I love this quote from Seth Godin:
“Some people like really spicy food. Some people like bland food. Building a restaurant around ‘sorta spicy’ food doesn’t make either group happy.”
For a brand, choosing the middle ground is quicksand.
Most marketers know that attempting to appeal to everyone is a classic blunder. Brands that chase universal appeal often end up diluting their message, losing their distinctiveness, and becoming forgettable; the quest to appeal to everyone is usually not just futile, it’s a recipe for mediocrity.
Brands that try to sit on the fence often end up looking indecisive, insincere, or just plain bland.
Am I overstating the point?
Well maybe, but it’s important. Brands with a strong point of view are better equipped to inspire, engage, and create a sense of belonging.
Strong brands have strong opinions.
An example.
For decades, the beer market was dominated by a few major players offering similar products; mostly lagers. Then came the craft beer revolution. Breweries like BrewDog and Deya thrived – not by trying to mimic the big players, but by being deliberately different. Bold flavours and equally bold brands, appealed to a segment of the market that was thirsty (see what I did there?) for something unique.
They’re not for everyone. And that’s the point.
But it isn’t just about being different for the sake of being different; it’s about believing in something, standing up for it and then being true to those principles. In a world full of ‘also-rans’, brands with a strong, distinct point of view are the ones that stand out and succeed.
At least, they give themselves a better chance.
BrewDog connected with their audience on a deeper level, creating not just customers, but advocates and fans. This is the essence of a strong brand: not trying to be everything to everyone, but being something to someone.
Most brand managers know that it’s better to be loved by a few than vaguely acknowledged by many. Brand loyalty comes from attracting customers that believe what you believe.
To quote Simon Sinek, “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it”.
OK, so either that’s news to some people, or everyone knows it already.
If we all know it, why are there so many shite brands out there?
Well, there’s the ‘not-really-a-brand’ brands.
These are the ‘brands’ that don’t even attempt to carve out a position for themselves. The ones that have never really thought about it properly or think that a nice logo and some iStock images = marketing.
That’s most professional services brands*.
And it’s forgivable. If you don’t really understand brands, you can be forgiven for failing to create a stand-out brand. Don’t worry about it, you’re not alone**.
What is unforgiveable however, is the bullshit brand.
These are the brands that listen to customer opinions and trends, and then try to shape their story to fit the zeitgeist. And, in the quest to be seen to reflect public opinion, they succumb to bandwagon bullshit.
The rise of the bullshit brand
There’s a thin line between genuinely standing for something that people care about, and opportunistic “woke-washing”, where brands superficially latch onto causes without any real commitment.
When companies attempt to capitalise on social or political issues by adopting apparently progressive stances in their marketing, and have no genuine connection to the cause, or fail to enact meaningful change within their organisation, it can lead to public backlash.
And rightly so.
Consumers today are adept at distinguishing between believer brands, and bullshit brands.
BP, anyone? Their stated brand purpose is “Reimagining energy for people and our planet”.
Well, they can imagine all they want.
They may have invested in renewables and sustainability, but it’s a drop in the ocean compared to the damage they’ve caused.
Remember Deepwater Horizon?
14 years later, BP are still paying reparations amounting to more than $65bn.
This is beginning to sound like a personal attack. It isn’t.
They may well be serious about their future ambitions. But I suspect that in reality, shareholder profit comes first.
The story lacks authenticity.
A brand must be built either on the reality of the principles on which it was founded, or based on a genuine change of direction that the business is willing to make.
It’s about having an actual brand purpose.
And here’s the thing.
Brand purpose is only truly believable when a brand puts its purpose ahead of profit.
I’d be very surprised if that’s the case for any oil company.
There’s no point jumping on the environmental bandwagon if that’s not what your brand is genuinely about. You’ll be ridiculed.
Pick something more believable.
By all means, be more sustainable in your operations. Please do implement policies that encourage circularity in your supply chains. Definitely try to be better at these things than you are now. That’s a good thing and we all know it.
Go ahead and save the world, please.
But don’t pretend that saving the world is at the heart of your brand. It almost certainly isn’t. That’s not an authentic story, it’s not believable.
It’s bullshit.
We buy into brands that we can believe in.
It’s important to remember because, in the words of Bill Bernbach, creative genius and founder of Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB), “the most powerful element in advertising is the truth”.
Make sure your brand story is rooted firmly in the truth. If you don’t truly believe it, no-one else will.
*Definitely true.
**See earlier point about professional services brands.
