We say we craft “purposeful, passionate” brands. But aside from the marketing speak, what do we really mean? What is a purposeful, passionate brand?
For us, discovering the “why” behind the what is paramount. Whether we’re partnered with a Fortune 500, building on established legacy, or with a startup, planning out the early stages of a business and brand plan – understanding what makes each client tick, their hopes and desires, and maybe most importantly, their most captive audience, leads to creative work that doesn’t just look pretty sitting on a shelf, but rather is intentional and useful for intended users.
Growing your organization, gaining momentum as a startup, changing the name of your company, a new logo or a website redesign project…all of these are marketing challenges. They’re challenges because humans make choices (at its core, marketing is about combatting and meeting these challenges with creative solutions) – and your goal, our goal, is to make those choices simpler, and to direct customers and followers to your purpose and/or product.
Marketing, and branding, as Seth Godin so aptly puts, is the “difficult work of telling a story that resonates, of bringing a consistent set of promises to people who want to hear them.”
As difficult as it may be to understand – and embrace – your brand is not for you, it is for them. “Them” is different for each of us – but they’re the most important and integral piece to the marketing puzzle. Tapping into what they want, putting yourself in their shoes, and thinking critically about what matters most to them is the most important thing you can do when developing a strategy for your brand and business.
Branding isn’t about shortcuts. It’s not about a flashy new logo. It’s not about hustle, or lingo, or deception. Branding is the art (and science) of creating a platform that gives your target audience ownership in the brand: brand ownership, advocacy, and pride. Be the kind of brand that speaks to your target audience and fills a need, and witness the power of all the (positive) talking they’ll do about you. Your brand isn’t for you. It’s for them.