New York, NY — I borrowed this little gem from the bulletin board in my office. As usual, the Oatmeal says it all: In our rush to make every experience digital, we’ve created a new role for the tangible.
That breakthrough moment we’re all chasing – the one that changes behavior or earns new kinds of loyalty – may not come in the crowded inbox or on the quickly-read webpage. Instead, it may be the generous artifact or personal gift that creates a moment of human connection and appreciation.
Big brands have already begun using artifacts to create moments of loyalty-powering delight.
Annual holiday treats from Anthropologie (birthday card) and Makers Mark (Christmas gift) have earned untold sharing and loyalty from their customers.
MINI’s owner swag was a big part of reorienting its marketing efforts from all drivers to current customers. The little treats not only impressed owners, they created an exclusive club of insiders. MINI has also been a leader in making its mass communications more tangible and surprising in the physical space.
Abbott’s ongoing sampling program for moms has won new customers in the maternity ward and kept them well into their children’s middle school years.
But the power of print goes way beyond the marketing moment. It may actually help improve learning and recall.
In a recent issue of Scientific American, Ferris Jabr reported that reading is topographic. As you read something, you structure out its content in your mind. Jabr says you’re actually making a map of the meaning of the text.
The process is closely tied to the physical object you’re interacting with. You brain is plotting a journey with your eyes as you read through printed materials.
All the tactile factors – from the weight of a book in your right hand versus left hand as you move through it, the dog-ear on a page, etc. – inform that map. Screens don’t provide the same sense of anchoring because they have no cartographic clues that engage other parts of the brain.
Said even more briefly: Holding the information in your hands, holds it in your memory.
Which may be why I still remember the cover of Harriet the Spy that I read decades ago, but have no idea what the last three titles I read in iBooks are.
Posted by: Leigh Householder
