One of the gifts I received for Christmas was a Moleskine notebook. I decided to use it for business planning notes, and opened it up today for the first time.
A leaflet fell out. It was headed ‘Moleskine – Legendary Notebooks’. It told the story of the Moleskine brand. I also noticed another smaller piece of paper. This was the notebook’s “quality control identification number” – unique to that notebook.
I started reading about the history of the Moleskine notebook and found myself drawn in by the story. This is a successor to the “legendary notebook” used by great artists and thinkers like Van Gogh, Picasso, Ernest Hemmingway and Bruce Chatwin.
I read on, and the leaflet explained that today the Moleskine notebook is a symbol of “contemporary nomadism” and it represents “culture, imagination, memory, travel and personal identity”. Furthermore, a Moleskine notebook is “a battery that stores ideas and feelings, releasing its energy over time”.
Wow, I’m now feeling very special using this notebook. I’m standing alongside the artistic and literary greats of the past, a cut above the ordinary masses.
The importance of positioning and a “brand story”
What a great example of how positioning and a well crafted brand story can take something very ordinary, like a notebook, and turn it into something very extraordinary and desirable.
Marketers often talk about about having a “unique selling proposition” (USP) – and companies like Moleskine have not just a USP but something that goes beyond that – a brand story that makes you feel like you are part of a special group of people because you use a Moleskine product.
It’s really got my thought processes going as I seek to position my own business and make it stand out from the masses. I believe every business has a unique story to tell – and it can be a powerful way to position yourself as different from your competitors.
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