When we give love, we get love!! …. A sound marketing strategy to deepen your connections and relationships, across everyone that interacts with your brand: staff, customers, suppliers, board members, investors, communities, etc.
Given the vast number of brands vouching for attention, connection and dollars – it’s never been more important to lead in this way. There’s a catch though… the love you give needs to be honest and real. It needs to come from an authentic place. People are smart, they will sniff out ‘token gesture’ and it will have a detrimental impact on your brand.
So where do we start? Before we think about how we show love, we need to take a look inside and understand who we really are. It’s the combination of what we do, how we do, why we do it, where we do it and who does it – the reason why someone chooses to invest in your brand, work for your brand, innovate with your brand, support your brand or buy your brand!
Your Brand truth.
Who are you?
Glow
The knowing is the most important. We all have the knowing, it’s the reason why we do what we do. Sometimes we don’t know, we know. Sometimes we become distracted and have lost the connection to our knowing. Other times we cannot find the words or a means to simplify the message / story.
When we have reconnected / realigned with our knowing, it’s important to then embed this into everything we do. This is the building of brand. We are forever building our brand – as we evolve, as the world evolves, as life evolves. We are also forever sharing our brand – with people that will one day see our brand as an important part of who they are.
so we better get started!
Firstly know that there is a difference between brand and branding. Brand is the who we are and the meaning we bring to people’s lives, Branding is the words, symbols, images, sounds, movements that represent the brand. They remind us of what the brand stands for.
Brand is a long game. It never ends. You are continually building and evolving. It’s not a one person job. It involves everyone who connects with your brand. This is the fundamental reason why getting clear on who you are is so important. Otherwise you will be pulled in all different areas, creating inconsistency and confusion and missing the opportunity to convey your true value.
The beautiful thing about building a brand is that the more connected people become, the more they feel a sense of ownership of the brand. It becomes a part of, not just their lives, but who they are.
Like the legendary Johnny Farnham, Celeste is The Voice. Not entirely sure how to label her as she straddles a number of fences around bloody big paddocks. Sales, marketing, print, online, e-commerce, thought leadership and campaigns.
It’s rare to see someone light up in equal amounts on delivering strategy and execution, and I think this is why Celeste has the X factor.
When I started working with Celeste, I had no idea of what the difference between brand and branding was. I thought I might be getting a shiny new logo but what I got was so much more. From our initial consultation and exploration, through to the production of my brand manifesto, she has taken me on a journey of discovery of myself, my clients and the impact I want to make in the world.
Celeste is an inspirational business and thought partner. She is fully invested in me and my success, and cares deeply about my work, my brand and my message. And it’s fun. Our conversations and planning days are punctuated with lots of laughs, whilst getting the work done.
I would recommend Celeste and Run Partners without reservation. Her commitment, experience and creative talent is the difference that is making a difference to my business and enabling me to level up.
Frankly, I just love working with her.
The perfect business to down-load on. They then slice, dissect, rebuild, and present back – a processed approach that includes both business and creative thinking with clarity.
Nothing is ever too much. I find them highly attentive.
Brand Next Level! – Our latest post
A cinematic experience!
Whatever you are creating, start by designing the time that it will inhabit. Time is the one commodity that is profoundly finite. Once a moment passes, you can never get it back. A great time lives happily in memory; a bad time can hurt forever. Designing an experience that gives value to time is the surest way to create meaning and impact.”
All this from Bruce Mau. Highly recommend his book. He is a world renowned creative director .. and rightly so.
The level of thought and effort that goes into achieving ‘cinematic’ says so much about a brand. How they value their audience, how they value themselves and, I would go even as far to say, how they value life.
Everything is cinematic – is a bit of a stretch. There are some social posts out there that don’t feel the least bit cinematic! Bruce Mau would suggest this is bad cinema! However the point of considering the time that your brand inhabits is a very good one. Less about us and more about how the viewer will experience this moment. That doesn’t mean we don’t show our products or talk about who we are and what we do – but we do it in a captivating way. A way that keeps the audience completely in the moment.
Some brands play the more is more game – this may be absolutely right for them and where they are. The brands I absolutely love would never put stuff out there to fill a space. Their ‘pattern of behaviour’ is very considered, deliberate and creative, and so it makes you value them more.
Once you achieve good cinema, then the next goal is getting time to stop. That’s the jackpot!!!! Let me know how you go. 🙂
