How Small Can Make Your Brand (Really) Big

Big gulps have given way to 1.93-oz. energy shots. Tim Ferris has shrunk our work week to 4 hours. And Chobani's slimmed down mini-size cup serves up what would have been laughed at just a few years ago.

So is thinking small the next era of greatness for your brand?

The Italians, Twitter and Amazon

The Italians have known how great small can be ever since the first espresso was poured. Today, there are smaller and smaller smartphones and even some car keys have gotten so small as to have disappeared, being replaced by buttons.

Twitter's done it to language, changing the way we communicate. This has resulted in a generation of “scanners,” people who half-read or half-listen to what they see or hear. So the paragraphs in my articles have gotten shorter and shorter.

Amazon made the checkout process “smaller” with their “one click” checkout process, preserving the ever-so-fleeting time we all consider so precious.

Heck, I even made a presentation on Slideshare which you can view below for those who want this article to be even smaller than it is (it has pictures and is fast to scroll, all for you speed demons).

Why?

Shark Tank's Daymond John on Consumers

“Consumers are overloaded. Too many choices. Too many demands. Too little time and attention to handle it all," says Daymond John, Fubu founder, entrepreneur, and Shark Tank investor. "Anything that requires less space, takes less time, demands less attention has great appeal.”

How This Trend is Exploding into New Categories

5-Hour Energy created a brand new “beverage/supplement” category selling 1.93 fl oz “energy boosters" for over $3 in the most strategically perfect retail channel: convenience stores, when drivers are stopping to get gas and their caffeine fix of choice: coffee, cola, some energy beverage, or soft drink. The profit margin alone makes selling Coke look like a hobby versus a global business.

As we all now, the Greek yogurt category is exploding. Just the other day, I saw and purchased Chobani “Bite” yogurt which was so small (3.5 oz.), I was shocked. But, I realized it fit a need for a mid-morning healthy snack when I don’t have the time to get something else.

Even videos have caught the “micro-bug” with 15-second Viddys or 6-second Vines.

Why is small having a moment? Because the world has changed. Steve Olenski, senior creative strategist for Responsys, a leading global provider of on-demand email and cross-channel marketing solutions, shared this with me:

"Small is the new big for the simple fact that our collective attention spans are at an all-time low. The reason for this is due largely in part to the digitally-enhanced world we live in. Desktop computers became passé and sure enough laptops are following suit. Marketers and advertisers need to constantly adjust to this sea change. Tinier screens plus shorter attention spans can only lead to one thing: Small is the new big."

It's About Time

People have more distractions in the same amount of hours per day. The end result? We have "less time” and we need to cram more information in less space.

Whether it’s the circumstance of needing, doing, and consuming more or the fact that we have--relative to the tsunami of info, music, movies, technologies, accessories, etc.--less time, the solution has become “less.”

Just look at the popularity of Tim Ferriss’ 4-Hour empire as confirmation of how big small has become.

And take it to heart when considering your next product or new brand positioning.

Originally featured on Fast Company.

David Brier's branding insights have been written about in Fast Company, Forbes, INC and numerous other business and design publications. Shark Tank star Daymond John has this say: "David Brier is brilliant with branding."

(Want more insight to help your brand defy gravity and rise above the noise? Download your own copy of the the free eBook "The Lucky Brand" here)