At 7:00 last Thursday morning, I was stopped at an intersection a few blocks from my Cambridge home, waiting to turn right. Looking left, I noticed a white shuttle bus approaching. We see them all the time around here, most connected to the nearby university. As the shuttle bus passed directly in front of me, I saw not the crest and slogan of the local university but the oversized image of a light brown chocolate chip cookie with one big bite missing and the words, “Your warm cookie is waiting.”

My mouth watered immediately. For a moment I could almost smell warm butter and melted chocolate.

I knew instantly that it was a Doubletree Hotel bus. I flashed back to nights arriving late on inbound travel, devouring warm Doubletree cookies as I walked from registration desk to elevator. (Why wait? They were warm!)

I turned right, behind the van, wondering… Which others of my travel hotels have a single phrase or image that would instantly say “this is who we are”?

For Westin, the Heavenly Bed…the best bed other than my own. For Embassy Suites, the free evening reception and made-to-order omelet. For the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, the distinctive red turret that evokes images of Gilded Age luxury.

None of these are advertisements anymore. They’re memories…mental shortcuts to the organizations and the experiences they promise. To earn my attention, they don’t have to be first or the best. They have to be memorable.

So… What’s your warm cookie?

Nick Miller is President of Clarity Advantage based in Concord, MA. He assists banks and credit unions to generate more and more profitable relationships, faster, with business clients, their owners, and their employees through better sales strategies and execution. Additional articles on Clarity’s web site.