Probably life’s biggest existential questions are “Who am I?” and “Why do I exist?”.
Philosophers have wrestled with these questions for aeons.
When we are talking about our businesses, these are questions that have to be answered quickly as the marketplace doesn’t take kindly to a company that can’t adequately define itself.
In our modern business landscape knowing what your brand is, what you stand for and why you exist is more important than ever before. I’d even suggest that these questions should be thoroughly addressed – before any product or service is developed fully.
So, Who are you? And what do you do?
They are the questions every potential customer has circling their brain whenever they encounter any new company or business person.
If a firm hasn’t defined the answers for themselves then they have no chance of communicating it effectively to any potential customer.
And if you don’t have the answers and can’t control that conversation yourself – then the customer and market will provide their own definitions? Which is usually a very wrong or, at the very least, a hugely skewed definition.
The good news is that when you do control of the narrative, providing your own answers to the questions and you communicate those answers clearly, then establishing a real connection with your target audience becomes a much easier task.
Framing who you are within a narrative story makes it more accessible for people, and much easier to communicate. It’s known as your brand story – and I’ve written about creating one in these web articles before so don’t intend on repeating myself too much here.
A brand story is a valuable asset. It should bring together the brand’s guiding principles in a relatable way, and should impact all aspects of the organisation and its activities as it looks to embody and live out those principles.
A good brand story is far more than a mere marketing message. It can form the roadmap for the business leaders to follow and ‘check’ their plans against. It can also provide the bones of a pretty impactive sales pitch too.
If we think of a logo as a badge are emblem that represents the company – the face of the company if you like – then we can think of the brand story as the skeleton that the company is built around.
‘Momentology’ conducted a survey which identified 10 brands that they considered to truly know themselves and their stories well. According to their findings each of their top brands has had a major market impact as a result of their clearly defined brand story.
The traits they noted as common to the most impactive brand stories are:
They Address Problems
This is ‘business 101’.
For any business to be successful you have to address real need(s) for your customers.
Telling the story of how you meet that need, what you do that addresses that problem, is highly impactive. Most importantly telling how the customer’s life is better / less stressful as a result is key. This is the foundation of a compelling brand story.
Bill Gates stated it this way:
“If you show people the problems and you show people the solutions, they will be moved to act.”
As scriptwriters the world-over have known for years, if there is no emotional engagement, if we don’t care about the characters, we will not be bothered to pay any attention. The story has to grip us.
With so many companies competing for our attention, combined with the speed and transient nature of modern communication, then the story has to grip us quickly.
Jennifer Eggers, Director of brand communication at Siegel+Gale said: “It’s important to have a story that people can understand and connect with … Especially with newer brands, people care and expect that the brand is coming into existence for a good reason – to solve a problem, to change how we do things, to meet a specific need – and the story is central to communicating the brand’s purpose.”
Defining your purpose
‘Purpose’ has become one of those words that we hear repeatedly in business. In truth, we hear it so often, especially in branding circles, that we become desensitised to the powerful impact it can have.
Yet ‘purpose’ has been a prime factor of the most successful brands in recent years. And that fact is not going to change any time soon.
Our societal trajectory of travel sees Generation Y, Millennials and Generation Alpha all citing purpose and social impact as key considerations for which products they buy, and which brands they affiliate to.
Richard Branson stated the importance of these considerations for business like this:
“The brands that will thrive in the coming years are the ones that have a purpose beyond profit.”
Making a positive impact
Many modern brands incorporate an element of social good into their brand stories – whether that’s giving back to their communities, being at the forefront of sustainability or helping consumers on their own journey of self-discovery and fulfilment. Sounds rather grandiose, but again, these lofty goals make for great stories.
The underdog
Many of the brands that Momentology referenced would be identified as ‘the underdogs’.
A consistent aspect of their brand story was that they were brave enough to take on both the industry leaders and established industry practices.
Tackling the titans of industry in a David and Goliath scenario is a significant trait of many of the most powerful brand stories. We commonly call such companies ‘disruptors’.
Redefine the customer experience
To truly own the disruptor name tag each of these brand stories has something worth saying – often that’s because the brand itself has taken a common industry practice or customer experience and reinvented it. Usually being creative in that reinterpretation, turning it on its head and generally making it more customer-centric in the process.
Steve Jobs said:
“You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work back toward the technology, not the other way around.”
It’s a theory that doesn’t only work in the tech space. Putting customer experience first and foremost is always a big plus for any business.
Build communities of devoted fans
Brands that have a clear identity and purpose will form more meaningful connections that result in truly devoted, loyal fans. For them, it’s not just a brand or a product, but rather a personalised statement of identity or belief which is personified by the brand in question.
To put it another way, the brand represents the identity and values that they want to be aligned with.
Taking a strong stand will mean some people are ‘turned on’ to the brand (which also means some will be ‘turned off”). This is not to be feared in branding. Finding ‘your tribe’ leads to increased customer loyalty. Devoted fans breed other devoted fans, they introduce and refer more than the average customer does. Losing some custom but gaining a tribe of fans is proven to be good business.
“If people believe they share values with a company they will stay loyal to the brand”
Howard Schultz, Chairman & CEO of Starbucks
“Loyal customers, they don’t just come back, they don’t simply recommend you, they insist that their friends do business with you.”
Chip Bell, author and consultant in customer loyalty and service innovation.
Workplace Culture
Great brands do create fans who are passionate. The best brands recognise that a great brand culture is foundational. In such firms, the biggest fans are often the employees.
Until I came to IBM, I probably would have told you that culture was just one among several important elements in any organization’s makeup and success — along with vision, strategy, marketing, financials, and the like… I came to see, in my time at IBM, that culture isn’t just one aspect of the game, it is the game. In the end, an organization is nothing more than the collective capacity of its people to create value.
Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. former Chairman & CEO of IBM
“Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.”
Simon Sinek, author, Start with Why
If the employees love the brand they want everyone else to love it too. It’s infectious and can be highly contagious when handled well.
Visible Founders
Companies with great cultures historically have founders and leaders who are actively hands-on in the company. Some even hold titles like Chief Evangelist (although I have to confess I’m not personally a fan of such titles).
What these founders have in common is that they surround themselves with a team who share their vision – and then they treat that team well.
“Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to”.
Richard Branson, Virgin
“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” –
Theodore Roosevelt
It’s also proven that companies with leaders who are active on Social Media see a boost in recruitment. CEO Hangouts research stated that 82% of people are more likely to trust a company whose senior executives actively use social media.
Toms Shoes
According to their website founder Blake Mycoskie while travelling in Argentina in 2006 “witnessed the hardships faced by children growing up without shoes”
“Wanting to help, he created Toms Shoes, that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a new pair of shoes for a child in need.” The simplicity of the idea was easy to communicate and easily understand – One for One.
The company reported donating 95 million pairs of shoes through 2019.
Over and above that, Toms has helped restore sight to over 360,000 people and has helped provide over 250,000 weeks of safe water across six countries.
Toms also launched its Bag Collection in 2015. With each bag purchased, the brand will help provide a safe birth for a mother and baby in need.
Toms did later switch from the BOGO model to pledge to give 1/3 of its profits to organizations creating grassroots good .
Know, Like & Trust
Establishing and developing ‘know, like, and trust’ have always been the pillars used when building a brand. Concepts like ‘giving back to society’ and ‘making the world a better place’ have not always been high on the list for businesses historically – but now look to be key factors for the modern brand and consumer alike.
“With social media, brands are now more than their price points, they are living, breathing entities with personalities, goals and values” … Consumers want to feel not only like they are getting a good product, but that they are getting it from a good brand. For example, Toms was able to enter an extremely competitive industry with products very similar in price, quality and style to that of its established competitors. They were able to do so by combining their product offering with a robust brand story that consumers could get behind and feel good about being a part of.”
Stephen Golub, Vice President of a digital marketing agency
In a nutshell, Toms solves a problem, has a visible founder and does good – and so the Toms brand ticks multiple boxes.
Uber
Uber claims ‘to be evolving the way the world moves’. It’s another bold vision. Uber is clearly a disruptor, the David to the Goliath of the established taxi industry. The rebellious alternative that has redefined the marketplace.
Uber say:
“By seamlessly connecting riders to drivers through our apps, we make cities more accessible, opening up more possibilities for riders and more business for drivers.”
The idea is stated simply in their strapline: “Your Ride, On Demand”.
Airbnb
Airbnb is another disruptor. This time in hotel accommodation market.
Their vision is to be a trusted community for consumers to list, discover, and book unique accommodations for unique travel experiences.
The strapline “Welcome home.” sum up the added bonus of offering a more home-form-home experience.
In 2020 a total of 251.1 million nights were booked and 2021 saw 356.9 million nights booked on Airbnb.
Under Armour
Under Armour defines itself as the originator of performance apparel. They create athletic gear designed to keep athletes “cool, dry and light throughout the course of a game, practice or workout.”
The brand states its mission originated in the pursuit of a t‑shirt that provided compression and would also wick perspiration away from the skin – regulating temperature and enhancing performance.
Under Armour came to market as a huge underdog – taking on the established global sports brands. But they understood and solved a unique problem. Under Armour has perfected its voice and knows how to communicate with its legion of devoted fans.
Beats
Beats say they bring the energy, emotion and excitement of playback in the recording studio to the everyday listening experience. It’s hard to know how many of their customers actually have any point of reference for experiencing a studio playback but it’s undeniable that Beats have captured a corner of the market for quality headphones.
Beats leveraged their founder Dr. Dre’s fame and introduced a new generation to the possibilities of premium sound entertainment and became a fashion brand in the process.
Technology giant Apple acquired Beats in 2014 for $3 billion.
Beats addressed the problem of subpar headphones and redefined both the expectations and the way many consumers listen to music.
Existentialism
Knowing who you are and why you exist is more important than ever before in the business world.
A company that simply wishes to make a profit and provide a decent standard of living for its employees is unlikely to capture the imagination of its audience anymore. Not when there are so many competitors who have a bigger ‘reason for being’ that they are happy to share with all who will listen.
Not every company can be a disruptor – but if you are not one, then being aware of how a disruptor might enter your own marketplace, and what they might do to challenge the norm is well worth your consideration.
As Sun Tzu says in The Art of War
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
Knowing where and how ‘an attack’ might happen is how we formulate a defence plan. Being aware is half the battle.
Regardless of where you fit into the market, engaging your customers and telling them what you stand for is a proven strategy to succeed.
The questions remain who are you? and why do you exist?
Copywriting Advise: Sell the benefit, not the product
A guest post by copywriter, Martin Booth.
Copywriting Advise: Sell the benefit, not the product
Everyone has a story to tell. So many business owners understand the value of telling their tale, which is great news for copywriters like me – because my job is to write that story for you.
But what should that story be about? It’s essential to consider the content of the message you want to convey to your potential customer.
The fact that it should be told as engagingly and persuasively as possible, and in a voice that is recognisably and authentically yours, is only one of the factors you need to consider.
Because the story you tell should be as compelling as possible, all the way from “Once upon a time” to the moment where everybody lives happily ever after.
As a business owner, you may want to shout from the rooftops about your product and services. You have spent so much time developing them that you are, quite naturally, excited about the things you produce and every detail of their delivery.
But… sadly, your audience doesn’t really want to hear about that. All it cares about your services is one thing: How will they make things better for me?
It’s tempting – and completely understandable, given that you are so close to the products to which you have dedicated your professional time and expertise – to talk purely about them.
I had one B2B client in the Far East that created a product that was designed to assist in a particular manufacturing process. Unfortunately, its website was all about the science behind the product.
You had to burrow a long way down before you reached the important fact that using this product had saved customers an awful lot of time and money. That was their story – at least, it was once I’d revised the site.
The same applies to B2C services. If you’re a plumber, don’t write about your certificates, the tools you use and the types of pipe you deploy. What your customer wants to hear is: I can fix your leak. I can keep your house warm.
Ultimately, people care less about your product than they do about what it can do for them and how it makes their lives better.
So when you tell your story, focus on that. Forget about the technical detail, and the precise descriptions of the components that go into your product.
Talk instead about how your buyer’s life will be improved by their purchase of that product. That way, you make the emotional connection that is so crucial to all decisions – yes, even commercial ones.
Opinion is divided over how long you have to attract and hold the attention of a visitor to your website. It may be two seconds, it may be seven seconds. What is not in doubt it that it is not very long at all.
And in those few seconds, you have to grab your reader’s attention by appealing to their emotions. You have far more chance of doing that by telling them what’s in it for them than you do by highlighting the technical wizardry that delivers that benefit.
Get that right… and you increase the chance that your story will have a happy ending.
MARTIN BOOTH is an award-winning copywriter who is the founder and director of LeBoo Media. He set up the business after working as a sports journalist on the staff of several national newspapers, and in content-focused roles in the betting industry.
Why spend money on a Copywriter?
7 reasons for hiring a copywriter
(There’s more to it than spelling and grammar)
When you engage the services of a professional copywriter, you begin to feel the benefits before you even see anything written down.
1. Getting the job started
How many times have you told yourself you’d write that piece of copy about your business… and never quite got round to it. A copywriter will push you through that mental barrier and get the job started. You know, that job you’ve been putting off for the last two years!
2. Picking your brains
You know your business better than anyone but when asked about it, do you remember all the services and benefits you offer and all the interesting jobs you’ve done? By asking questions, a copywriter will pull valuable information out of your head that you had completely forgotten was in there. So when it comes to presenting your selling points, you don’t leave anything out.
3. Planning the user experience
You may be the expert on your own business but when it comes to understanding the customer experience of your business you’re probably in the worst possible position. Too close, you see. A copywriter will look at your business with an objective eye, which will help in planning the content and its structure for the best usability and relevance to customers.
4. Making it punchy
OK, so you’ve picked your own brains and written down a long list of all your selling points. In fact, it’s not so much a list as a copy of War and Peace. A copywriter will take all that valuable information and craft it into a succinct piece of copy that potential customers will want to read, rather than switching off from. They might even tell you it would work best as a video or an illustration – ideas that it’s hard to see for yourself.
5. Looking professional
I never said spelling and grammar aren’t important. The accuracy of your writing says as much about your competence and professionalism as the quality of your products and services – possibly even more, since it’s what potential customers see first. If a copywriter ever gives you bad spelling and grammar, you’re entitled to have them flogged. It’s the law!
6. Being seen
Good writing gets noticed and that’s the general idea behind marketing. This can be through traditional channels like editorial in a trade magazine, or modern digital channels like web searches. You’ve heard of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)*? A copywriter will enhance your SEO by researching keywords and working them effectively into your online content. Search engines also now take into consideration ‘user experience’ factors, like time spent on the page and how far down the user scrolls, so having engaging, well-written copy that keeps the user reading is very valuable.
7. Saving you time and money
Compare your need for copy to a leaking pipe. The longer you ignore it, the more damage it will cause. Your communications will look out of date, irrelevant, unprofessional… all of which will cost you sales. Fix it yourself and you’ll be taking up time that could be spent more profitably on some other aspect of your business. More cost. But get a professional in and they will do the job more efficiently and more effectively, helping you to start making more money sooner. For a relatively small cost you’ll be boosting the profitability of your business for a long time to come.
—
* SEO is the means by which search engines decide which websites to show in which order for any given search. If your website doesn’t appear on the first page when you search for your core service or product, you could do with some work on your SEO.
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This is a guest-written article by Tim Glynne-Jones.
Tim is a copywriter, journalist and author who has written extensively for print, digital, video and public speaking since 1985. Writing has taken him into music, cars, football, food, travel and the multifarious ways in which people bring ingenuity to the world. It has given him an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of every medium, as well as the importance of identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each client. Through his company Balance Media, Tim advises businesses on the best ways to get their message across, helps to plan their content strategy and manages the delivery.
The big existential questions … and branding!
Probably life’s biggest existential questions are “Who am I?” and “Why do I exist?”.
Philosophers have wrestled with these questions for aeons.
When we are talking about our businesses, these are questions that have to be answered quickly as the marketplace doesn’t take kindly to a company that can’t adequately define itself.
In our modern business landscape knowing what your brand is, what you stand for and why you exist is more important than ever before. I’d even suggest that these questions should be thoroughly addressed – before any product or service is developed fully.
So, Who are you? And what do you do?
They are the questions every potential customer has circling their brain whenever they encounter any new company or business person.
If a firm hasn’t defined the answers for themselves then they have no chance of communicating it effectively to any potential customer.
And if you don’t have the answers and can’t control that conversation yourself – then the customer and market will provide their own definitions? Which is usually a very wrong or, at the very least, a hugely skewed definition.
The good news is that when you do control of the narrative, providing your own answers to the questions and you communicate those answers clearly, then establishing a real connection with your target audience becomes a much easier task.
Framing who you are within a narrative story makes it more accessible for people, and much easier to communicate. It’s known as your brand story – and I’ve written about creating one in these web articles before so don’t intend on repeating myself too much here.
A brand story is a valuable asset. It should bring together the brand’s guiding principles in a relatable way, and should impact all aspects of the organisation and its activities as it looks to embody and live out those principles.
A good brand story is far more than a mere marketing message. It can form the roadmap for the business leaders to follow and ‘check’ their plans against. It can also provide the bones of a pretty impactive sales pitch too.
If we think of a logo as a badge are emblem that represents the company – the face of the company if you like – then we can think of the brand story as the skeleton that the company is built around.
‘Momentology’ conducted a survey which identified 10 brands that they considered to truly know themselves and their stories well. According to their findings each of their top brands has had a major market impact as a result of their clearly defined brand story.
The traits they noted as common to the most impactive brand stories are:
They Address Problems
This is ‘business 101’.
For any business to be successful you have to address real need(s) for your customers.
Telling the story of how you meet that need, what you do that addresses that problem, is highly impactive. Most importantly telling how the customer’s life is better / less stressful as a result is key. This is the foundation of a compelling brand story.
Bill Gates stated it this way:
“If you show people the problems and you show people the solutions, they will be moved to act.”
As scriptwriters the world-over have known for years, if there is no emotional engagement, if we don’t care about the characters, we will not be bothered to pay any attention. The story has to grip us.
With so many companies competing for our attention, combined with the speed and transient nature of modern communication, then the story has to grip us quickly.
Jennifer Eggers, Director of brand communication at Siegel+Gale said: “It’s important to have a story that people can understand and connect with … Especially with newer brands, people care and expect that the brand is coming into existence for a good reason – to solve a problem, to change how we do things, to meet a specific need – and the story is central to communicating the brand’s purpose.”
Defining your purpose
‘Purpose’ has become one of those words that we hear repeatedly in business. In truth, we hear it so often, especially in branding circles, that we become desensitised to the powerful impact it can have.
Yet ‘purpose’ has been a prime factor of the most successful brands in recent years. And that fact is not going to change any time soon.
Our societal trajectory of travel sees Generation Y, Millennials and Generation Alpha all citing purpose and social impact as key considerations for which products they buy, and which brands they affiliate to.
Richard Branson stated the importance of these considerations for business like this:
“The brands that will thrive in the coming years are the ones that have a purpose beyond profit.”
Making a positive impact
Many modern brands incorporate an element of social good into their brand stories – whether that’s giving back to their communities, being at the forefront of sustainability or helping consumers on their own journey of self-discovery and fulfilment. Sounds rather grandiose, but again, these lofty goals make for great stories.
The underdog
Many of the brands that Momentology referenced would be identified as ‘the underdogs’.
A consistent aspect of their brand story was that they were brave enough to take on both the industry leaders and established industry practices.
Tackling the titans of industry in a David and Goliath scenario is a significant trait of many of the most powerful brand stories. We commonly call such companies ‘disruptors’.
Redefine the customer experience
To truly own the disruptor name tag each of these brand stories has something worth saying – often that’s because the brand itself has taken a common industry practice or customer experience and reinvented it. Usually being creative in that reinterpretation, turning it on its head and generally making it more customer-centric in the process.
Steve Jobs said:
“You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work back toward the technology, not the other way around.”
It’s a theory that doesn’t only work in the tech space. Putting customer experience first and foremost is always a big plus for any business.
Build communities of devoted fans
Brands that have a clear identity and purpose will form more meaningful connections that result in truly devoted, loyal fans. For them, it’s not just a brand or a product, but rather a personalised statement of identity or belief which is personified by the brand in question.
To put it another way, the brand represents the identity and values that they want to be aligned with.
Taking a strong stand will mean some people are ‘turned on’ to the brand (which also means some will be ‘turned off”). This is not to be feared in branding. Finding ‘your tribe’ leads to increased customer loyalty. Devoted fans breed other devoted fans, they introduce and refer more than the average customer does. Losing some custom but gaining a tribe of fans is proven to be good business.
“If people believe they share values with a company they will stay loyal to the brand”
Howard Schultz, Chairman & CEO of Starbucks
“Loyal customers, they don’t just come back, they don’t simply recommend you, they insist that their friends do business with you.”
Chip Bell, author and consultant in customer loyalty and service innovation.
Workplace Culture
Great brands do create fans who are passionate. The best brands recognise that a great brand culture is foundational. In such firms, the biggest fans are often the employees.
Until I came to IBM, I probably would have told you that culture was just one among several important elements in any organization’s makeup and success — along with vision, strategy, marketing, financials, and the like… I came to see, in my time at IBM, that culture isn’t just one aspect of the game, it is the game. In the end, an organization is nothing more than the collective capacity of its people to create value.
Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. former Chairman & CEO of IBM
“Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.”
Simon Sinek, author, Start with Why
If the employees love the brand they want everyone else to love it too. It’s infectious and can be highly contagious when handled well.
Visible Founders
Companies with great cultures historically have founders and leaders who are actively hands-on in the company. Some even hold titles like Chief Evangelist (although I have to confess I’m not personally a fan of such titles).
What these founders have in common is that they surround themselves with a team who share their vision – and then they treat that team well.
“Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don’t want to”.
Richard Branson, Virgin
“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” –
Theodore Roosevelt
It’s also proven that companies with leaders who are active on Social Media see a boost in recruitment. CEO Hangouts research stated that 82% of people are more likely to trust a company whose senior executives actively use social media.
Toms Shoes
According to their website founder Blake Mycoskie while travelling in Argentina in 2006 “witnessed the hardships faced by children growing up without shoes”
“Wanting to help, he created Toms Shoes, that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a new pair of shoes for a child in need.” The simplicity of the idea was easy to communicate and easily understand – One for One.
The company reported donating 95 million pairs of shoes through 2019.
Over and above that, Toms has helped restore sight to over 360,000 people and has helped provide over 250,000 weeks of safe water across six countries.
Toms also launched its Bag Collection in 2015. With each bag purchased, the brand will help provide a safe birth for a mother and baby in need.
Toms did later switch from the BOGO model to pledge to give 1/3 of its profits to organizations creating grassroots good .
Know, Like & Trust
Establishing and developing ‘know, like, and trust’ have always been the pillars used when building a brand. Concepts like ‘giving back to society’ and ‘making the world a better place’ have not always been high on the list for businesses historically – but now look to be key factors for the modern brand and consumer alike.
“With social media, brands are now more than their price points, they are living, breathing entities with personalities, goals and values” … Consumers want to feel not only like they are getting a good product, but that they are getting it from a good brand. For example, Toms was able to enter an extremely competitive industry with products very similar in price, quality and style to that of its established competitors. They were able to do so by combining their product offering with a robust brand story that consumers could get behind and feel good about being a part of.”
Stephen Golub, Vice President of a digital marketing agency
In a nutshell, Toms solves a problem, has a visible founder and does good – and so the Toms brand ticks multiple boxes.
Uber
Uber claims ‘to be evolving the way the world moves’. It’s another bold vision. Uber is clearly a disruptor, the David to the Goliath of the established taxi industry. The rebellious alternative that has redefined the marketplace.
Uber say:
“By seamlessly connecting riders to drivers through our apps, we make cities more accessible, opening up more possibilities for riders and more business for drivers.”
The idea is stated simply in their strapline: “Your Ride, On Demand”.
Airbnb
Airbnb is another disruptor. This time in hotel accommodation market.
Their vision is to be a trusted community for consumers to list, discover, and book unique accommodations for unique travel experiences.
The strapline “Welcome home.” sum up the added bonus of offering a more home-form-home experience.
In 2020 a total of 251.1 million nights were booked and 2021 saw 356.9 million nights booked on Airbnb.
Under Armour
Under Armour defines itself as the originator of performance apparel. They create athletic gear designed to keep athletes “cool, dry and light throughout the course of a game, practice or workout.”
The brand states its mission originated in the pursuit of a t‑shirt that provided compression and would also wick perspiration away from the skin – regulating temperature and enhancing performance.
Under Armour came to market as a huge underdog – taking on the established global sports brands. But they understood and solved a unique problem. Under Armour has perfected its voice and knows how to communicate with its legion of devoted fans.
Beats
Beats say they bring the energy, emotion and excitement of playback in the recording studio to the everyday listening experience. It’s hard to know how many of their customers actually have any point of reference for experiencing a studio playback but it’s undeniable that Beats have captured a corner of the market for quality headphones.
Beats leveraged their founder Dr. Dre’s fame and introduced a new generation to the possibilities of premium sound entertainment and became a fashion brand in the process.
Technology giant Apple acquired Beats in 2014 for $3 billion.
Beats addressed the problem of subpar headphones and redefined both the expectations and the way many consumers listen to music.
Existentialism
Knowing who you are and why you exist is more important than ever before in the business world.
A company that simply wishes to make a profit and provide a decent standard of living for its employees is unlikely to capture the imagination of its audience anymore. Not when there are so many competitors who have a bigger ‘reason for being’ that they are happy to share with all who will listen.
Not every company can be a disruptor – but if you are not one, then being aware of how a disruptor might enter your own marketplace, and what they might do to challenge the norm is well worth your consideration.
As Sun Tzu says in The Art of War
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
Knowing where and how ‘an attack’ might happen is how we formulate a defence plan. Being aware is half the battle.
Regardless of where you fit into the market, engaging your customers and telling them what you stand for is a proven strategy to succeed.
The questions remain who are you? and why do you exist?
Brand storytelling: What is it? Why is it important? and, How to write one?
Brand Storytelling is a very powerful tool in any brands arsenal.
I’ve written a previous article posted on this site called ‘Neuroscience and Storytelling’ on how our brains are wired and why stories are such an effective communication tool, so this piece will not cover the same ground. I will assume you have or will read that article if you are interested. This article will therefore concentrate on how to go about defining and using brand storytelling techniques to build your business.
Why should your company care about developing a brand story?
Put simply, it works. It’s one of the things most successful companies have in common – and do really well. They have a clearly defined and expressed brand story. They tell engaging stories. Powerful stories. Funny stories. Compelling stories. But all the stories they tell sit within an overarching and considered framework of the larger brand story and are designed to help forge a connection with their audience.
Over time, and well-managed, that connection becomes a relationship and establishing an emotional relationship between brand and audience is one of the key things the brand and marketing execs at any company are trying to achieve through their brand and marketing activities.
Recently, in conversation with a recently graduated designer who I have been mentoring, I asked him to do some work to define the brand story. His response clearly exposed a lack of training and understanding of what a brand story really is and why he, as a designer, would be involved in its telling.
To my mentee, the brand story was merely the inception or origin story of the company. (we’ll return to the origin story later). As such he considered it to be something a copywriter might be involved in expressing but thought it was nothing to do with design.
I will concede that brand storytelling does include the inception story and the company’s history, but it is also just as importantly, about the purpose, mission, and values – the why of the brand. Expressing those aspects throughout the entirety of a brand’s customer touchpoints will inevitably include a designer’s unique input.
In this article, I will try to explain what makes an effective brand story, why your business needs one, and what steps you can take to start expressing your own.
What Is Brand Storytelling?
Brand storytelling plots a series of key points that help build an emotional connection between a brand and its target audience. It encompasses a summary of your company’s history, mission, purpose, and values, within a narrative structure that expresses them in a way that brings them tangibly to life for the target audience. (That tangibility is often where the designer gets involved by the way.)
Storytelling tools and techniques can be used to create branded content that expresses the values and vision of your company and, in doing so, generates an emotional response.
The copywriters will know how to use language to do one portion of this task – but as some of the strongest triggers for emotional connection are visual any graphic designer worthy of the title should be able to apply colour theory, the personality and character of typefaces, the choice and style of imagery, the nuance of layout and the other skills of their trade to help craft the story to be told and present it in the most effective way possible.
Why Does it matter?
Psychologist Jerome Bruner found that details communicated in stories are 22 times more memorable than when they are communicated as basic facts and numbers.
Additionally, the Harvard Business Review found that emotional connections are significant drivers of brand loyalty and that emotional connection represents one of the best indicators of future customer value.
When brand loyalty is significantly driven by emotional connection, which is primarily achieved by brands and customers having shared values, then the power of brand storytelling is self-evident.
Brand storytelling also works as a complementary factor to SEO strategies. Getting content noticed and read by the audience and therefore favourably ranked by the algorithms.
How is brand storytelling different to content marketing?
Content marketing can include brand stories, but not all content marketing is brand storytelling.
Content marketers will create educational and promotional items that attract new customers, engage current customers and also increase brand loyalty. Content marketing is therefore just one of the channels available to tell your brand story.
What makes a good story?
We all know what movies and books we like. One of the key factors to keeping our brains engaged is that the best stories surprise us. There are plot twists. They make us think and feel. We are hard-wired to respond to stories. Stories get stuck in our minds and that helps us remember information, ideas and concepts.
Powerful Brand Storytelling is simply powerful storytelling
The elements that make a brand story compelling are the same that make any story compelling:
Empathy: If your audience can see themselves in the story – perhaps even place themselves into the shoes of a protagonist then the story has captured them.
Attention-grabbing: What grabs our attention can be different at different times, when we are in differing moods it may alter. For a brand, it’s most advisable to define and establish a distinct tone of voice and express a distinct personality. If this is done consistently then your audience will be able to identify your content quickly. (We’ll expand on this later).
Authentic: People like honesty. Even self-deprecating honesty has its place. Anyone who knows anything about writing knows about the ‘hero’s journey’. The hero has to learn lessons along the way, they have to face their fears and themselves. Often the biggest test is accepting they are flawed and dealing with that. When brands are honest their target audience generally responds positively. Be honest about your values. Talk about your company’s unique features but also be up-front about the challenges you face and mistakes you’ve made (assuming you’ve done something to rectify those and ensure they don’t happen again).
Relatable: Show you understand who your customers are and what challenges they face. Speak to them in simple language, drop the hype and the jargon. Avoid using industry-specific terms or overly technical language if possible. Plain and simple usually wins the day.
Consistency: Consistency should not mean boring. Your audience should know what to expect from you (ie. is this in character for the brand) but should still look forward to seeing what you have for them next.
Aligned: Your brand story should always be aligned with your business goals. Brands that integrate the brand story and values into all areas of business life – including marketing, sales, and all internal and external communications, and who are mindful of how they express the brand at every customer interaction, see more growth in the long run.
Provoke action: Find a suitable place within your own brand story to place your call to action. Nudging your audience to become your customers is why we bother to build any brand presence after all.
How to go about creating Your Brand Story?
Setting out your brand story gives you the foundations for your future marketing strategy. It can be used as a road map for content, communications, and marketing campaigns. So, how do we create an effective Brand Story?
1: Establish your origin story
We mentioned the inception or “origin story” earlier. This is simply the story of where you and your company come from and the events that brought you to the present day.
But in brand story terms it’s more than simply presenting the facts. The origin story is an important part of your brand storytelling and should introduce your personal goals, your values and your challenges.
Including your goals, values and mission and honestly presenting challenges make the story much more relatable and ‘human”.
In the origin story of your company consider:
How did you overcome them?
2: Build your hero’s journey
The Hero’s Journey is probably the most popular storytelling templates that you can use for building your brand story. Some writers even claim that every story ever told sits within the framework of the Hero’s story.
This framework plots an emotional arc which we connect to and that resonates strongly with the audience.
The hero in brand terms is your audience of prospective customers.
The hero faces a challenge, but your brand has the answer. Your brand becomes the trusted, companion, adviser etc – and you get to show how your solution solved your customers’ problem, and rejoice with them in the final result.
You start writing your hero’s journey by answering the following questions:
3: Think about your brand personality
Once we have the framework we need to think about the way the brand is expressed within the story. This is commonly referred to as the brand personality and tone of voice.
To be effective a brand personality attributes human characteristics to your brand. The established model is drawn from the work of Carl Jung and the 12 personality types he identified. A well-defined brand personality can help connect your brand with your customers on a much deeper level.
You can quickly find the Brand Archetypes wheel or framework with a quick Google search to help establish your brand personality. I would however suggest this is best done in conjunction with a brand development professional as this model is not as straightforward to use properly as it may first appear.
The brand archetypes tool can also be used to help identify key personality traits found among your target market but this does require some proper research and insights to be done effectively and I would suggest speaking to an experienced branding professional to do so.
Each archetype has been carefully defined and has an associated set of emotions and motivators. Businesses can pick which archetype most closely matches their company personality and can then. align your brand archetype to the personality embodied by your ideal customers.
Once the archetype is established you can adopt the ‘personality’ and characteristics within your communications. Knowing your personality and that of the target audience defines the style and language of your messaging. This is commonly called your ‘tone of voice’.
4. Brand Purpose
A brand purpose is usually expressed as one sentence that communicates the value you create in the lives of your customers. It should emanate from your brand story.
Here are a couple of well-known examples:
It can be tricky to pair things back to one sentence of intent but a brand purpose can be a guiding star for future company decisions. Many a company has been kept from scuppering their ship on the rocks in rough seas by following their purpose statement relentlessly to safe harbour.
5. Brand Values
Identify three or four brand values that matter to your company, and specify why they are important. Try to keep them clear and concise.
For example: Adidas: Performance, Passion, Integrity, Diversity
After many years working with brands I now usually ask my clients to take the creation of brand values a step further. Brand values expressed purely as words like the above could be applied to almost any business. In fact they are often simply expressions of doing good business. How many times have you heard people say their values are Honesty, Integrity and Passion?
The same words crop up time and time again. I generally ask my clients to think how that word is evident in how they operate. How could they actively prove that a key value is diversity? What does that diversity look like in their business, in their actions and in their decision-making? How can you demonstrate any stated value in the form of an action that affects how you do what you do?
This simple request takes values from being abstract words that could appear on the reception wall of countless companies to being much more concrete, action-based differentiators of the brand.
It’s a simple request that has often stumped C-suite executives for a while. But in properly considering how their values impact on their business actions they become real values that stand for something.
6: Define your brand story and its purpose
Define your brand story and the messages you want it to convey. This can include the company story and brand narrative you want to build for your audience and what you want it to inspire that audience to do.
Potential goals to build your story around include revenue growth, organic traffic, increasing followers, or building more awareness of your brand.
Building a story does not mean manipulating it but it can mean some aspects of your story are emphasised more than others.
A technique some use to help here is to make a two-column list. Column one should be your goals and column two should contain the existing resources you have available to achieve them. Those resources will not be exclusively financial. A popular product that can be leveraged, or a large social-media following that can be mobilised, are resources that can further your brand storytelling goals.
7: Write down your brand story
Now it’s time to write your brand story. With the wealth of information you’ve gathered, you are now ready to write your brand story.
Try to keep it short, between 200 and 300 words. Ensure your brand story answers key questions about your customer’s challenges and needs, why your brand exists, and your brand’s mission.
Here are a few quick points to consider:
As you consider these questions, it’s also helpful to dedicate time to establish your brand’s tone of voice. If you can write your brand story in your brand tone of voice you’ll generally find other messaging starts to flow a lot more freely.
If you are working with a brand professional they may well include all of the above in a brand style guidelines and writing style guidelines document/s. In my experience, such documents can be invaluable to communicate the overall brand to new employees, partner organisations, creative and marketing suppliers – and as a “touchstone” to keep the brand on track.
8: Share and Develop Your Brand Story
Once you have it, share your brand story throughout your entire organisation. The brand story should serve as the narrative for everything your company does and everything it portrays to the world.
The brand story should inform all marketing and public relations campaigns but it should also inform the way you run human resources and manage your teams. The brand storytelling should have an impact both internally and externally. It is a narrative that the brand has to live up to and deliver upon.
You should share your brand story with employees during onboarding, to properly communicate the essence of your brand. Many companies use introduction videos or simple ‘white-board animation’ to do this.
Your brand story should also provide the foundation for your content marketing strategy. Use it as a starting point when creating content plans, producing content, and when you are bringing new writers, designers and content creators into your company or your supply chain for creative services.
A brand story that is not used in these ways is a waste of time. Your Make brand story needs to be a bedrock for the company and it should to be a “living document” that evolves and develops with your company. No business is ever static. Your business marketplace will alter with new players entering the fray and new technology likely to disrupt things. So it’s best to review the brand story regularly to see if it needs to adapt and to ensure it reflects feedback from your customers. (Collecting effective and insightful customer feedback is a whole other article waiting to be written but I can’t get into that here!)
Final thoughts
Research has proven that most consumers align themselves with brands. They view their purchases and by inference the brands they support, as an extension of their own identities and values. Brands come to represent their ‘tribe’. They want to be part of a community that shares particular ideas and ideals. If they can enter into the narrative of the brand story they quickly feel this connection and affiliation.
Defining your brand story and reinforcing it via brand story marketing presents your ideal customer with an open door through which they can easily enter and become a member of ‘the tribe’.
Your brand will be front and centre of your audience’s mind – and holding that mental real estate is a powerful place to be. Your brand will be first in their consideration – before your competition.
Your brand story should run throughout your content marketing and messaging to market. Whether traditional advertising, information on your website, a blog, or your social media post, consistency to that brand story, presented via your considered tone of voice, is how you will see results.
Brand storytelling is a primary way to differentiate your brand. It helps you stand out in the market. It establishes an emotional connection with your target audience, and it helps build a solid base of loyal customers.
It’s time to get your brand story working for you.
We can’t work for you!
We can’t work with you, sorry.
At a recent networking event, the subject of ‘declining work’ cropped up, so I decided to share our thoughts with you here, tell you how we make our decisions and explain why we’ve ended some commercial relationships.
There are some industries we at S2 choose not to work with.
There are some clients we’ve had to end our relationship with – and others we would have loved to work for but felt doing so would present us with a conflict of interest.
Saying no to work is never easy (we are all trying to earn a living after all). But it can sometimes be the right thing to do.
During our 20+ years at S2 we have had to turn down work. There have been various reasons why we’ve felt it necessary to either decline a new account or resign from accounts we were working on – so let me explain our thinking.
When we started trading in 2001 we set some rules:
1. We don’t work with anyone in the porn industry
2. We don’t work with anyone in the gambling industry
3. We don’t work with the arms trade.
We have never been asked to work for the later – but we have been approached by clients in both the first two. We have been asked to do work to promote a porn site and we were approached a few years ago to help establish a new betting firm.
These were both easy no’s for us. But then there are the grey areas.
We’ve also been approached to do work for a vape manufacturer, and this was more of a conversation for us.
The product was supposedly aimed at getting people to quit smoking – transitioning to vaping and then using a staged step-down in tobacco content across their product range until eventually there was no tobacco at all. (BUT that could also be used as a staged stepping-up, with an entry level fruit flavoured vape and slowly increasing nicotine content).
As we dug deeper it became clear that product was disposable (not good for the environment and now targeted under UK law), and the graphics packaging brief appeared to be aimed at the youth market. Which implied more of an intro to smoking rather than an exit strategy! It didn’t take us long to realise this was not a client that we felt we could work for.
Figuring out if new work is a potential ‘good fit’ is not usually hard. Our process requires a ‘deep-dive’ at the start of working with anyone new and any mis-match of ethos generally becomes very evident, very quickly. However, resigning an account you already hold is a much more complex scenario.
Resigning an account is never something anyone does lightly. And the one instance we’ve felt we had to do it was especially difficult for us as we’d worked with the company for almost a decade. We successfully worked with three different holders of their Head of Comms role. We’d worked on their brand, exhibitions, website, and all communications materials. Needless to say the lifetime value of this client to us was – ‘quite large’.
So, how did we come to resign the account?
A new hire to the client’s staff was the key instigator. We swiftly realised that our values did not align with how this new employee operated. When we questioned a decision as it would quadruple the bottom line cost to the company, they openly stated that they were not interested in making the right decision for the overall organisation. Their decision shifted the allocation of funds off their departmental budget and onto the other internal departments budget ledgers. Obviously, the company would realise in time that this was costing them more in the long run but the individual seemed to have a career history of quick moves and maybe did not intend to still be around when those facts came to light.
S2 promote a ‘joined-up thinking approach’ to brand and communications, so this type of siloed thinking is at odds with everything we hold to – and stands against our objectives to see our clients thrive.
This new hire then asked us to be economical with the truth in presenting facts about the different options available in a strategy report we were preparing. Finally one of their direct team openly lied to us – a lie we caught them in (with third-party verification) which when raised with the new hire was simply dismissed.
For us the bridge was burnt. If we can’t work with mutual trust then we can’t collaborate properly. Which means any real working relationship is effectively over, as trust and collaboration are foundational to our process.
The client wasn’t happy, we weren’t happy and so we parted ways. I suspect they will claim they fired us. The final meeting was simply a formality. There was no way we were going to leave the room working along side the individual in question. Did we jump or were we pushed. Both are true.
I had the resignation letter in my pocket – which I left on the table as I left the room. But technically I did leave after they said they would not be placing any further work with us.
Thankfully, we’ve only ever felt the need to resign that one account.
But there is one final reason why we will not take on a client:
We won’t work with a direct competitor to a client we already have on our books.
This one can, on the face of it, be a bit more complex.
Some people work a niche, with several clients who operate in one sphere – and it’s a business model that works for them.
The problem is that we do not simply create designs for our clients. We work strategically with them – and when we are developing brand strategy for a client, or we are involved in research for them, then we are usually covered by an NDA.
Regardless of whether an NDA is in place or not, it is practically impossible to ignore the insights and ideas gleaned on one account (and on that client’s dollar) and not have that information cross-populate, inform and affect our thinking for any other, related business. We can’t ‘unknow’ what we know!
If working with two competitors information transference is inevitable, but we avoid any possibility of such compromise by having a policy of never placing ourselves in that situation in the first place.
This is an example of how our brand value of integrity impacts how we do business.
As an aside, if your brand values don’t affect how you do what you do – and who you choose to do it for – then I’d question their value at all.
When we are working to identify brand values with our clients we always ask them to expand the values they state as sentences and actions applicable to their business activities – identifying the action they take that embodies or expresses that value. How do your brand values actually live out and affect how you do what you do?
We regularly help company execs think through their own brand values, messaging and positioning and being able to illustrate how our own values impact our work at S2 can really help clarify things for them.
Additionally, imagine the scenario where we had two competitors on our books. Both of whom have asked us to consider how they engage new clients. We could very quickly find ourselves trying to secure the same advertising or promotional opportunities for each firm. Which do we show the best creative ideas to? Who gets the first pick of those ideas?
Say there was a big trade show coming up, both wanted to place an advert in the brochure and we were engaged to secure the actual advertising slots … we’d technically be bidding for both clients for the same prime ad spots … and we’d technically be bidding against ourselves!
Some firms are happy to operate like this, as they would say the account handlers work independently so there is not conflict. (But a higher ad spend means a higher fee return for them so why would they want to fix such an obviously broken system?)
Choosing your work partnerships is never simple. We view our clients as partners. We would hope they choose us because they like what we do AND how we do it. And that they also view us as equal partners in helping the achieve their goals
The fact that most of the people we work for become repeat customers and many remain with us for many years we interpret as a positive indicator that our methodology is working.
Indeed, our longest client relationship, with our most regular client, has been in place since S2 designs very first day in business. In fact, they were clients at our old firm and one of our directors had worked with them previously – hence them becoming a client in the first place. So that’s a 25 -year-plus working partnership.
Add in the fact that many individuals have taken us into new firms and new environments as they have moved on in their careers we think validates our collaborative approach.
There are not many design agencies who can claim that sort of client longevity and customer loyalty.
A Musical Metaphor
Music as a metaphor
It’s a simple metaphor I’ve used to explain how branding works to various people who are struggling to get their heads around it. Just think about music. (I’ll admit it’s not a perfect metaphor but it does work on most levels)
Drop the R
Drop the R from Brands and you get Bands. And most people I’ve met have a favourite band / recording artist. They understand the subcultures that build around the different styles of music and how that can affect perceptions.
They understand how fans align themselves with certain bands. The bands who they feel speak to them (and for them) become incredibly precious. People form very strong attachments to the artists they feel particularly aligned with.
Bands become emblems that help to define us. And these are not connections that we hold lightly.
Fans will part with great sums of money to own limited edition releases or a particular item of memorabilia.
Just consider this list:
Kurt Cobain’s MTV Unplugged Guitar: $8,013,000.
John Lennon’s ‘Love Me Do’ Guitar: $3,206,000.
Bob Dylan’s lyrics for ‘Like a Rolling Stone’: $2,725,000
Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin Album: $2,672,000
David Gilmour, of Pink Floyd’s, ‘Black Strat’ Guitar: $5,298,000
A test pressing of Elvis’ first single, ‘My Happiness’, went for auction in 2015 and eventually sold for $300,000
Memorabilia sales like these are probably well outside the pocket or even comprehension of most people. But we all witness the outpourings of grief expressed when people like Elvis, John Lennon, Kirk Cobain, Price, Michael Jackson or David Bowie died.
A fan can develop a powerful emotional connection to an artist or group that they have never met. And those associations and band emblems become tribal marks. People will go as far as to have the band logo, lyrics, signatures or faces of their idols tattooed onto them – indelibly stating their affiliation and claiming membership of a particular tribe.
This is not new. The Who or The Jam badges were emblazoned on the parkers of almost every Mod. Their Rocker rivals (who as the name suggests listened to Rock music) would adorn their leather and denim jackets with badges of the likes of Rainbow or Deep Purple or Status Quo.
Music is intrinsically linked to fashion – and both have come to identify different sub-sets of youth culture, with each generation breeding its own fashion style and music icons. Mods, Rockers, Skin-heads, Punks, New Romantics, Baggies, Emo the list goes on and on because each new generation needs something to call their own … and usually in opposition the their parents’ tribe.
Like fans and their favourite music, we can become loyal fans of particular brands. We can align and therefore to some extent, be identified and understood by the brands we align with.
Divisive alignment
The Apple, Android divide is an obvious example I could site. A Rolex serves the same basic function as a swatch. A LandRover performs the same A to B function as a SmartCar – or even a Tesla. But what each brand stand for and the associations built around the brand, that by inference to some degree transfer to their users, are very different. Brands and bands both become part of our self-image and self-identification. It’s worth noting here that we often define who we are (or want to be) by what we are not. This creates an ‘us’ and ‘them’ dynamic. And we intuitively understand what the ‘us’ tribe is, what is does, how it actsand sounds.
When we see our favourite band do something that does not seem to fit within our expectations, we experience jarring and even discomfort. It feels wrong and can upset us.
Just imagine if Iron Maiden made a transcendental, electronic music album. And this same logic extends to brands too.
Even if you don’t understand the nuance of how branding works, you can understand the surprise of meeting a Punk who then pulled out a violin and started playing classical music. (We could argue that Nigel Kennedy built his career on this very juxtaposition). So, if it came to light the senior staff at Greenpeace had investments in oil & gas their members would feel betrayed.
Some artists have tried to switch genres. Generally, it is not successful. Do you recall pop-princess Kylie Minogues’ dalliance with alternative music? (Don’t worry most people don’t).
Her fans were fans of the pure-pop Kylie. They didn’t want this new version. And this tribalism and fairly narrowly defined lanes is pretty normal for most musical artists (once established). But artists are human, and wish to explore different aspects of their personality, and express different things.
And brands can feel restrained and want to expand their offering also.
Some brands are big enough to be able to step into ‘new arenas’ with enough swagger that they can make it work.
Again, if we think of Apple’s early days as a computer manufacturer – we would probably define them at that time as being focused on tech hardware. We might not have expected their move into software and apps and no-one predicted their successful move into streamed music and TV.
I’ve never heard or read anything from any fans or music journalists who foresaw Beyoncé releasing an album that would dominate the country music charts either.
Authenticity
The trick for a successful brand extension seems to be authenticity. The move may feel odd to some but if it’s still essentially in line with what the brand or artist stands for – and is true to their general direction of travel, it can work.
The Sex Pistols (& Punk movement generally) stood for anarchy, and tearing down the established order. Interviewers knew the band members were likely to swear, be offensive and even dismissive. That was their brand – and they delivered on their promise. Their brand position was divisive, it attached those that aligned with the frustration and rigidity of social expectations and repelled those who didn’t view the world in that way.
Anti-conformity informed every aspect from how they spoke in interviews to how they dressed, how they performed and behaved (or misbehaved if you prefer!).
Beyoncés ‘Cowboy Carter’, country music album, appears to come from a genuine place – and fully aligns with her history of wanting to see black artists and people respected and valued in all fields. Even those not usually associated with them.
Like Beyoncés unexpected album, on paper, the idea of sports car manufacturer Porsche producing a 4×4 seemed questionable. Some even suggested it would undermine their brand position. But we can’t deny their success. It was an extension of the brand that people could accept because the core elements of what Porche create and stand for, could be transferred. The aspirational nature of a well-engineered sports car is not too far a stretch to a well-constructed ‘sporty’ 4×4. It’s a logical brand extension.
But could Ozzy Osbourne suddenly release an R&B record? The historic Black Sabbath fans are unlikely to follow him down that road. It’s not a stretch his brand can make. The transfer of our understanding of Ozzy and his musical heritage does not allow us to accept him as an R&B artist.
In the same vein, the public is sceptical when the big oil companies start talking about ecology and green fuels, (the reversal of my Greenpeace example). It’s too different a road and a mental reach too far.
Divisive difference
Music has its genres. Branding has categories. They different words for the same basic act of placing things into boxes so we can understand them more efficiently. We all do it.
We categorise bands in a ‘mental library’ in our heads and we even create complicated subcategories. Oasis and Blur both sat in the ‘Britpop’ section in the record store and so they fit the same category in our minds. But there was also well-documented and long-running animosity between the two giants of brit-pop Some ignored the fact the two bands were feuding – but some fans also took it to heart and they faced a binary choice. One or the other – not both.
Once categorised we know what we expect, we understand the promise that the brand/band makes and we feel secure that it will be delivered. Any movement from that expectation undermines our trust.
Brands like bands can develop and grow – but it generally needs to be a journey that includes their devotees.
Who could have imagined at the hayday of Beatlemania that the mop-topped Fab-Four would become long-haired hippies producing experimental music later in their career? The Beatles ability to change so radically was because their audience was on the same journey and experiencing the same seismic cultural shifts and political upheavals together with them.
David Bowie made a career of reinventing himself. Ziggy, Aladdin Sane, Halloween Jack, The Thin White Duke, The Soul Man. He took on these different characters in order to say and explore different aspects of himself and his art.
One could even argue that Bowie’s brand was not to have a brand.
But his brand was in fact all about that perpetual change and reinvention. Bowie fans expected it – eventually! (Although the initial demise of Ziggy Stardust took both fans and his own bandmates by surprise sum-what).
But Bowies’ characters do help us understand the idea of brand personas. Each persona is unique – and our understanding and expectations of each are different.
As I said at the start of this piece, the brands/bands metaphor is not perfect. (I can’t think of a brand that has embraced near-constant change in the same way Bowie did).
But I do know the music metaphor has helped many people who were struggling to comprehend branding to get a handle on how branding affects all aspects from behaviours to language, aesthetics and even culture.
An effective brand aligns every expression around a set of core values, just like The Sex Pistols, every action and expression flows from a central idea.
Collaboration and SME Success
The Power of Relationship: Brand insights (via The Arctic Monkeys)
We relate to different people in different ways.
How I relate to my best friend is different to how I relate to an old school friend, which is different again to how I relate to someone I only met a few weeks ago.
Why am I stating this universal truth. Because it’s the same for brands – and the people who try to tell you otherwise are hugely oversimplifying.
All of the above could be classed as friends – but there will inevitably be a hierarchy. Which is largely defined by shared experiences – about knowing who they are – and how they behave, shared connections, affection and trust.
Our best friends generally become best friends because we have similar values, similar interests and because of what we have been through together – shared experiences.
There is a verse in the Arctic Monkeys song A Certain Romance that states that basic premise:
“But over there, there’s friends of mine
What can I say? I’ve known ’em for a long long time
And they might overstep the line
But you just cannot get angry in the same way
No, not in the same way”
Forgiveness
This type of forgiveness and goodwill is seen in most established relationships – and it translates to our brand relationships too.
If a company that has been a personal favourite for a while oversteps the line, then we just don’t get angry, or judge them, in the same way.
If a politician behaves badly our eire is tempered more if they belong to the party we support – but if our political foes make the same error we become enraged. Double standards: definitely. But also typical human behaviour.
We characteristically seek to understand and to forgive more, when we are committed to a relationship. (And usually, the longevity of that relationship is a key factor).
In branding terms this has been summed up in the much used: Know, Like & Trust.
If someone enters our extended friendship group, but whom we don’t particularly like personally, then it’s unlikely we will ever become more than casual acquaintances, even over many years of moving in the same circles. If we do like them but they repeatedly prove they can’t be trusted then eventually we’ll draw back and keep them at a distance.
Don’t push me coz I’m close to the edge
Once or twice we might forgive them. If the indiscretion is something we perceive as ‘pretty minor’ we’ll tolerate them for a while. But eventually, consistent breaking of trust, even for minor things, will mean we simply stop wanting to be around them or associated with them.
That one friend who always drinks too much, shoots their mouth off, gets you into trouble and dodgy situations … if they are a lifelong buddy then we have more patience and will tolerate more – but there is a limit to that patience.
We also tend to cut people more slack when we know what other pressures are going on in their life. The friend whose parent or partner is terminally ill will not generally receive the same level of judgement from us that they might expect otherwise. We recognise that circumstances may alter their normal behaviour. But if we are also experiencing unusual pressures, then two stressed parties interacting do tend to create a very tense environment and in time something will snap.
Again, this translates directly to brand relations. If there are external pressures affecting the relationship a previously forgivable misstep can suddenly create a huge chasm and disconnection.
So what advice can I give to help brands in this regard? (I’m not going to presume to offer any relationship advice – there are relationship counsellors out there if you need them, who are far more qualified to offer thought on that subject!)
In brand management terms:
1. Stay true to who you are.
Trying to be something other than yourself is a mask that will very swiftly slip when times are tough. Difficult times have a habit of showing us who we really are and exposing the truth.
There is an urban myth about a female deep-cover spy in the Second World War being uncovered when in childbirth she swore in her mother tongue. It’s a nice story but I’ve found no evidence to support it.
However, it is based on the insight that it’s incredibly difficult to live behind a facade continuously – it’s far better to “keep it real”.
As author Anne Morrow Lindbergh is often quoted as saying:
“The most exhausting thing you can do is the be inauthentic”
2. Be consistent
This is a key factor in brand building.
If your friend was so erratic that you had no idea what they would do or say next it might be amusing for a short time but it does not lay the foundations for a mutually beneficial friendship. You will always be on edge.
A brand that shows up in the same way and stands for the same stuff, saying the same things – is a brand that people can align with in confidence.
Angela Ahrendts of Apple Inc (who knew a few things about brand building) stated it thus:
“You have to create a consistent brand experience however and wherever a customer touches your brand, online or offline”.
3. Be honest
Honesty really is the best policy. If a brand does make a misstep then owning up, speaking up and fronting up quickly is the best possible plan of action.
When things go bad, history has proven that the best thing for a brand is to acknowledge the problem and then clearly state what they are doing to rectify the situation. There’s even evidence that in doing and following through on their promises, a company can even strengthen brand loyalty.
I’m going to quote three people this time:
“In crisis management, be quick with the facts and slow with the blame.”
Leonard Saffir, Public relations executive
“In a crisis, don’t hide behind anything or anybody. They’re going to find you anyway.”
Bear Bryant, former Alabama football coach
“When written in Chinese, the word ‘crisis’ is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity.
John F. Kennedy, 35th U.S. president.
Summing up
Relationships are massively important to all of us. In many ways, they help define us and nurture us. There is immense power in relationships – we all recognise that fact and seek out different people to fulfil different roles in our lives.
Our brand relationships are the same. Different brands fulfil different roles for us. For a brand to become a much-loved lifelong companion it has to understand what role it fulfils for its band of loyal followers – and then be the very best version of that it can be. If you represent a brand, be it a business or personal brand, then you consider what type of friend you are, what role you fulfil, how your connections relate to your brand, and why is worth revisiting regularly.
Embracing Chaos
I believe that what looks like chaos to some is often creativity at work.
Creatives often embrace change. Sometimes they challenge the status quo because they sense their might be a different way. Possibly a better way, but they will rarely know what that is or how it ‘looks’.
It’s a tension I’ve regularly observed when a creative individual is inside an established system or framework. If the creative asks to do something new it is normal for others to want to know why and where they are heading. What is the target? What will the outcome look like?
These are rarely questions the creative can answer when initiating the idea of exploring ‘the new’. They can’t see the endpoint yet. And the process can be uncomfortable. It often involves tearing down or dismantling what exists to see how something new might be constructed.
Even when only asked to do this dismantling intellectually many will resist with all their might.
For the creative, it’s an intriguing process, even fun or liberating. But for others, it can be a very difficult and immensely challenging experience.
Albert Einstein said, “Creativity is intelligence having fun!”
Creativity is intelligence having fun!
Fun, or play, is often chaotic to the outside observer. But it is the very randomness or chaos that leads to creativity. New connections, new ways of seeing, new ways of doing.
In my career, I’ve helped many organisations to ’embrace the chaos’. I’ve led many business leaders and management teams through the uncertainty and soul-searching of establishing their brands. Exploring values, company culture, corporate personality, and your core ‘why’ can be difficult. It can even be quite painful for some personality types – at least whilst in the midst of the process. For people who like certainty, like a clear ‘road map’ and a defined destination, brand exploration can feel like every foundation they have relied upon is suddenly in flux.
However, I’ve generally found that even the most resistant or uncomfortable, when they do commit to the process by the end share a sense of liberation and excitement. I’ve often been told that people feel released. This is not surprising to me, after all the aviator and writer Anne Morrow Lindbergh said it with her oft-quoted line “The most exhausting thing you can be is inauthentic”.
It’s a truth that hits home to me regularly when working with clients.
Individuals hiding core aspects of themselves to fit the corporate world or the organisational culture they work in. Or entire organisations and companies who seem to ‘follow the herd’ of corporate thinking when their core essence sits at odds with the norm.
We need permission to play
Embracing and leveraging uniqueness is a fundamental pillar of building an effective brand. There are countless case studies that illuminate this fact so I won’t go into those stories here. They are so well known that I regularly hear company leaders talk about leveraging brand values and uniqueness all the time. However, I see it manifested far less often. People have learnt the words but not how to do it.
In my experience, the corporate world, the business world, the grown-up world even, does not really embrace ‘play’. And positively shuns anything that remotely resembles chaos.
Trying to get business owners and board members to move beyond their neatly ordered world into a state of creativity – where no signposted path through to a recognisable end-point is immediately evident – is challenging, to say the least.
If those leaders want to establish companies that rise above the competition and connect with their audience in a more authentic, emotional and engaging fashion – then diving into the chaos is often what’s needed.
You will most likely find it challenging (it generally needs to be).
I suspect you’ll find it somewhat frustrating too.
I would hope you’ll find it fun as well.
Play follow the leader
But if you are working with someone who is experienced in taking that walk through the creative chaos, who knows what to look for and which tracks to follow, then I’m confident you will emerge with a new understanding of who you are and why you do, what you do. And you’ll have a fresh way of expressing those insights that should feel more natural and authentic.
I was recently asked how I define what I do.
I have a few answers that I’ve used over the years, depending on the person I’m talking to and why they are asking.
To some, I’m simply a Graphic Designer.
To others, I’m a director of a brand strategy and design firm.
If it’s a deeper conversation I used to say that I ask difficult questions to help companies understand who they are to improve their audience connection.
On this occasion, given the background of the question and the questioner, I answered:
“I’m a peacemaker – but not in the anti-conflict way. I actually embrace change and conflict, if it is creative and driving towards a resolution. But I mean peacemaker in the way of leaving people’ ‘at peace’ with their own uniqueness and in expressing that in an authentic and genuine way.”
His response was that he “F***ing love that”. So I picked the right expression for my audience on that occasion!
All of the answers I use are true. Some just hold more value and resonance for the questioner than others.
Perhaps now I’ll add a new answer to this list:
“I help people and companies embrace and navigate creative chaos to discover and express their own uniqueness.”
I think creativity and chaos do go hand in hand. Within the chaos, we can find new connections, new meaning, fresh expression and revitalised vigour.
Chaos can be good. Let’s embrace the chaos. Let’s play a little – even when we don’t know the rules of the game or what the outcome will be. Let’s get creative.
Let’s make peace with play and start really finding creative connections.
Here’s a article from Psychology Today about creativity and chaos. It’s worth a read if you are interested.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/is-it-beautiful/201910/creativity-and-chaos
How The Wizard of Oz speaks to business branding
We all know The Wizard of Oz movie, even if we’ve not actually watched it, it holds such a huge place in our collective cultural history, that we all feel like we have.
But what has The Wizard of Oz got to do with business branding? Bear with me and I hope it all becomes clear.
The movie starts with a tornado ripping through the world Dorothy knows. I don’t think it’s hard for anyone in business to draw a parallel with the last few years of Covid, Brexit and the ‘Truss/Kwarteng mini-budget’ as the perfect storm … a tornado, destroying much of what we knew of the business and economic landscape.
After the tornado, Dorothy finds herself in a strange world where being true to herself and consistently forging towards her end goal are ultimately the route to her salvation.
Like Dorothy, following her path (her yellow brick road) businesses need to be consistent in the pursuit of their goal and in their direction of travel. For each of us, that means being true to our brand and staying firmly to the path set by those brand values.
A good brand strategy defines that direction of travel, uncovers your values and illuminates your ultimate goals. It’s the mapped-out plan from where you are to where you want to be. Your yellow brick road.
Being true to your brand values and guiding principles when the going gets difficult can feel like we are battling Wicked Witches and strange flying monkeys hell-bent on diverting us from our true path. But if we can stay on the path – and stay true to ourselves, then we attract the right travelling companions along the way.
And like Dorothy’s companions on the road to Oz – a company’s brand journey needs a considerable amount of courage, a great deal of heart and a substantial amount of brain power to make it all work.
How we behave in business matters.
How we treat and engage with the people we encounter (be they suppliers, collaborators or clients) all speaks to who we are – our core brand!
How we act, how we engage, how we do things, how we look, what we say – these are the messages we send out into the world that reflect who we are. They define your brand.
What signals are you sending out in how you portray your business and how you actually do business?
Every time you post to your socials? How you choose to dress? The way you treat your waiter at a business lunch? Everything we do or say, every action we take (or choose not to take) reveals something about us, the things that matter to us, and the values we hold.
Collectively these signals tell people around us who we really are and give them an insight into what they can expect of us.
Your logo, your website, the language you use, how swiftly (or not) you respond to emails and even how your receptionist answers the phone are all signposts your business puts out into the world – all combine to create a ‘perception’ in people’s minds.
The same thread of brand expression should run through every interaction people have with your company. Like the words in a stick of Brighton Rock – wherever you bite into the rock you get the same experience. Brighton Rock is consistent, each mouthful delivers the same… It always says Brighton and every bite delivers a week’s worth of sugar whilst nearly breaking your teeth!
People like to know what they are going to get. People like consistency. It’s how Coke and McDonald’s have built their huge empires. The world over, if you buy a Coke or a Big Mac you know exactly what you are going to get. That familiarity and consistency is the key. We can rely on it.
Every contact and interaction with your company feeds additional information into the mind of your customers about you and about the product or service you offer. Every interaction feeds another detail to the perception people hold of you and therefore each interaction needs to be both considered and consistent.
If you want to take control of public perceptions and mould how your clients view you, then you need to be actively engaged in brand management. Your brand is the sum total of the various signposts your customers encounter – and what those signposts point towards. It frames what people think about your company and what you do.
This should be a true reflection of who you really are. Otherwise, it is a false sign – like a mask. And once the mask slips, like Dorothy seeing behind the curtain – people swiftly realise that the Wizard of Oz is not so really wizardly after all.
And once you lose their trust it’s practically impossible to win back.
We’re all fully aware that the movies are full of illusions. After all, Judy Garland was 16 playing a 12 year old in a land inhabited by munchkins, witches, flying monkeys, living scarecrows, tin-men and talking lions. But effective branding can not be built on illusion or fantasy.
Drop the illusions
Brands need to be real. Your branding activity should aim to build awareness, affinity and belief. Or as it’s more commonly stated in business circles to illicit: know, like and trust.
All brand activity is ultimately aiming to deliver greater trust. Breaking that trust is like throwing cold water on a fire.
And here my Wizard of Oz analogy breaks down a little. Dorothy’s cold water, thrown to extinguish the burning scarecrow (that the Wicked Witch had just set alight) splashes onto the witch and melts her. (I’ve no idea why, if water was so fatal to witches, she would allow a bucket of water to be anywhere near her person – but hey, it’s a fantasy land).
Dorothy ultimately triumphs by staying true to who she is. ‘There’s no place like home’ in a business sense is much like Dorothy’s journey. We have to take the journey, we grow in the process but actually, the things that make us who we are – our authentic selves and core values are constant. They were there at the start of the journey – we just didn’t quite know how to use and express them fully.
We usually need others on the journey to help uncover those values and to keep us true to them. Anyone who knows anything about classic storytelling knows that through the ‘hero’s journey’ they discover their true selves. What makes them who they are will be honed and amplified in the process.
If you don’t have a clear brand strategy. If you are not clear about what you stand for and how you wish to present that to the world, then you are likely sending out mixed messages. and confusing – or even repelling – your target audience.
We all need a brain, a heart and courage on the journey.
In Oz they symbolise what makes us human – intellect, emotion and action. Spend some time thinking about your end goals. Muster some courage because most of our business journeys will encounter some trials and tribulations along the way. Take heart and allow humanity and empathy to inform your decisions. We are not robots (or tinmen).
Building your brand strategy we help you travel to your destination with integrity and authenticity and you’ll most likely defeat your foes along the way without having to do anything more than a little fire-fighting.