BRAND PURPOSE
“People don’t buy what you do, they buy WHY you do it.” – Simon Synek. If you haven’t already had a chance to watch Simon’s Ted Talk about starting with your “why” you can do it HERE. It gives great insight into why finding your brand’s true purpose is key. It’s a powerful force that can motivate your employees and your customers to be a part of your brand’s tribe. Your brand’s purpose is your rallying cry. The employees know why they come to work every day, consumers know what the company stands for and the change your brand wants to be in the world.
Finding your company’s “why” must be accomplished first. Think of positioning as the fertile ground that allows a brand to germinate, grow and thrive. It is a driving factor laying out most of the other brand elements. The authentic answer to “Why you matter?” must be established before you can try to tell someone why you should matter to them.
BRAND PROMISE
The brand promise should be exactly what consumers can expect from your brand or service. It’s a measurable guarantee of value to your audience. It must convey a compelling benefit, it must be authentic and it must be kept EVERY TIME.
Sometimes the promise is your brand’s tagline but that doesn’t mean that it MUST be. Some examples of taglines and promises: “The Ultimate Driving Machine” -BMW, “Think Different” -Apple, “Save money. Live Better.” -Walmart
Sometimes, however, the promise is a more subtle message and it is shared through marketing and experiences. Some examples of no-tagline promises: “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.” -Nike, “To inspire moments of optimism and uplift.” -Coca Cola
BRAND VALUES
These are the core values behind your company, they can often seem a little generic and dry: reliable, Honest, efficient. But when they are driven by your “why” they should be actionable ideas that aren’t hung on a wall but are infused into the everyday actions of your team. Your team should be able to name and define them, and ideally, tell us how they drive your “why”. Leaders should take the responsibility of communicating and living their company’s core values every day and in every part of their work so the team can follow confidently.
BRAND PERCEPTION
Brand perception is how consumers feel about a brand based on the sum of all their experiences. Those experiences can be directly with the product or with the marketing. Brand perception is owned by consumers, not brands.
Keeping eyes and ears open in the marketplace is key to knowing how your brand is being perceived. Consistently looking for what is being said about your brand on social formats and surveys is incredibly important. You have to know where your brand is currently standing before you can try and shape what and how it is being perceived.
BRAND POSITIONING
This is defined as how a brand is different from its competitors and the position that a brand holds (or wants to hold) in the mind of the consumer. Our goal is to occupy a distinctive place and value in the target customer’s mind. Brand Positioning involves identifying and determining points of similarity and difference from your competitors. You can create a positioning statement that helps drive your strategy and create a measurable goal for where you want our brand to be.
BRAND VOICE
Brand voice is the unique personality infused into your company’s communications. It includes words and language you use and the image and personality you aim to evoke. Is it serious or fun? Soft-spoken or loud and to the point? This is where giving your brand an identity and placing them within an archetype comes in handy. It keeps the voice clear and focused. When you’re creating collateral or marketing for your company you can ask, “would my brand character say this? Would they sound like this?”
BRAND EXPERIENCE
This is comprised of the experiences you build with the consumer throughout all your brand touchpoints (MORE ON THOSE HERE). What physical and emotional feelings are being derived from those interactions? Ideally, your brand experiences will immerse your ideal consumer into your brand’s ethos. By creating an engaging, consistent experience that consumers interact with on thrown terms, you will increase your brand awareness and supercharge the call to your brand’s tribe.
TARGET AUDIENCE
A target audience is the demographic of people most likely to be interested in your product or service. When companies specify who their ideal customer is, the marketing can truly communicate straight to them. This saves both money and resources. Additionally, by selling products to a group of ideal users, you create an environment where word of mouth and product heroes can flourish. When you speak directly to a tribe your product is perfect for, you can become a significant, if not essential, part of that culture.
