Artful Realist

The US Marines Corps has just introduced a new advertising campaign entitled “Toward the Sound of Chaos.” The campaign builds off of research conducted by JWT that demonstrates potential recruits value “helping people in need.” This data point has been verified in numerous other studies I’ve written about in this blog and in my new book, Brand Real. Justice and community are consistently listed by young people 18-24 as important values that they seek in their brands.

This campaign is a significant reframing of the Marines as a brand. The question is: do you think it represents a new promise? And if so, is it credible? Check out the whole campaign, including an original series of videos created for Facebook.

The Folly of Standing Out Before Standing Up

I don’t mind telling you that the sentiment makes me a little crazy. I’ve heard it said so many times, often in the board rooms of venture capitalists and cubicles of aspiring entrepreneurs. Today, I read it in a tweet. It goes likes this:

“…Quality isn’t job 1. Standing out is job 1. Quality is important, but doesn’t matter if u are unnoticed.”

The tweet was from a branding expert, in response to a question about content in his book. Judging by the retweets and mentions, his audience loved it. Too bad it is dead wrong.

Read More

Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.

// William Shakespeare

A sentence is understood more easily if it describes what an … agent does than if it describes what something is, what properties it has.

// 

Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow

I love this quote because it validates something I have been telling brand strategists for years: a brand promise should be active, not existential. Strategists love to write promises that declare what a brand is. But these promises are harder to grasp and less likely to stick in memory. We understand characters in action. The next time you think about defining your brand this way — “Brand X is a …” — think again. Don’t tell me what your brand is. Tell me what it does.

I, (your name), acting as a spokesperson for the (brand name) brand, promise that we will deliver (value/benefits of the brand) and make you feel (emotional benefits of the brand) in all of your experiences with our brand. If our brand fails to keep this promise, please contact me at (your contact information).

// I’m launching a project—publicly state your brand promise. Keep it simple. Entrepreneurs ask me all the time what it takes to create a strong brand. It starts by committing to something as simple as this. Are you willing to go on record with your brand’s promise?

Consumers want brands they can trust. But building trust isn’t easy. You have to be truly who you are. What you claim to be. A lot of marketers have not embraced that concept yet.

// John Replogle, CEO Seventh Generation Quoted in The Delaney Report, November 7, 2011