Stand for Something or Brand for Nothing: Where Marketing Breaks

The Millennial generation forced brands to reinvent marketing. If you’ve done your homework, you know who your superfans are and what they believe in. Your brand will win or lose a loyal following based on how well you understand the golden rule of modern marketing — your audience isn’t buying a product, they’re buying into the idea of what your brand stands for, and how it reflects their own values. Before they commit to purchase, they need to trust your brand. And if they don’t know what you stand for, your message is not credible. No trust, no deal.

To make informed decisions, people need to see a clear point of view to help them navigate the sheer volume of messages and choices across the web, traditional and social media, mobile and physical worlds. So whatever your product, make sure your brand promise and purpose set the tone in all messages and engagements. In short, show your POV.

• This is why we built this.
• This is who we built it for.
• This is the lifestyle and values we represent.

Craft those ideas into a narrative that’s easy to understand in every touch point. Be where your audience gathers, and consistently inspire them to think, link, laugh, and share.

HOW TO DEFINE A BRAND POV

Nemo recently worked with Bell Sports on a brand foundation project. The goal was to identify the truths about the audience, brand history, and set a trajectory for the future. One exercise that helped us dimensionalize the brand values was to articulate what the brand does, and doesn’t, stand for. We call it the IS / ISN’T test. A few examples:

The list was just one part of a comprehensive document we built that set the tone for the brand’s comeback. The project ultimately changed the course of Bell’s marketing communications, caused a company-wide reorganization, and realigned the product direction to reflect these values. The first product they launched with this new brand POV in place, the Full-9 helmet, was the only full face helmet included in one the of the bicycle industry’s most important and influential “best of” lists for 2013 — The Dirt 100 by UK-based Dirt Magazine.

Standing for something needs to extend beyond just writing it down in a PowerPoint. It’s about your organization and audience sharing it, believing it and living it. You need to do things that are real. Real = trust.