Why calling your brand premium makes it look cheap

Transcript

Calling your brain premium makes it sound cheap. Use words like premium luxury, curated, and I'm already suspicious. These words are completely free to type, which means any brain can use them. And we're seeing too many mid-market brands using these words to manufacture some sort of perception that they never earn. Economists call this cheap talk, which basically translates to claims or weak when making them cost you nothing. And by the way, we already understand this instinctively with people. In the words of Margaret Thatcher, being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't. What she basically meant is that true power is quiet and clear on its own. If a real person has strength and status, then other people see it without any words needed. Usually, boasting about power proves that the person lacks it. And that's exactly the same for brains. If you want to signal quality, then the signal needs to cost you something, which is why the most iconic brands often behave almost backwards. And iconic brands wouldn't use the word exclusive. They just restrict access. The same way that a luxury brand doesn't throw around the word luxuries. They build environments that feel luxuries. And they most definitely won't use the word premium. They just charge a price that forces you to decide whether they are. So, delete the adjective and look at what's left. If the positioning disappears with it, then you probably never prove the claim.

Transcribed automatically from the video, so small errors are possible.