How Brands Are
One brand is not the other. But the principles behind brand growth are the same for all brands. Sharp's How Brands Grow is called that for a reason and is particularly about the latter. In other words, behind the growth of Alfa Romeo and Volkswagen are the same principles. However, no one will argue that a Volkswagen is the same as an Alfa Romeo. Volkswagen has a different memory structure than Alfa Romeo. In short: a different brand.
Memory structure
A brand is basically nothing more than a memory structure in the minds of consumers. Ideally with as many people as possible and with as many people as possible the same. Consistency is crucial for growth. Effectively and efficiently.
If you imagine the brand as a wheel (wanting to move forward), you need resistance on the road to move forward. In this metaphor, consistency is the pressure on the road that keeps the wheel rolling steadily and not spinning in a vacuum or bouncing too much.
But what exactly is your brand, where do you start? Or in other words, what is the basis for that consistency? That can be a purpose, a genesis, a unique solution, but also, for example, an archetype (Jung), or a combination of all of these. It's about determining from where you do what you do and say what you say. In other words, what's in the brand wheel, in the brand book, in the brand compass, or whatever it's called.
How Brands Grow
You have How Brands Grow and you have How Brands Are
When you have that in place, you grab How Brands Grow. And every few years you take another look at your brand, to hone it. To time, to circumstances, to a new reality. My colleague Mark Zoon came up with the liberating quote: "You have How Brands Grow and you have How Brands Are." The two, of course, have everything to do with each other. And that is good to keep in mind when developing the brand story, (brand) campaigns, marketing actions, but also in product development and innovation. That also helps well in bringing together the different marketing disciplines, sometimes referred to as marketing silos.
As you plan for 2020, make sure the two are smartly aligned. With the crucial question being: how do you want your brand's memory structure to sit in the consumer's mind? In doing so, keep in mind how that memory structure is now and how you can refresh, refresh, stretch it. Because: consistency is fundamental. If you have to -for whatever reason- break with a certain element from that memory structure, know that it takes a lot of money, time and patience to get to the same point where you are now. So, if you change something about How Brands Are, it affects How Brands Grow.
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Branding & Communication
Good branding and communication is essential to be successful as a brand. To stay future-proof, we examine your brand, its position and your communications.
