“Demonstrate, don’t just declare. You could have the sunniest visual identity and happiest tagline, but if your brand’s identity doesn’t translate to the smiling faces of your employees, it is all for naught. If your brandmark bespeaks intelligence and professionalism, so must the girl who answers the telephone, or the guy who stands at the cash register.”
So says Alina Wheeler, author of Designing Brand Identity (a book we casually reference around here as the “brand Bible”).
It’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to shape your brand to what you think it needs to be, what you think your audience wants, or what others might be doing, but let today be a reminder that the perception of your brand isn’t what you say – but what you do.
Perhaps Caddyshack’s Ty Webb says it best: “Stop thinking, let things happen, and be the ball”.
Every single thing you do – everything you are – is your brand. You are the brand.
Demonstrate. Don’t just declare.