The 30-second lesson: The Power of Brand.

The world that you wake up to today is most likely different to the world you experienced just yesterday, and it’s certainly different to the world you thought you would be operating in for 2020. In these times, fundamental practices still apply and the power of a brand is more important than it has ever been … those that have or develop brand equity can leverage their brand to their advantage and those that don’t will suffer.

Your 5 takeaways:

Brand is more than a visual styling

Many people make the mistake that brand means a logo, color or typeface. Brand certainly encompasses a visual aesthetic, but its more accurately seen as a social magnet … both in terms of who your brand attracts and who your brand detracts. This encompasses how any individual perceives you across all their senses and the meaning that they apply to what they perceive.

Brand is about distinctions

Brand is an emotional construct and not a logical construct, so subtle shifts in perception can lead to dramatic results. For instance, Paul Thibodeau found that when crime is described as “a beast” people are more likely to suggest enforcement-oriented approaches to crime-reduction (e.g., by augmenting the police force); whereas when crime is described as “a virus”, people suggest systemic reforms for the affected community. This one-word change gave a noticeable shift in how people thought and responded.

Brand is not just the remit of big business

Everyone that interacts with anyone has a brand, not just the corporations that spend money on advertising. Advertising is the art of communicating the brand you want people to perceive and attempting to move their perception of your brand. How you act, how you communicate, how you do anything/everything is “your brand”.

Brand is a differentiator

Brand can be a major driver in revenue and sales and it plays out all around us. Brand is responsible for the Coke and Pepsi wars, the sale of cigarettes and a myriad of products where 2 competitors provide largely the same product to the end consumer. Those that seek to differentiate themselves from their competitors can often look at their brand vs the product themselves.

Brand is a major factor in pricing

Growth markets are far more brand sensitive and price insensitive … think the difference between coconut water and soda on shelves: the former sees a price variance of as much as 500% whereas soda is often priced to the cent. Even more acutely items such as Epsom Salts (flakes of magnesium that you add to a bath) can vary by as much as $7 for 1kg of a branded option vs $16 for 10kg of the non-branded choice. That’s a ratio of 4.3 to 1 for what is an identical product.

Actions

Your brand and messaging is crucial right now and is probably not fit for purpose in a CV19 world. Think about what you’re saying, both actively and passively and adjust to suit the new market we’re facing. As an example, a personal accident lawyer used to use messaging such as “we get you the most amount of money for your claim”. This will not be effective in our current environment. More effective messaging right now would be “we get you money for your claim quicker than anyone else”.