You may not remember Mike Mulligan & His Steam Shovel as the name of a popular children’s book. Read a few lines from the story and I’ll bet that triggers your memory.
It’s a wonderful story about a man and his trusty steam shovel who are kicked to the curb by innovation – only to eventually find a new path.
But that’s not the reason why millions of people love this story.
It’s the imagery & the repetition which make a special place in your heart.
Bonding Through Marketing
A good marketing campaign creates a bond between you and the person who takes it in.
The first step in building that bond is crafting your message by creating imagery with your words and having sufficient repetition of the message.
People get hung up on the technical aspects of their message. They want to make sure people know how much of this or what kind of that they’ll be getting.
Rarely is that what people remember.
Like with Mike Mulligan & His Steam Shovel…
Years later, you can’t really remember how many projects they did together, or how much the mean councilman Henry B. Swap agreed to pay them.
Instead, you remember…
That Mike Mulligan & Mary Anne worked on all sorts of important projects,
that Mike Mulligan & Mary Anne could dig as much in a day as 100 men could dig in a week,
& that Mike Mulligan & Mary Anne worked even better as more people watched
Those are vivid, specific images implanted in your head & your heart. And if you read the book, you’ll hear them OVER and OVER again so you never forget.
If you were in the market for a steam shovel, you’d want one like Mary Anne.
Lesson learned from a best selling children’s book: use vivid imagery in your marketing & enough repetition for people to remember it.
