In today’s environment, brands have many challenges to overcome if they are to have staying power, and foster long term growth. Social media, with all its iterations and accompaniments, has truly terraformed a new landscape for brands to share their experience with consumers. While there are many ways for a brand to connect to their consumer from the traditional to more modern technologies and concepts, a brand should be built on strong fundamental principles that guide its hand in utilizing all the various tools we have available.
Brand experience is about storytelling and building a connection, this authentic brand experience should always be a top priority and your guiding North Star. Positioning your brand to stay relevant with your ever evolving consumer as well. Below are five ideas that have helped guide me in my work to create holistic brand experiences.
1.Find your true purpose
Look past what you may be selling and don’t confuse that outcome or execution with your actual
brand purpose. For example, your purpose could be as simple as “making people’s lives better”
one product at a time.
2. It’s all about culture
Remember that a brand is as much about creating a culture, one that not only faces outwardly to
your consumer but just as importantly within your organization. Always be uplifting your people
within the organization as they will be the engine of your brand to share its joy out to the world.
3. Invite everyone in
Big catch phrase coming up: Be Transparent. Transparency I believe will be a powerful concept in
our future world. We can all find out just about anything we want to know on any given subject at
any time in our world today. So why not be as transparent as possible with the world and your
consumer, there is power and equity in that honestly.
4. Let your Purpose, Culture and Transparency be a guide
Working with those key concepts in mind to create the right holistic brand experience for your
consumer. By doing so, you’re creating an inviting inclusive brand experience that will be flexible
enough to evolve and grow with your end user.
5. Don’t let growth or scale dilute the first 4 ideas
Obviously making a profit and a very large one at that is the goal, however those desired outcomes
should not dictate your business strategy. Staying true to the real Intend, focusing on your Culture
(people), being Transparent (inclusive) should always be at the core of any holistic brand
experience, and will always be the secret sauce to your brand’s success.
It’s a new world out there and the consumers of today are demanding. They want to know more, to know where the products they may buy are made, how they’re made, who is making them, etc. To share a truly successful holistic brand experience we have to be thinking in those same terms.
