The Art and Science of Being Remembered
A Story from Jake Engel | Co-founder, Artifactual
The classroom at the University of Indianapolis felt like every classroom I’ve ever walked into – fluorescent light, laptops half-open, the faint buzz of caffeine and curiosity.
I’d been invited to talk with a group of MBA students about something that lives at the intersection of creativity and business: how brands actually get remembered.
Before I started, I asked them a question.
“What’s the first brand you remember making an impact on you as a child?”
There was a pause. Then one student said Lego. Another mentioned Nike. Someone in the back said Stanley Steamer and chuckled about her sister always singing the catchy little jingle during their younger years.
I told them mine: John Deere.
When I was little, my dad collected old pedal tractors. I had a couple myself – small green machines with yellow wheels that squeaked on the driveway. I wanted to be a farmer, though that never quite happened. Looking back, I think what I really wanted was to support things that grow.
That’s the thing about memory. It’s rarely about a logo. It’s more about what it connects to – a feeling, a story, or a sense of who we are or want to be.
Why Some Brands Stick
Every day, the average American sees around four thousand ads, receives more than a hundred emails, and spends seven hours looking at screens. Our attention span – supposedly shorter than a goldfish’s – isn’t the real problem. The real problem is that we remember very little of what passes in front of us.
So why do some brands stick?
The short answer: they make us feel something, and they do it consistently enough that the feeling turns into familiarity. That’s the art and science of being remembered.
The art is human – emotion, story, tone, humor, empathy. It’s what made the “Share a Coke” campaign personal and the “Shot on iPhone” billboards a beautiful way to show how a product was actually used in everyday life.
The science is structure – consistency, repetition, and design systems that turn into recognition triggers. It’s what makes you think of a specific shade of blue and immediately picture Tiffany, or hear the phrase “fifteen minutes” and finish the sentence yourself.
Together, emotion (art) and repetition (science) build memory.
The 95/5 Reality
Most brands, especially smaller ones, spend almost everything chasing immediate results.
The problem is that only about five percent of your audience is ready to buy today. The other ninety-five percent are just living their lives – not shopping for insurance or signing up for a new gym membership now, but slowly forming impressions about who they trust when that day comes.
That’s where real growth lives.
The research suggests that brands should spend about sixty percent of their energy building memory – brand awareness, storytelling, emotion – and forty percent activating it through ads or promotions. But most companies flip that ratio and then wonder why growth feels harder every year.
Proof in Practice
At Artifactual, we’ve seen how this plays out in real life.
When I was tapped by Home Repairs for Good – an Indianapolis-based nonprofit that helps older adults age safely in their homes – to reimagine their brand messaging and donation pitches, there was a clear balance of art and science involved.
The art side focused on the stories of the homeowners themselves – the matriarchs and patriarchs of their blocks, the people everyone in the neighborhood just expects to be there. The ones who know which tree blooms first each spring and who still wave from the same porch they’ve sat on for fifty years. Their stories are full of quiet strength and belonging.
But there was the science side, too. The data is undeniable: more Hoosiers turned age 65 and above in 2025 than ever before in the state's history, and the need for critical home repairs is growing faster than the resources to meet it.
The insights – or artifacts – pulled from talking to real homeowners, government and community leaders, and board members – paired with tangible data, helped reframe everything. We started talking about Home Repairs for Good no longer as a small nonprofit doing nice things, but as a confident and strategic solution to the Circle City’s housing crisis.
What Airbnb Figured Out
Airbnb’s CEO, Brian Chesky, once compared marketing to light. “Performance marketing,” he said, “is like a laser – focused and precise, but narrow. Brand marketing is a chandelier – it lights up the entire room.”
Early on, Airbnb could have spent billions trying to outbid hotels in search results. Instead, they told a story about belonging and positioned themselves as a more creative and unique solution in the accommodations industry. Now they have 86% brand awareness in a category that’s centuries older than they are. Because of their heavy investment in brand marketing, their awareness numbers are on par with Hilton – a brand started in 1919.
Yet Airbnb’s story goes even further. They didn’t only disrupt an industry – they disrupted a question. Before Airbnb, travelers only asked, “Which hotel should we stay at?” After Airbnb, the question changed to, “Should we stay at a hotel or an Airbnb?” And that single shift in consumer thinking has redefined an entire category.
That’s what happens when brands build memory instead of only chasing quick wins and metrics.
The Takeaway
As I wrapped up the presentation and the students began sharing stories of the local brands they were working with for their group projects, I could see light bulbs start to flicker. Many of them had been focused on the measurable side of marketing – the clicks, conversions, and KPIs – because that’s what feels tangible, trackable, and safe.
But I left them with a different question: how are you challenging the companies you’re making marketing plans for to build relationships with the 95% of people who aren’t ready to buy right now, but might be one day?
Every brand has a John Deere moment waiting inside it – that first emotional imprint that connects what you make to what someone values. The work is finding it, shining a light on it, and repeating it until it becomes part of how people think.
Because the brands that last are the ones people carry with them for years to come.
If you’d like to explore this idea – or bring The Art and Science of Being Remembered to your classroom, company, or conference – reach out to Jake Engel, Co-founder of Artifactual, at jake@artifactualagency.com or 812.528.3117.
