Topics

Meaningful Brands

Bridging the Meaning Gap

November 11, 2014 —

Bridging the Meaning Gap

A great post by Tom Fishburne talks about the risks of going too far in your efforts to matter to people. He cites the example of the “Dove Campaign For Real Beauty”, a notable example of a meaningful brand presence, which started as a concept many steps up the brand ladder. When those “too grandiose” ideas were shot down by real people (formerly known as consumers), the focus turned to building meaning from the product up. The lesson: in your pursuit to bridge the meaning gap, and to create more meaning around your business, product, service or brand (a smart thing...
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Build a Stronger Business by Embracing Your Brand’s Hidden Truths

February 21, 2020 —

Build a Stronger Business by Embracing Your Brand’s Hidden Truths

Behind every brand there stands a set of as-yet realized or evergreen truths. These truths have the power to change the way you, and everyone vital to your brand’s success, think, feel, and act with respect to your brand. These truths emerge when the many things your brand does are seen in light of their meaningful outcomes. This means analyzing the actions, attitudes, and behavior of the organization. It also means assessing the organization’s policies and procedures. In each case, the search is for the positive and meaningful outcomes that result. Not only true, but meaningful...
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Should You Aspire to Have a Meaningful Brand?

July 21, 2014 —

Should You Aspire to Have a Meaningful Brand?

The idea o a  “meaningful brand” is taking industry by storm as more and more enterprises look for ways to prevail in the 21st Century, a time of great change and innovation. Should you join this bandwagon? Not before you fully understand what it means to be a meaningful brand, what it entails from an organizational change point of view, and what it can do for your business. Here, we provide top-line answers to a few of the most commonly asked questions. What is a meaningful brand? A brand transcends the market when it decides to look beyond the profit agenda and see its business...
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The Eighth Deadly Sin of Marketing

June 26, 2014 —

The Eighth Deadly Sin of Marketing

Image by Tom Fishbourne. The eighth deadly sin is “indifference”. Indifference to the changing values, needs, interests and aspirations of the people formerly known as consumers. Indifference to their need to be connected to meaningful ideas. Indifference to their desire to do meaningful things.Indifference to the fact that people matter more than budgets, promotions, social media, etc., etc. In our paper, “The Meaning Gap”, we explore how the interests of businesses, and the people formerly known as employees, are going in separate directions. We also explore the consequences...
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Meaningful Workplace – Getting Employees to Respond Positively

March 4, 2014 —

Meaningful Workplace – Getting Employees to Respond Positively

Meaningful Workplaces are built by companies that aim to produce a more meaningful outcome from, and for, their people. To become meaningful, these companies adopt a new stance vis-à-vis their relationship with their employees. They strive to reduce the distance that’s been imposed through organization structures and prevailing attitudes. They seek stronger emotional connections up, down, and across their enterprise. They see their task as making their company fit for the future by making it fit for humans. They create a Meaningful Workplace master plan that defines their compelling reason...
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Social Business Driven by Meaning

November 6, 2013 —

Social Business Driven by Meaning

Stowe Boyd is a researcher, speaker and writer working principally on social tools and their impact on media, business and society. Back in 2012 he told delegates at the Meaning 2012 Conference in the UK that we are entering the age of “Post-normal Business”. For Boyd, “Postnormal Business” results from a series of fundamental shifts for business: “’Leadership’ has changed when a decentralized group of people can take down a government. ‘The Value Chain’ has changed when the customer is no longer just the ‘buyer’ but also a...
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Meaningful Brand Strategies: The Consumers Perspective

October 31, 2013 —

Meaningful Brand Strategies: The Consumers Perspective

Consumers are expecting a lot from businesses, according to the 2013 Cone Communications/Echo Global CSR Study. Consider these findings relative to the role of a business’s social responsibility: “As global citizens become increasingly aware of businesses’ behaviors and CSR initiatives – in part because of social 
media, they are also becoming more astute about both corporate and consumer impacts. Around the world, the majority 
of consumers feel both individuals and corporations are having some degree of positive influence on social and environmental issues; however, just one-quarter feels...
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Employee Engagement: Turn Low Morale Into Purposeful Behavior

April 1, 2013 —

Employee Engagement: Turn Low Morale Into Purposeful Behavior

High morale. High energy. High interest. High collaboration. High innovation. Why not? Just ask, “What is standing between what our company needs and what our people really want?” You’ll see there’s a lack of balance. Your company needs your employees’ blood and sweat. Whereas, your people need better reasons than you now provide to invest their energy in helping your business succeed. The way to create a purposeful workplace balance is to evolve your brand’s intent, attitude and behavior: Make it your brand’s intent to matter to the people you...
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Meaningful Businesses Use Meaningful Language

October 16, 2012 —

Meaningful Businesses Use Meaningful Language

As the cartoonist Hugh McLeod puts it, “I don’t get it: People who hope to be successful by offering the same crap as everybody else, who hope to be successful by offering the SAME LANGUAGE as everybody else.” All too often, all the companies competing in a category use the same language to describe their products and the benefits they offer. That is, until one company stands out and starts striving to matter to people by approaching them on a meaningful level. A key part of our consulting service is providing clients with ways to behave in order to become more meaningful to...
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Meaning Has a Direct Impact on Business

September 30, 2012 —

Meaning Has a Direct Impact on Business

If your business isn’t doing as well as you think it could – and should – then it’s time to consider the reasons why. Why aren’t people doing all the things you need them to do? Why are they resisting your attempts to change the way they think and act? What are people looking for that you aren’t supplying? There’s a sea of change in the way people feel about the decisions they make. They no longer simply act out of greed, capriciousness, and the need for thrills. They pause. They reflect. They consider. They ask themselves: “What is the impact...
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