His motives were entirely non-commercial however he may have sparked the birth of a very commercial idea. Pioneered by the likes of Nike, Apple, and more recently Starbucks, these brands have rightly taken a feather from Prince’s cap. Stripping away the deadweight of their name to become simply a symbol. Banks are even in on the act with Commonwealth Bank releasing this piece recently (url here) showing they have no time for their long winded title, or even a multi word campaign for that matter.

So… whats the deal, why do it?

There are probably two factors at play. One is a reaction to information overload and the other is a little more deeply ingrained. it’s linked to something we have been doing forever. How many Matt’s, Mike’s or Steve’s do you know, do you say ‘Coke’. or ‘Coca Cola’.

You are constantly decoding your environment and the quickest way to do so is by dumbing down information. We’re constantly plugged into our computers and phones decoding thousands of messages. Companies like Apple understand this and are capitalising on it by simplifying their message. They are allowing us the most minimal of time to decode it because if it’s too complex…
we wont even bother.

Smart brands understand it’s critical they don’t become trapped in our junk filter and the best way to do this is to simplify the interaction so they don’t get there in the first place. To stand for something simple is a powerful metaphor for standing for simplicity itself.  What do we crave more than that in a time poor society. And why banks you might ask, well traditionally they’ve always been the biggest offenders so who knows better than them the power of a clear message.

So if there’s power in simplicity how can we apply this principle. First you must get clear about what you are, what your business stands for. Once you have clarity you must communicate this in a simple and consistent manner.

Are you trapped in the junk filter?