1. Turn around what you think a brand can be
Picture a brand and you probably imagine a logo leering from tall buildings and making people feel small.
But brands don’t just pull us towards the shop shelf. They turn us into consumers of football clubs, pop stars and even religions.
Brands are devices built to attract. They package up an ideal, an identity and an image. Something that those on the inside are proud of and those on the outside covet.
And no matter how worthy your fight, it needs this following to have impact. If you want to get people onside, you need to know how brands work.
2. We can learn from the great revolutions of the past
The idea of linking your noble intent with something as tawdry as branding might make you uncomfortable.
But no change has ever come from a round of kumbaya at the fringes. Successful revolutionaries have always used the techniques of advertising and marketing. The better the brand, the bigger the revolution.
Gandhi told us to be the change you want to see in the world. Brand that change and it can pull in an army of support that will multiply your impact.
3. When you pick the right fight, your brand can ignite that rage in others
The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire. And your brand can be the kindling.
It’s what turned two blokes growing mos into the world’s most influential voice on men’s health. What turned two murdered African-Americans into an international activist movement. What turned two comedians with red noses into a £1 billion commitment to fighting poverty.
None of them had worthier causes or more will to succeed. They simply had more people on their side.
And it’s never been easier to rally that army. The internet can spread your brand faster, further and cheaper than ever before. Make it your weapon of mass persuasion.
4. The formula for success is clear
Branding might be the alchemy, but its spells are easy to identify. The tactics are not only clear, they are replicable:
Pick a fight. Revolutions start with a no and end with a yes. Find a battle small enough to win but big enough to matter.
Establish an action. There’s no point rallying an army without a battle plan. Will your followers raise pressure, or raise funds? Are you shifting their behaviours or shifting their minds? Build an action that makes people part of the solution.
Lead a rally-cry. Your statement of intent. Your Black Lives Matter, your Ban the Bomb. The call to arms that will become your chant, your sign-off, your #hashtag.
Create a symbol. An icon that acts as an invitation to participate. A Red Nose, a Movember. Build it around your action. Then give your followers licence to play with it creatively.
Launch a mindbomb. An image that can’t be ignored. Shock your audience out of their indolence. Turn the volume up to 11. Spoon-feed the facts, force-feed the emotion. When everyone is silent, you’ll be amazed how loud one voice can be.
Develop propaganda. Worship at the temple of publicity with tactics that maintain a constant hum in popular culture. New stories, fresh ideas, content, opinion pieces. Never underestimate the power of small multiplied by often.
Finally, forge allies. Insure yourself against rejection and criticism with partners that can back you up. Lone wolves often starve; hunt with the hungriest pack you can find.
5. Great brands are easy enough to build
Coming up with the ideas that will create your brand is relatively easy. The tricky thing is making them happen. Fear sterilises progress. And anyone can ‘what if?’ themselves into inertia.
So the only way to finish is to start. Stop planning tomorrow. Jump in at the deep end and start making waves today.
Above all, never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. You’ll find it’s all who ever have.
