I don’t remember liking that Indigo Airlines font the first time I saw it. I did not think it had a premium feel to it; I was unfair perhaps, since I formed an opinion without flying the airline. Over the years, their advertising has had its effect on me, mainly driven by the smile inducing one liners. That cheeky tone of voice had an effect on me and I overcame my dislike for that font. And since I have flown the airline a bit of late, I have come to interact with several elements of the brand communication -from the website, to airport hoardings & kiosks to the smallest of details – the recruitment ads in their inflight magazine, the box of snacks and so on. There is an element of consistency in all of them and it goes beyond the font. It is the tone of voice and personality that comes through.

– The inflight magazine is called ‘Hello 6E';
– A recruitment ad for air hostesses in the inflight magazine says ‘30,000 feet above regular jobs';

– the copy on the sliding walkway leading to the aircraft says, ’50 million and climbing’.
– the snack box containing cashews says ‘Nut case’

There are many such instances across their various touch points with consumers. The light touch of humour and the puns have an effect – they make the brand likeable.

This is not to say that sheer repetition and consistency will make the brand likebale. Far from it. If the messaging or execution is wrong the same factors can backfire on a brand. How many times have we turned off the radio or changed channels just to avoid listening to an ad which is repeated again and again? Also, no amount of advertising can save a bad product. With Indigo, their on-time performance helped many to overcome the initial negative feeling. The charming tone of voice goes a long way in building the likeability.

"Value"

Founder of start up companies often focus on their product/offering  and their business/distribution structure. Though, expressions of the question are that, every start up should really be asking itself first: "what will we be valued for?" 

Every  business makes an offer and has a structure. Value is different- it's implicitly linked to what other businesses don't offer. The start up businesses are those that  can deliver beyond or before their competitor; often beyond and before their customers' expectations. That's not what you can find just by starting. and its not something you can create by marketing. Its something you need to identify in order to start. For all the reason you can give as to why your brand deserve to succeed, the cruel reality is that you can only stand out when and where others think you do.