How to discover your brand concept
I have bemoaned the state of brand concepts, pointing to the massive amount of bland, uninteresting executions that fill our screens today.
It feels like such a departure from past days when more brands made the extra effort to be evocative, interesting, and thought-provoking. Today, it feels like the majority is satisfied with pushing something out that's 'good enough'. The new standard is 'average at best'.
I find this disappointing. I want more brands to recognize the value of our attention. We're all trying to handle the ever-increasing cognitive load that today's information overload has created. If brands want our attention (little alone our preference), they must start demonstrating that they recognize and respect what a precious commodity our attention is.
Okay, let me climb down from my soapbox and we'll look at how we can remedy this with a (more-powerful-than-we-give-it-credit-for) tool. Our words.
Laying the foundation
It's easy to believe that we can't create those really kick-ass brand concepts because we can't design or have the mastery of a graphics program.
Here's a secret. Great brand messages start with your words.
When I help clients, we begin by creating a brand platform. This lays the foundation for our brand messaging. You know what that brand platform is created with? Words.
I like to include the following in my brand platforms:
A purpose statement - this helps you clarify the invaluable core element that will help you create those kick-ass brand concepts (check out my book Big Audacious Meaning – Unleashing Your Purpose-Driven Story for the process to create this).
A brand positioning statement - this identifies the key elements that impact your brand message - from who you're hoping to serve to the benefit of the benefit. I have created an alternative to this usually mechanical-sounding statement that turns it into something enchanting. I call it the Thrust Story Framework. You can find it in my book as well as in this post.
A brand promise - this is drawn from the positioning statement. It isolates and amplifies the most compelling thing you do for those you hope to serve. When you start with purpose, this becomes even more powerful.
A rallying cry - this is the distillation of the brand promise to just a handful of highly evocative words. It should be a statement your team members rally around and your prospects are drawn to.
A brand anthem - this is your brand's manifesto captured in a few powerful paragraphs. It reflects your positioning, but more importantly, it expresses your purpose and promise. This is the kind of language that everyone the brand engages will find irresistible. Oftentimes, it's a natural extension to roll out a brand anthem video from this language.
A real-world example
Okay, but how does all this become that kick-ass brand concept? Here's an example from my past. It's for a brand called Protassium+ – an all-natural potassium source that growers use on tomatoes, almonds, potatoes, and other crops (which just goes to show that any brand can embrace great brand messaging no matter how boring you think the product may be).
Here are a few details from the brand platform elements:
Protassium+ is not the cheapest alternative. Instead, it is a product that helps improve yields and the quality of those yields. Embracing this position fit the ethos of the growers the brand serves. Those who believe in doing things the right way and not cutting corners.
The purpose of this all-natural offering addresses the ever-growing food needs in our world. It is encapsulated in this statement: "Improving the way we feed the world through the responsible transformation of the earth's resources."
We identified early that honoring this breed of grower was key in creating our rallying cry, our anthem, and more.
With a solid foundation in place, we set about to create exceptional brand language. A concept that was compelling and inspiring that could carry all our messaging.
We captured it in 9 words:
Because you believe in bringing more to the table.
I love when a brand concept can be interpreted in multiple ways. The first time you see it, you may interpret it very literally. The next time you see it, you find yourself moved by the alternative meaning of the words. That's what made this brand concept powerful:
It could be read as the benefit of a brand that increases yields and quality.
It could be read as honoring growers by recognizing that they refuse to cut corners
It could be read as a call to help fulfill the purpose of feeding the world by helping improve our food production
This concept established how the brand was thought of. How it was differentiated. And why it was preferred. And all it took was 9 words.
The power of a concept for your brand
It's easy to slap together some mundane language about the brand and throw it out there. We're all overwhelmed by the mass of these messages.
I'm still amazed at brands that complain that they can't seem to gain any traction in their market when this is the most they are willing to do.
The lesson I've learned over the years is that if you want your brand to be truly special, you need to lay the foundation. Then you need to let that guide you. Guide you to the kick-ass concept that will change everything for you and your brand.