One of my favourite new magazines is Stylist. I like it because it carries an attitude that any woman can be amazing in every area of her life with the right purpose, just as it's male counterpart magazine, Shortlist exudes that every man can be cool in his own way with no apologies needed. A recent article was brilliantly simple and begged to be my first branding blog because like the first line of any book the opening line of your brand whether it is written, visual or experiential will be the essence of your fledgling creation, which your customers will experience over and over like Groundhog's Day.
So, how does one sum up their brand in one VERY inviting opening line?
Take a look at the article 'The best 100 opening lines from books’ and I’ll decipher it.
First the title is DISARMING because it tells you it is going to give you plenty of literary popular culture that you can drop into conversations boosting your 'intriguing person quotient.'
Need to lighten the conversation and steer the topic? Find your commiserating smile of sympathy and try "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…" from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.
Or have you wished you had a wild card, scene-stealing introduction? Try, "It was the day my grandmother exploded" from The Crow’s Road by Iain Banks. Hopefully you've read the book and have a ready analogy to offer to the topic at hand. Then once you start to make sense to those you’ve cleverly interrupted; introduce yourself. The important thing to remember will be to go with it without faltering.
The second solid successful aspect is the LAYOUT. You can see the article is about a paragraph long followed by neat rows of colourful book covers the size of postage stamps. It is very INVITING and is UNDERSTOOD in one look.
Third, as you pass your mouse over mostly iconic book covers, the start of an opening line pops up in a magnetised window allowing a glimpse beyond the cover. You can decide if you'd like to read the rest of it by clicking through. There is no pressure to EXPLORE, but it is hard resist the temptation to flick through all of them.
Third, as you pass your mouse over mostly iconic book covers, the start of an opening line pops up in a magnetised window allowing a glimpse beyond the cover. You can decide if you'd like to read the rest of it by clicking through. There is no pressure to EXPLORE, but it is hard resist the temptation to flick through all of them.
It is interesting that like a tweet, the entire sentence doesn't even need to be complete and you already have decided whether it is interesting enough to continue reading the rest of the “opening line.” Think what that could mean for your brand's opening line. A few words, a look, a colour can be enough to allude to your all-powerful presence. What does the word ‘house’ mean to you? What does it mean to you if I mention 'Nick Jones' and 'house' together? All of a sudden, 'house' is selective and exclusive on many levels.
The fourth aspect worth highlighting is the article is an illustration of why brands like Vilebrequin and Havaianas have rocketed to the top and now define the once peripheral categories of apparel and footwear. They CHOSE TO PERFECT ONE TYPE of apparel and footwear category then have successfully redressed the type in an unfathomable number of options that appear to never lack inspiration.
The fourth aspect worth highlighting is the article is an illustration of why brands like Vilebrequin and Havaianas have rocketed to the top and now define the once peripheral categories of apparel and footwear. They CHOSE TO PERFECT ONE TYPE of apparel and footwear category then have successfully redressed the type in an unfathomable number of options that appear to never lack inspiration.
Here the book covers represent someone's favourites, which is often a magazine's core purpose, to pass on the fashionable. There will be something for everyone here and thankfully it does not make you choose whether you are an eBook, paperback or hardcover person. Choosing to like as many opening lines as you want is FUN and UNCOMPLICATED.
The fifth aspect the article gives is subtle EVIDENCE OF why you should engage, read and TRUST them by giving you a not-quite-traceable quote offered by Jamie Klinger of Stylist. “As the first thing the reader reads, it's been said that the opening line sells a book whilst the closing line sells the author's next one.”
The fifth aspect the article gives is subtle EVIDENCE OF why you should engage, read and TRUST them by giving you a not-quite-traceable quote offered by Jamie Klinger of Stylist. “As the first thing the reader reads, it's been said that the opening line sells a book whilst the closing line sells the author's next one.”
The wisdom in these words is timeless and transcendent. It can be applied to the brand you are creating once you have considered the genre you plan to author.
Maybe the biography section wouldn’t be your first choice in a bookstore, but consider that your new brand will be a biography between you and your brand, built on the vision of your brand story woven together with your character, style and values.
If "truth is stranger than fiction" and attentions are better diverted, then what is the ideal opening line for a brand?
Charles Dickens certainly has found his place in the classics, but with an opening line, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” you know it will be a story of trials and tribulations, which is not ideal for a new brand. I think most would prefer if their brand was closer to Joseph Heller’s first line of his book, Catch 22.
"It was love at first sight."
