Don’t Let Your Brand Just Happen
Bettina Papirio, Digital Brand Lab Director
WHAT MAKES A BRAND SUCCESSFUL? Every year global brand reports analyze thousands of brands, telling us which ones are grabbing attention and gaining momentum, which ones are driving change and growth, and which ones are giving us better choices, richer experiences, and more meaningful narratives. So the answer seems simple: a successful brand is that one which meets our expectations, moves fast and is adaptive; it is the one that makes things happen for us. Yet, the answer is so much more complex.
From its earliest days, a brand needs to define what it stands for and what it is trying to accomplish. It needs to dig deep and verbalize the fundamental truth at its core that is its purpose. And this purpose needs to matter; it needs to provide a belief system of values, knowledge, attitudes, experiences, and emotional equity that express themselves in action, long-term intentions, words, and pictures.
Now, many companies have their intentions in the right place. They spell out the purpose of their brand through a collective of statements that are meant to illustrate values, goals, aspiration, inspiration, connection, and usability. All too often, however, these statements are nothing more than a mashup of business jargon — diffuse, meaningless, and not related to the actual purpose at all.
As a result, few companies work on their brand with true intention and can sustain it over time. For example, start-ups focus on the MVP (minimal viable product) — the brand will fall into place later. Or, legacy brands fail to nurture and cultivate their purpose over time, instead letting cultural shifts, trends, or consumer behavior take over the narrative.
In the new normal of always-on media, where brands constantly broadcast to get our attention, to get us to love them, this lack of intention — this crisis of purpose — leaves us with a chasm that is hard to overcome. Brands want us to be interested in what they have to say — we want them to be meaningful.
This complex and difficult task to arrive and articulate a meaningful purpose, capture it, and stay true to it over time, is not unachievable though. It takes an intentional approach and deliberate strategies to define, direct, and extend purpose to inform and build a brand.
Of the many images that might come to mind when you think about how to build a brand with intention and purpose, you may be thinking of a ship — something that needs to be steered, led, directed, commandeered. What you should be imagining is a garden; and you should think of yourself as the gardener, who plants, waters, and nurtures the brand blooming and thriving in the soil you cultivate. In this effort, don’t fall into the trap of thinking about your competitors first and how to position your brand against them. Don’t clamor aboard the cool kid bandwagon and try to recreate what others are doing. Be authentic — grow your own brand.
Here are the essential steps so your brand does not just happen, but you cultivate it with a green thumb.
STEP ONE: PLANT THE SEEDS OF YOUR BRAND
Planting the seeds of your brand means building with intent and purpose — from the inside out. At Eastwick we help our clients do this in a day-long branding workshop targeted to distill and clarify the essence of a brand. Proprietary exercises help to identify target audience, brand pillars, voice, competitive differentiators, brand messaging — in short, the seeds from which the brand will grow. In this effort, it is important to think about the brand last, and think about the audience first. Forget what you think you already know about your brand and audience — don’t assume anything. Empathize with the people you consider your customers and truly advocate for them — this means, walk a mile in their shoes and celebrate their lifestyle as it is, not as you want it to be.
STEP TWO: WATER YOUR GARDEN
Giving your brand life requires deep knowledge of the seeds you planted. As you decide on the name, logo, words, pictures, and experiences that will be your brand you need to do so with dedication to the roots. We go through a rigorous design process that includes mood boards, color studies, logotype development, and symbol exploration amongst other things. The questions that we ask ourselves as we go through the process and arrive at the final brand identity are: are we aligned with our audience? Does this represent our values and purpose? Are we authentic and true to our brand personality?
STEP THREE: NURTURE YOUR BRAND
Nurturing your brand is not just something that needs to happen in its infancy. Just like plants in a garden, a brand needs constant attention to grow and flourish. This means, never stop being intentional and purposeful in all you do for and with your brand — be present, consistent, and explicit. Across all platforms, media, channels, activities, experiences, and expressions. But this is not all about you. Don’t forget your purpose and what you set out to do. Be consistent here too. When you invest in your audience and your relationship with them (and don’t just treat them like a transaction), when you care and teach them, they will remember you and reward you with attention and loyalty.
So, what makes a successful brand? It is intent, purpose, authenticity with a tenacious focus on consistency and service. None of this happens by accident or comes with time — if you want your brand to thrive, you need to pay attention — from the beginning, and all of the time.
Need help getting on the right path? Contact Eastwick Digital Brand Lab at dbl@eastwick.com.
