I’d like to give you a few tips on the vexing subject of branding. A few pearls I’ve picked up along the way that, if applied vigorously with determination will give you solid foundations upon which not just to grow your company, but transform the way you do business.
As an artist, entrepreneur and small business owner myself, having run and set up several successful businesses, and having worked with numerous clients in my capacity as a brand “expert”, I hope I might persuade you that putting brand first will make all the difference to your business. Regardless of size, regardless of market and regardless of the resource available. Putting the brand of your band first will give you the clarity of purpose and cohesion that will separate you from your competitors. It will allow you to position yourself as the first class act that you are. And it will give you the freedom to be the expressive business you want to become.
But let’s first do a health check. You know what brand is, right? Well… actually I think you do too. There’s lots of theory and waving of arms on the subject, but in essence you and I both instinctively know what brand is. Let’s face it; branding is in fact a common-sense idea. It’s a concept that comes from the very stuff we are made of, our identity or its parts: our personality, character, nature, value systems, culture, our clothes, our choice of friends, our associations and beliefs, our perspective on life, our passion and even our dreams. And for the purpose of this article, I’d like to keep that as our frame of reference. Forget all the theory for the moment. Let’s keep this simple: The brand of your business – that is, the collection of souls, its culture, services, products, buildings and the like – is more or less the same idea as something you’re actually very familiar with. You!
Hold that at the tip of your tongue and keep it there for good measure – our definition of “brand” is “identity”. You know the rest. We’ll come back to that shortly.
Here’s another thought. And it’s well worth pausing on this one for a moment. It’s something many of us overlook. And yet others do by default, and even so are afraid to admit it. And then it’s also well understood that many of the world’s leading entrepreneurs swear by it. For me? This is the key ingredient in the branding cycle, and the very heart that is missing from many businesses.
I’m talking about intuition here, or instinct, gut feel, imagination, creativity or just that fancy stuff of the sensory right-brain. It’s the place where eureka moments come from, sure, but it’s much more than that. It’s actually where all decisions come from.
And yet we don’t really believe that do we? Even as artists. We certainly don’t support our intuitive side very well.
For instance, have you noticed how many negative words associate so well, like: impulse, fancy, whim, off with the fairies, arty, quirky! In fact, so much emphasis is placed on its nemesis, the rational time-based orderly binary left-brain “CEO” part of our brain, its no surprise that intuition doesn’t get great press. And yet, when it comes to creating a brand, or indeed a successful enterprise, nothing could be more important than your intuitive skill, embrace it! And if you feel uncomfortable about that, make sure you have got someone close to you who can.
If you’re still not convinced just ponder on the following: In every action there was a thought that preceded it. In every thought there was an image or feeling projecting the possibility of realising a dream. And… to reach the moon, you have to stare at the stars. Or… the harvest you reap is the result of the seeds you sew. What about the split second it takes to notice how important the person opposite is going to be in your life. And if the feeling’s mutual, well wow!
Let’s face it, our unconscious intuitive mind is very much a part of how we live our lives. Promise me, trust it, and it will server you well. The answers you’re looking for can only be found when you embrace it.
Embracing your creativity will change how you present yourself to the world; and how you attract and reinforce alliances and friendships; and how you manage to not just barely survive, but how you manifest your goals and dreams beyond your imagination, and how you innovate and add value to the world around you; and of course how you protect your family, your business and your world; all these strategies and tactics are what branding is about. And… it’s the stuff of life!
Please note! Every business should put branding at the centre!
So… that’s pretty out there. And I’m glad you noticed. We needed a bit of kite flying. But before we ground, let’s just check that. Three of the most important lessons in building a brand:
- It ain’t rocket science!
- You know everything you need to know!
- Your intuitive mind is key!
Now, before I leave some of you wondering what all that was about, I’d like to finish with some earthy stuff. All artists need a bit of grounding from time to time. You may not like to admit it, but a few numbers, statistics or figures will prove I’m telling the truth. Stop. Actually I’ll let you visit the design council for that. There’s plenty of evidence. Go do some research to be sure if that’s what cooks your oil.
Well perhaps one anecdote. For sixteen years I’ve been running an identity and marketing practice in Reading, Berkshire. The most exciting moment is seeing a customer of many years with eyes glistening, sharing the story of how their ideas have just hit the big time… and their dream delivered! Yes! Branding! It has all you need to distinguish yourself. To stand out in a crowded world. To help communicate a reputation and promise ahead of you. To help you define your strategies, your tactics, and even how to colour coordinate your Christmas card!
But I digress. I want to give you one final tip. The rest will have to wait till we meet. We do a mean Danish pastry if you’re game to carry on this conversation to discover how other artists have used their innate understanding of branding to succeed.
When we get too fluffy in our company, we settle our stomachs with a good dose of processed design. The design industry is good at this, and well… we’ve developed our own method which I think you might find useful to hear from the horse’s mouth.
We use this method religiously, and it helps everyone. It provides clear gateways. It’s provides obvious goal setting opportunities. It even has a neat go-back-home routine which gets us out of deep do dos from time to time. I’ll keep this brief, because again – I hope unsurprising in the context of this muse – it’s all about common sense. But we’ve developed a neat way of remembering it. There are seven steps in all. I’ll tell you the first four. You’ll need to visit our website to get more information on this powerful tool.
Step one is to Discover who you are. This is all about getting under the skin of your idea or band, using right-brain thinking. What I mean by that is “without prejudice”. Just sweet observation. Amazing insights come from this approach. When you take the time to ask, you audience will say the most amazing things about you performance, songs and messages.
Step two is to Define your priorities. The previous close look will unveil new possibilities, but dreams are not enough to bring some certainty. This stage lets the left brain take some time to prioritise the high success factors such as audience, channel, geography or marketing strategy! This is about resource managements. With branding you only spend money on the stuff that will make the big difference to reaching your goals.
Step three is to Decide on your big idea. Some people call this the BAHG, which stands for Big Audacious Hairy Goal. Makes sense. You need to be thinking only about being No1 in your game. We only remember the gold trophies! We only want the best. But don’t worry, it’s about being best in the world that you define, and in a global market place, with the right route, you could do well. A good shake of authenticity is good here too. Don’t leave that out.
Step four is to Design your framework.
Well… that’s where I’m going to leave you hanging. Please, we’d love to hear from you.
Let’s see how I did. A few tips. Yeh, right. Told you nothing you didn’t already know. Doesn’t that feel great!
Arthur op den Brouw
