegas, and more specifically Caesars Palace, than extra tacky lighting, pumped in oxygen or folded toilet paper corners ever could.

That was a service example, but the same subtleties are, of course, present in products as well:

Many of you reading this will have a digital camera. My camera (Kodak) has a rechargeable battery. Not surprisingly, my camera, when not in use, lives attached to my PC, which is in my study, which is where I spend (too much) time. Again, when not in use, I charge the battery. When the battery is charging, it sits 12 inches in front of my keyboard, or 6 inches in front of my monitor, or 30 inches in front of my nose for hours and hours. My little square battery, removed from my little square camera, is now a little two-sided power patty sitting right in front of me: one side marked with warnings in 2 point font, one colour in three languages, and the other side a full-colour logo of Kodak covering full size of the patty. Which side faces down (not visible) and which side faces up (30 inches from my nose) when charging? You guessed it: logo facing down…tiny, unreadable text facing up. I’m afraid I just don’t get it. Here is an opportunity for Kodak to have its brand sit in front of me, in my house, in my study for hours on end - missed.

Will this relatively minuscule oversight make or break Kodak? Of course not - the fact that I own one means they make a good camera. And, truth be told, I may have only noticed this missed detail because I’m in advertising. But a company focused on the nuisance of the details, the nuance of the experience - right down to the direction their logo faces, is better primed to create a more meaningful (read: memorable) experience for its consumers. It begins and ends with details, and details can mean everything.

Modern society has not killed subtlety, or the unique nuances of products and experiences - they have just become more of a nuisance - and has hidden them behind louder and shinier things.

Warren