Congruency in Communiques

Its important to recognize that, what's symbolic communicates as well as what's real. There may even be times when the 'symbolic' turns out be the louder of the two.

Take the case of the heads of America's largest automakers and their travel to D.C. to meet Congress and 'beg' for a bailout. The first trip they made to D.C. had them flying on private jets to queue in for the bailout. The 'real' was the 'pitch' for the bailout. The 'symbolic' was the 'mode' of their travel. What spoke louder was their 'mode of travel'. The result? A nation outraged.

This time around, the Auto heads have chosen a different mode of travel. They took the road. Now, that makes good sense.

Its important for Marketers to ensure that the 'real' and the 'symbolic' speak in a congruent manner. One must prop the other. They mustn't speak with two different tongues. Its like the case of a premium product in a lousy package. Or a high end mall in a down-market location. Or a first class restaurant with paper napkins.

The 'real' and the 'symbolic' must always be congruent. Else the real is 'drowned' by the screams of the symbolic.