I was lucky enough to witness a speech a couple of years ago from two gold medal Olympic rowers which was fascinating and inspiring. The main question they continuously asked themselves to help focus on winning was: ‘Will it make the boat go faster?” I think this is a great question to apply to any marketing or business initiative that you are considering.
Build your brand
The question I would ask is a slight adaptation of this, which is ‘Does this build my brand?’ This can be anything from taking part in a local fashion event where you supply aperitifs and canapés all the way to deciding on your music playlist, but very few brands/companies/restaurants/pubs seem to apply this level of thought to leveraging every customer touch point inside and out to help build the brand or the perception of the brand in their minds (ie, the key messages you want them to know).
There are a few good examples going on out there that I will touch on, however the first step in being able to do this is to define what you are as a brand, define what you stand for (and what you don’t) and define also your tone of voice. This helps massively. You can then use this brand DNA/foundation as a lens to help answer the main question regarding brand building.
Getting it wrong
It has always confused and disappointed me when brands or companies get it wrong or miss an opportunity, like when I was at lastminute.com. Our chosen charity should have been something like an ecological island project or helping to support war-torn older holiday destinations, but instead it was NSPCC for no good reason. It didn’t tie back to the brand or build it or give us a story. It did not help build the brand (although I am sure we helped lots of needy children).
Getting it right
Flipping that on its head are YO! Sushi who reacted instantly to support the Japanese Tsunami project and Carluccio’s who do such a fabulous job in supporting Action Against Hunger.
Brands can also find opportunities in the most unlikely places such as the loos. YO! Sushi did just that when they launched YO! Flushi, a Japanese toilet that cost thousands but was worth it as it squirted water where the sun don’t shine. It gave YO! the chance to engage with people, to build the perception of what inspired the brand by bringing a slice of Tokyo to the UK, even during the most private of moments.
Belushi’s, the famous sports and music bars, are the same with their rock and roll urinals (they even have these in Head Office as a reminder to staff of what they stand for).
Make the most of opportunities
There are countless opportunities out there such as naming your kids club menu, turning the music you play into a cult radio station like Meat Mission did with Meat Transmission, and lots, lots more. It’s just genius. It takes time and effort, but the rewards are equally sizeable, if done well.
These are the small big things that all added together actually give you the joined-up brand that you are probably looking for over time.