Topics

brand behavior


Brand Strategy Without Brand Behavior = A Car Without an Engine

Brand Strategy Without Brand Behavior = A Car Without an Engine

Brand strategy is step one. Defining the shifts to the brand required to live the new brand strategy is step two. We call that brand behavior. It’s becoming increasingly clear that brands need to run deep if they are to prevail in today’s world. This is because modern brands need to compete with not only each other, but also with an overwhelming number of ideas, considerations, and issues that flood the minds and hearts of the people important to any brand’s success. To cut through this noise, and to stand out in a meaningful way, brands need to exude a holistic and deeply...
Read more >

Is Your Brand’s Biggest Threat…Your Brand?

Is Your Brand’s Biggest Threat…Your Brand?

  Someone once asked Larry Page what presented the single biggest threat to Google. “Google”, he said. That’s right. Larry Page believes his own company is a threat unto itself. Is your brand’s biggest threat… your brand? It is, if people don’t understand why your brand matters. It is, if people don’t feel your brand is emotionally important. It is, if by “people” you mean not only your customers, but also your employees, partners, suppliers…indeed all the people vital to your brand’s success. Turn what might possibly be...
Read more >

Delight Is Harder To Deliver Than Just Say

Delight Is Harder To Deliver Than Just Say

I went back to find an older article I remember reading about the use of the word “delight” when talking about products due to a recent conversation with a client. “You can’t make a product delightful just by calling it delightful.” Above is a quote from Joshua Reeves Founder of ZenPayroll, now Gusto talking about Silicon Valley’s tendency to look beyond algorithms and code when describing their products. The article quotes numerous CEOs using the “delight” word to describe the impact they hope their offerings deliver. They all, of course, start to sound the same. To put the...
Read more >

Beyond Identity: Achieving a Presence That Matters

Beyond Identity: Achieving a Presence That Matters

A new product or service is ready to be launched. A logo, a set of colors and a design look and feel are decided. A brand guidelines PDF is published. And, for many people, a brand has been established. But for products and services to survive in today’s world, much more needs to be done. In today’s world, branded products and services need to go beyond establishing an identity and create a presence that truly matters. Going beyond brand guidelines, they need to take on a presence-defining behavior that engages, enchants and gratifies people – by linking what the brand does...
Read more >

What Does Purpose Look and Feel Like for Your Brand

What Does Purpose Look and Feel Like for Your Brand

Sometimes It’s Not What You Add To A Brand, But What You Take Out We were reminded of the story of the sculptor who was asked how he managed to fashion a beautiful elephant out of a piece of granite. He replied, “By chipping away all the pieces that didn’t look like an elephant”. What elements of your brand strategy “don’t look (or feel) like your brand”? Does your brand’s purpose look (and feel) right? Your brand’s purpose, its reason for being or ambition is the key to the meaning you create (or fail to create) in this world. If your...
Read more >