#BRANDINGWAKANDA

Question for you…have you seen #BlackPanther yet? #nospoilerzone BUT You’ve probably seen it by now….

I have! And it was AMAZING! So, obviously the world is abuzz about the movie Black Panther! All over social media people are posting memes and photos or videos of them in their BEST African garb, dancing and singing the praises of one of the nearly half $1 billion grossing film. I was particularly thrilled and inspired because Chadwick Boseman is a success story from my home state, South Carolina. #LOWCOUNTRYGIRL lol Most attribute the success of the movie, in part at least, to the state of our racially impacted society. The historic and constant deprivation of positive images of those with melanin-abundant skin in Hollywood (and everywhere else) made going to see this superhero / King power combo defend the throne of Wakanda a no brainer. Marvel fans and comic novices alike turned out in droves to see black excellence on film that shed the traditional stereotypical roles of black people on the big screen.

And that’s awesome! With everything going on in our community, people NEEDED a reason to rejoice. But how did we even get to that point of pandemic excitement? What was it about the movie that made everyone purchase over $1 million in presale tickets alone? You may not have thought about it before, but simply put, it was STRATEGIC BRANDING and execution! The Marvel marketing team no doubt knew exactly what they were doing when it came to the branding and marketing experience of this movie. They knew that in order to get people through doors and into theater seats, the advertising had to appeal to their emotions, not just their pockets, and be a solution to something. It had to also be distinct and recognizable enough to stand out from any other movie experience being touted as “the movie to see in 2018”. The current social climate was ripe and ready for a storyline like this one, but unless people saw it, unless it resonated in someone’s heart, there was no point. Think about the countless movie posters featuring each character from the movie boistering whatever their unique positioning or role in the movie was. Think also about the fact that the movie was released during Black History Month, obviously garnering more attention and playing on the correlation between the movie and the radical Black Panther Party. Even though they had little to nothing to do with each other, the timing of the movie made people at least think twice about whether the movie was inspired by the BPP or not and caused more social media frenzy. Not to mention their partnership with Lexus that produced a powerful Super Bowl commercial likening the power and agility of T’Challa to the luxury car. There were NO MISTAKES made here!

Thanks to director Ryan Coogler, costume designer Ruth Carter, and countless other team members, that branding component was regally ushered into the actual movie via exquisite costumes, phenomenal plot execution and gorgeous lush scenery. We actually felt like we were in Wakanda (#WakandaForever). It wasn’t just an online experience. It drew us in and made the kill, start to finish.

I could spend decades unpacking the different layers of Black Panther and its impact in multiple sectors, but that’s not the point. The point is that THIS is what your business is capable of. Evoking wildly successful emotion within your customers. You already have a product or service that can change your customers’ lives. However, they have yet to understand that what you have is the solution to their problem. That, in part, is what branding does, relays or communicates a message. Of course, branding goes far beyond a logo or anything else, that comprises what your business looks like, although visual branding is VERY important. Great branding, systems, procedures, processesses, customer service, visibility, marketing and a functional product / service all work together to make a business effective. It’s a machine. But have you ever driven a car without an engine, or a tire, or ANY part that was not in decent working order? Not likely and if so, not very far. Better yet, have you ever pulled up to a lot to buy a new car and picked the most raggedy, paint chipped car in the lot? No. The way the car looked probably subliminally communicated to you that the car was in bad shape and not worth the time or money. The same goes with business. It communicates and helps your target customer identify who you are, what you have to offer and if they can trust you or not. (There’s more to it that we’ll talk about later) You can choose not to invest in branding, however, in order to elevate to the next level of success, it’s a necessity. You’re branded whether you intentionally invest or not. And a logo just won’t cut the entire cake. That’s only a portion of the surface.

This is precisely why most brands fail OR spend years flailing in the wind. They never intentionally invest in their branding and just approach it as an afterthought or luxury and rarely ever think in detail about the end goal, which is not always necessarily money. Instead, they take a one size fits all approach to branding. They come up with an idea, get a logo or a few flyers and a brochure (many times poorly executed, because their sole determinant is cost….we’ll discuss later) and think the battle is over. No. Just no. Three times no. Branding is a marathon. It takes time and strategy. Your overall business goals and structure will determine how you brand your business, which will determine what your visual branding looks like, from logo to color choice to marketing collateral (flyers, etc). This will in turn determine how people feel when they interact with your brand.

And I know that you’ll most likely want to skip this process altogether. You’re probably thinking Marvel has a huge budget and can afford to brand and I can’t. Not the case. Think quality, not quantity, and invest time in finding a designer that can help you brand the right way. Even if it does cost a little more now, imagine having to start all over again and invest MORE money into something that could’ve been done right from the start.

The market is saturated with others who do what you do and in order to get the sale or at least pique the customer’s interest you MUST stand out. In 2018, when we all depend so heavily on visual communication to survive and thrive (watch your tv for 2 minutes or log into Instagram), there is no option to blend in. But no worries. There are honestly enough differences in each business for us all to create a successful and distinctive brand, which is our unique thumbprint in the business world.