Transparent brands — a necessity for future success
The brand is becoming increasingly important for companies. It has always been an important tool as a guarantee for quality, a way to stand out from the competition, and most importantly, as a way to communicate something about the product. Now the brand itself has become the product.
Consumers buy things they identify with — and see consumption itself as a way of expressing their identity. They choose Patagonia because the brand symbolizes something they sympathize with, and if you buy a Tesla car, you are part of the group “Tesla drivers”.
Further, we live in a world where we have to deal with constantly connected and information-hungry consumers. Today, the brand encompasses each individual’s experience as a customer, something that’s easily shared on social media, forums and in reviews. Others outside the company now have the power to control the dialogue.
The fact that the brand has become so important places completely new demands on companies. It’s not enough to once in a while hire an agency that makes a nice brand manual that’s used until a new person wants to make their mark and redo everything. The work must be continuous, interactive, and constantly ongoing, both within the company and in the relation with the company’s customers.
It can be done — but it takes effort. One of the most radical, innovative ways to do that is called brand transparency, a concept that aims to make everything related to the brand accessible to everyone. This includes employees, customers, journalists, investors — everyone. Brand books are seldom confidential (although there are exceptions), but the important thing is to take it to the next level. To not only provide what is needed but also make it easily accessible.
With today’s technology, it’s easy. You can make everything available: your values, your strategy, your history, and all the components of your identity. And you can invite anyone who wants to learn. Transparency creates a unique opportunity for everyone curious, but above all, it gets the employees onboard. It contributes to strengthened trust internally, is an important component in creating engagement, and builds a brand that is guaranteed to be relevant.
All brands are subjected to a constant “peer review”, like an open-source solution. Through transparency, everyone who works within the company can contribute to discovering and improving the elements. It’s scary, but it’s safest in the long run. The customer is always present and small mistakes can be fatal.
If a bad image, a mistake in sustainability policy, or hypocrisy regarding how values are related to action spreads on social media, there is a high probability that the content will go viral, with great damage to the company. It is then better to create conditions where employees are involved and always know how to act in line with the brand. Transparency ensures that the strategy and identity are followed while also minimizing the risks of missteps.
Companies are now faced with two choices: adapting to the new era and taking a leading role in transparency, branding, and technology, or falling behind, with all the potential risks and misses that this can entail. As a marketing manager, you need to review how you work with your brand — continuously and interactively, or statically. Do you show everything you can to employees, partners, and the outside world, or do you hide things you do not think fit the standard?
In this age of brand building, you need to use your brand as effectively as possible. Brand transparency is a way to guarantee efficiency while creating new interest. Test it, and you will see.
