Adaily's Year of Brilliance #7: Find an Analogy for the Solution
This week, we're looking at campaigns that took a non-obvious route, tackling complex or uninteresting benefits by Finding an Analogy for the Solution. Using a relatable comparison is a powerful way to make abstract product advantages instantly engaging and memorable. The key is crafting that perfect link between the analogy and the actual product benefit. See more in Adaily here.
1. That Reading Feeling Awaits • Amazon
Droga5 London • 2022 • Online platform • United Kingdom • Europe
Campaign Summary:
Amazon's "That Reading Feeling Awaits" campaign celebrated the power of books, using illustrations leaping from photos of readers as a visual analogy for the invisible, imaginative experience (the benefit) reading provides. Commissioning over 20 illustrators, the campaign aimed to capture this intangible magic and inspire engagement with reading.
The approach resonated strongly, reportedly boosting sales, earning widespread positive feedback and awards, and effectively showcasing the joy of diving into a book.
2. The Book That Will Change Your Life • IKEA
Memac Ogilvy Dubai • 2019 • Retail - furniture • United Arab Emirates • Middle East
Campaign Summary:
IKEA positioned its 2020 catalogue launch using the direct analogy of a "self-help book" to represent the catalogue's transformative benefit – its power to change lives through home solutions. This framing aimed to elevate the catalogue beyond a simple product listing, showcasing its potential impact.
Voted the best IKEA catalogue release globally, the campaign drove remarkable results, including a 124% sales increase, 111% website traffic growth, and a 15% rise in store footfall.
3. All You Need Is A Rug • Samsung
Cheil Worldwide Seoul • 2024 • Retail - electronics • South Korea • Asia
Campaign Summary:
Samsung's "All You Need Is A Rug" campaign targeted newlyweds by distributing rugs showing exact appliance dimensions. Serving as a physical analogy for the appliance footprint, the rug provided the benefit of easy space visualization and planning in often-limited homes.
This practical solution eliminated sizing errors, boosted sales by an impressive 590%, reached 12,790 couples, and generated 77M media impressions.
4. Insta Novels • The New York Public Library
Mother New York • 2019 • Library • United States • North America
Campaign Summary:
To make classic literature more accessible, The New York Public Library launched "Insta Novels," using the familiar Instagram Stories format as an analogy or frame for the benefit of easy, modern engagement with timeless books. This innovative approach presented entire novels within the app, aiming to reach younger audiences and shift perceptions of the library.
The campaign dramatically increased engagement, drew significant media attention, and successfully positioned NYPL as an institution prioritizing access in the digital age.
5. Products With Purpose • DSM
Fingerpaint • 2020 • Diet supplement • United States • North America
Campaign Summary:
DSM's "Products with Purpose" campaign aimed to differentiate the brand by showcasing the global impact of their nutritional products, using CGI visuals as a potential analogy to make the abstract benefit of well-being tangible. Focused on the "why" behind their products, the campaign sought to drive brand awareness and perception beyond just ingredients.
The approach resonated globally, generating nearly 6M earned impressions, significant media coverage, and increased employee engagement, successfully highlighting DSM's values.
Quick Takeaways: Find an Analogy for the Problem
Visualize the Intangible: Abstract benefits like feelings (Amazon) or life improvement (IKEA's catalogue-as-book) become compelling when given a concrete visual or conceptual analogy. Think: What tangible object or familiar concept captures the essence of your product's core abstract benefit?
Make Practical Benefits Physical: Sometimes the benefit is practical but hard to grasp pre-purchase (like appliance fit). Samsung's rug analogy made the spatial benefit physical and easy to understand. Think: Can you create a physical tool or representation that acts as an analogy for your product's practical benefit?
Frame Benefits in Familiar Contexts: Making classics feel modern (NYPL's Insta Novels) involves using a familiar format as an analogy for accessibility. Think: What familiar platform, format, or routine could you use as an analogy to make your solution feel more relevant or easier to adopt?
Elevate Benefits with Metaphor: Even complex scientific benefits (DSM's nutritional impact) can be made more engaging if represented through strong visual metaphors or analogies. Think: What powerful visual metaphor could represent the positive outcome or impact your product delivers?
About Adaily Inspiration
Adaily Inspiration is your weekly dose of creative fuel. Each Tuesday, we explore a powerful creative thinking tool from the Deck of Brilliance (a collection of 52 methods by Juggi Ramakrishnan and Todd McCracken). We break down the tool, show you how to apply it to your marketing, and analyze five award-winning campaigns from the Adaily database that demonstrate its effectiveness. Our goal is to help you generate breakthrough ideas and create campaigns that truly resonate.
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Disclaimer: All campaign descriptions in this post are AI-generated, based on real-life descriptions provided by the authors.
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