Have You Ever Fallen in Love with a Brand?
A few months ago, I reconnected with some former colleagues for a night out where we got to catch up and reminisce about our time together. The marketing director, Melinda, told me a story of how one of our colleagues, prior to joining the team, saw our company booth at a conference, large in the center of the room, commanding attention, and thought: I wonder what it's like to be in love with a brand? While neither of us had thought about it in those terms, we knew exactly what that felt like—we had fallen in love with our company brand.
Melinda and I worked closely together on Abt Associates' brand and we often joked that we shared a brain. She could say a few words and barely finish her sentence and I already knew where she was headed and how to approach the solution. We worked seamlessly together — along with an amazing and dedicated team — pushing the company's brand forward to stand out in a competitive and crowded field of government contractors. That brand was our baby! We nurtured and protected it — and helped it grow.
It may sound silly to be in love with a brand, but the best brands do more than interact with their audience on a transactional level—they create experiences, evoke emotions, and inspire. Our investment in a brand through work is more personal than those with which we interact—our energy, creativity and brain power fuel it. But the ultimate goal is that our audiences' feel some level of that connection we work so hard to create.
So, just was is it that makes a brand so lovable?
It's strategic. Every message, detail, and action has a purpose. And all of those pieces support the mission/business goals.
It's consistent. Sometimes so consistent that it may make you as an ambassador of your brand a little fatigued. But consistency creates familiarity which leads to audience trust and engagement.
It's flexible enough to grow. I know that may sound like a contradiction to the point above, but the best brands are able to maintain consistency while staying fresh—and relevant—over time, especially in a digital world that is rapidly changing.
Are you in love with your brand?