How would you define a Modern Brand?
This week, I’ve completed my first branding course at UAL St Martins, only a few days after celebrating my first 2 years at Felix Capital. This led me to reflect on what I’ve learned about branding thanks to these two experiences. One question kept coming up: how would you define a “Modern Brand”? Actually, the more I think about it, the more I have the conviction that a modern brand should be able to answer the following questions:
How is your product / service superior and distinctive?
First and foremost, a modern brand delights its customers thanks to a superior product or service that not only does the job but also the extra mile. These superior attributes should be tangible and add value to the user experience. Think about the iPhone 4 launch, its front-facing camera was a clear superior attribute for its users trying to make a good impression on social media. This is also true for Peloton, not only do their bikes offer superior features but also a distinctive experience thanks to its engaging content and vibrant community.
How much do you know about your audience?
To be able to offer this superior product or service, a modern brand must be user-centric, i.e. must know its audience inside-out so that it can better understand their needs and how to address them. This knowledge can come from observation and analysis, or from past experience of the team. This audience knowledge building can take time, but it becomes a unique defensible asset over the long term. At BlaBlaCar, where I worked before Felix, we were lucky to have a strong team of User Research and Data analysts who could help us better understand our community.
How much of a discussion do you create within your community?
Modern brands create open discussions with their audience, enabling interactions in multiple directions, not only talking to their audience, but listening to and encouraging interactions within this audience. It’s a bit like when you introduce two friends at a dinner and they then connect directly without you being involved, that’s how you know you’ve created something bigger than yourself. To encourage that behaviour, modern brands can leverage social media (Instagram, TikTok, etc.) or messaging platforms (Slack, WeChat, etc.). The best in class example would be Glossier, that has actually started as a conversation with its community on social media.
How transparent and authentic is your brand when communicating its benefits and value?
In a world where consumers have access to more information than ever, reviews and fact checks being available at their fingertips, the trust bar is high for brands. That’s why modern brands communicate their benefits and values in a simple yet comprehensive way. They acknowledge that their audience is savvy and deserve to be addressed in a no-bullshit way, helping them to cut through the noise. Modern brands build their authenticity thanks to their expertise. This expertise can be acquired over time, can come from the founding team background or can be shared via brand ambassadors or advisors. By staying true to itself, and mixing transparency and expertise, a modern brand becomes authentic. That’s why I believe Mejuri has such a high engagement on Instagram: its community values the brand’s transparent and authentic tone of voice.
How relevant are your communication and distribution channels to your audience?
Once a modern brand has defined its audience in detail (socio demographics, activities, tastes, etc.), it reaches out to them wherever they are. For instance, a food brand targeting young urban parents could connect with them via their favourite online food retailer. Modern brands innovate not only via their proposition but also via their communication and distribution channels. No distribution channel is the ultimate best. Modern brands pick their distribution strategy based on where their audience will be the most receptive. Goop, for instance, leverages a mix of online, own shops and pop-ups, retail and events to reach out to its community.
How unique and relatable is your brand personality?
With the emergence of tools like Squarespace, WordPress, etc., tons of new brands emerge every day. But only a few will stand out. Modern brands have unique personalities. We can think about them as characters bringing something new to the table, not another copy cat. We all remember Superman, but who remembers Mr Majestic? A modern brand unique personality will shape its tone of voice and look & feel. It could be warm, fun, adventurous, etc. as long as this personality is relatable to its well identified audience. On her Instagram stories, Anine Bing shares in a very authentic way not only her OOTD but also what’s happening behind the scenes in the company’s studio and a sneak peek into her family life as a mother and an entrepreneur. This social media activity contributes to making the Anine Bing brand unique and relatable.
How do you integrate your brand into relevant cultural ecosystems?
Modern brands take part into a wider discussion, being open to the world it evolves in. This can happen via PR campaigns, events or partnerships. A modern brand doesn’t only speak about what they do but also about the environment its product or service will be used, acknowledging that its audience has broader tastes. By inserting itself into what its audience is wearing, reading, listening to, eating or talking about, a modern brand can become culturally relevant. Partnerships can help create those cultural bridges, like Highsnobiety collaboration with ‘Stranger Things 3’.
How well does your brand know its “why”?
Last, a modern brand is driven by a mission, something bigger than itself, a purpose that they share with their audience. That’s this “why” that will set the brand apart from its competitors. I couldn’t explain it better than Simon Sinek in his famous Ted Talk. Having a purpose enables modern brands to create loyalty beyond just a transaction, and potentially even create a movement. Oatly stands for more than just its product, it’s actually creating the Post Milk Generation movement.
At the end of the day, a modern brand is what your consumers will remember about you, after having experienced your product or service. By answering all the questions listed above, a modern brand could be able to create an emotional connection with their customers. As emotions tend to enhance memory (think about Proust’s ‘madeleine moment’), modern brands have more chances of becoming long term success stories, shaping our consumption behaviour and pop culture, and eventually shaping a generation memory. If you’re building such a brand, I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out on LinkedIn or via email.
