Who do you think you are?

If you think brand identity is a logo and a brand name, you’re half right. In reality, brand identity is about know who you are and what you stand for.

Simon Sinek has sold a truckload of books telling us that the first thing we need to do is find our why. The ‘why’ sits at the centre of what he calls his Golden Circle. He sees the centre of the circle as the key to understanding what it is that drives you. When you know what this thing is, it allows you to inspire and lead others. It also gives you the ability to inspire others through your marketing message.

As he says, people don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it.

One of his simplest examples is Apple. If they were to express their ‘why’ it would be to say something like “In everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo.”

How has recognition of that belief changed their marketing? Well, if you can remember Apple’s Think Different campaign (‘Here’s to the crazy ones’) you can see that there’s a perfect correlation.

Simon’s ‘why’ is powerful stuff. The only problem is, how do you do that? How do you step back, have a good look at yourself and find your why? It’s hard. Especially when you’ve been running the business for a while and you’re immersed in more of the what and the how than the why.

You do have the answers sitting somewhere in the back of your head. You just don’t know how to access them. That’s where a good consultant can come in handy.

It’s often been said that a consultant is someone who asks to borrow your watch and then tells you what time it is. It does feel that way. As soon as the words come out of their mouth, you can’t help but think that you should’ve known that.

These people have a knack. They see what other people can’t. And if they’re really good, they’re worth the investment.

When you know who you are, it’s not just about your communications. It’s about getting everyone in your team on the same page. When your people really believe in your brand’s why, they bring the promise to life.  

Lots of different businesses have found their brand’s identity with Switch Communications. True, they probably didn’t walk in the door asking about identity. Usually they drop by with a request for a website, a brochure or a logo. And that’s a perfectly logical place to start. But if they like the work, and they like working with us, trust builds bit by bit, and the work can often evolve to something more powerful.

Over the years, we’ve helped universities, banks, dairies, childcare centres, real estate agents, architects, caryards, financial planners and thousands of other businesses big and small to create and strengthen brands that are authentic, relatable and memorable. And we’d love to do the same for you.

BTW if you liked the photo in this article, it was by Carson Arias on Unsplash

Are you a business or a brand?

You might think you’re a brand. You have a great logo, and the website is stunning. But are you a brand?

Seth Godin is pretty brutal in defining whether or not you’ve made the grade. He says “If the consumer doesn’t pay a premium…then no brand value exists for that consumer.” One of the examples he uses to illustrate that point is the hotel industry.

We’ve all heard of Hilton and Sheraton. They’re brands right? Well, maybe not. If you booked rooms at each of these hotels, would the décor be different? How about the experience? They’d probably be similar, wouldn’t they? You could even say they were interchangeable. Which is why guests are often happy to base their choice on the deals they can get from booking.com or wotif or trivago.

Seth takes this example one step further and asks us what we’d think about Nike having a hotel chain. It would be totally different wouldn’t it? Consumers would expect energy, excitement, attitude. And they’d know they were going to get. Not only that, if they’re fans of the Nike brand, they’d probably be willing to pay a few dollars more to stay at a Nike hotel.    

Where do you think you sit on the business-brand continuum? Are you providing a product or service that’s pretty much a parity offering? Or do you have a brand that people seek out, talk about and pay a premium for?

There are a lot of ingredients that go into determining where you sit. How well have you defined your promise? How well have your people embraced your vision? How consistent are you in your messaging?

If you ask yourself the tough questions, and you’re prepared to switch things up, you’re well on your way to becoming a brand.    

 BTW if you liked the photo in this article, it was by Tara Chernus on Unsplash