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Don’t Leave Meaning on the Table – A Conversation on Healthcare, Purpose & Brand with Nathan Goldstein
EP. 24 | Nathan Goldstein
Read time: 3.5 min
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What do Healthcare companies typically over promise? Why is it important to work on your brand at the beginning? What do people often get wrong about corporate culture?
I had a fascinating discussion with Nathan Goldstein, Founder and CEO of Duo Health, a new kind of medical group serving patients with chronic kidney disease about all things healthcare and brand. As a highly successful executive and entrepreneur, Nathan shares his views about how to build organizations that can make a practical difference in healthcare.
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In this episode, we explore a variety of topics:
Duo Health, a new kind of medical group that promises to be by your side
If you don’t have a brand, you can’t scale
Think behaviors NOT culture
Develop mavericks not renegades through organizational identity
Don’t make promises you can’t keep – ie. transforming healthcare
Serve EVERYONE, don’t leave money but most of all meaning on the table
Health equity doesn’t happen on its own
Brand is relationships and relationships grow at the speed of trust
Strategy is defining the obstacles that are in your way
KEY LESSONS
Define Your Brand Early for Effective Scaling
A well-defined brand serves as the foundation for scalability. While scaling involves implementing systems, technology, and standards, the importance of understanding the "why" behind the business cannot be overlooked. Without a clear brand identity communicated to employees and customers, scaling becomes challenging. As a company grows, you simply cannot micromanage and process to death every interaction, especially if it involves a level of service that is responsive to a myriad of situations.
This is the case for Nathan’s Duo Health, which has experts and care teams working with patients. Hence the brand's essence, the "why," is important in creating a sense of purpose and empowers teams to develop their own relationships with that meaning, leading to better experiences for employees and clients.
“A brand isn't a logo… it's a promise you make to the market or to your consumers. It's the why behind the business. if you don't define that early, really have a sense of it that you can communicate to employees, to your end users, to your customers, to your clients, you actually can't scale.
The scale is certainly about systems. It's certainly about tech technology. It's about standards of care in our case. And having defined care pathways, your nurses know what to do in any given morning, but if they don't understand the why, you're robbing them of the opportunity to develop their own relationship to that meaning.”
Brand Guides Autonomous and Flexible Decision-Making
Nathan emphasized the significance of providing teams with a clear sense of purpose and rules of engagement. By understanding the brand's North Star, teams can autonomously and flexibly navigate challenges and make decisions aligned with the brand's essence. This autonomy fosters a better experience for employees and enhances the care relationship with patients. The distinction between mavericks (who understand the intent and improvise) and renegades (who disregard the intent) further emphasizes the importance of aligning behavior with the brand's deeper purpose.
“A maverick by his definition is being one who understands the commander's intent and improvises on their way to success. And a renegade is someone who doesn't give a flip about what the intent is. Maybe they're just in it for the notches on their belt or glory”
Brand Behavior Trumps Abstract Culture
In our conversation, Nathan also challenged the notion of abstract culture and highlights the value of brand expression through behavior. While culture can be abstract and difficult to address, brand behavior offers a tangible framework for individuals and teams to understand their actions' alignment with the brand's standards. By providing feedback on behavior that deviates from those standards, a company can maintain a cohesive brand identity and ensure consistent experiences for stakeholders.
“Rather than talking about the culture decals that go on the walls. The question that the executive leadership team and the senior leadership team is, are the behaviors that I'm portraying first aligned with that brand, that value, that why and that promise? And then am I holding accountable my peers and subordinates and, and frankly my superiors to that same standard?”
Don’t make a promise you can’t keep – like transforming healthcare
One of the biggest pet peeves for Nathan are companies claiming to transform or disrupt healthcare. We’ve all seen it, big statements about transforming healthcare on website homepages and launch campaigns, but it’s fictitious. He believes that the fragmentation of care is not something one company can change. Many different stakeholders with different incentives make for a very complex system to align and anyone who promises to completely change the experience is making a false promise.
“I don't know many people who are receiving care that want things disrupted. I'm gonna disrupt surgery <laugh>, please don't. To my internal team, something that I've become fond of saying is, we can't promise to fix the healthcare system. That's a promise you can't keep.”
Conclusion
Nathan’s experience in building healthcare companies and philosophy for brand speaks to me deeply. He underscores the significance of defining the brand early on and aligning it with organizational behavior for effective scaling. Moreover, he emphasizes the role of brand behavior in guiding autonomous decision-making and fostering meaningful relationships with stakeholders and not making any sweeping promises you can’t keep. By incorporating these lessons you’re your brand building strategies, businesses can harness the power of purposeful branding to achieve sustained growth and create a positive impact on their employees, customers, and communities.
Learn more about Nathan:
Other Resources:
Book mentioned in the podcast: A Paradise Built in Hell by Rebecca Solnit
Ways I can help you:
Subscribe to Healthy Brand Mondays: Leverage brand thinking to accelerate your growth
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Work with me: Be a podcast guest or hire my services for your brand
Support a Thriving Culture with Traditions, Artifacts and Secret Rooms
2 min read - 1 Quote & 1 Lesson
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Read time: 2 min
At a glance:
Quote: Want a thriving business? Support a thriving culture
Lesson: Three ideas to go beyond behaviors
Quote
"Culture eats strategy for breakfast, operational excellence for lunch and everything else for dinner"
Peter Drucker
Lesson
In branding, one of the most neglected audiences are employees. Although companies spend millions of dollars on brand campaigns and external facing activations, a bad experience with customer service can upend all of that.
Employees are the biggest under leveraged group of brand ambassadors and when they are on the same page and marching to the same beat, the effects are extremely powerful.
However, most culture efforts are one dimensional and detached from brand, becoming a HR values project instead of a company imperative at the highest levels.
Culture is NOT a bunch of posters on the wall
In this issue, I share with you three examples of how to create an environment for a unique and powerful culture to thrive.
HINT: It’s not just putting your core values on the wall or a desk top wall paper
Three examples to draw inspiration from:
1/ Traditions
Pumpkin carving contest at NASA
At NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, they hold an annual pumpkin carving contest. It’s completely voluntary and not mandated by management. This is essential, because a tradition is never compulsory, if it is, it becomes a routine. And they are not the same thing.
At NASA’s JPL, their pumpkin contest is “out of this world”, from programmable pumpkins to pumpkins that literally hover above ground, engineers show off their skills by going all out.
Photo Credit: https://www.designboom.com/art/nasa-pumpkin-carving-contest-halloween-10-31-2018/
What kinds of traditions will help your employees bond while cultivating behaviors that exemplify the culture? Pumpkin engineering far outweighs value posters like “Creativity” and “Fun”, don’t you think?
2/ Artifacts
Medallion and Ceremony at Medtronic
At Medtronic, the giant medical device company, every new employee receives a hefty medallion that is inscribed with the company mission in a ceremony. And when its founder Earl Bakken was alive, he would personally present them at multiple ceremonies around the world every year.
The artifact represents the commitment to the company mission and highlights the induction of the employee into a culture that puts patient welfare at the heart of the business.
Photo credit: https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/the-3-best-run-companies-in-the-healthcare-sector
Artifacts don’t have to be extravagant and lavish, it is a physical representation of what is important.
3/ Secret rooms
Speakeasy at Pixar
The legendary Pixar studios has many secret rooms, but the most famous is the speakeasy that you can only access through a tiny access panel. It was in Andrew Gordon’s new office when Pixar moved into Emeryville, CA, where he noticed an access panel that opened up to a small room that was meant for air conditioning maintenance.
He had other plans and outfitted it with Christmas lights, shag carpet and even a fully stocked bar. When Steve Jobs and others found out, they loved it. It became a VIP hangout. Dubbed the “Love Lounge”, as the signage says above the entry, it was visited by the likes of Tim Allen, Randy Newman and Roy Disney.
Photo credit: https://www.messynessychic.com/2014/04/24/the-secret-speakeasy-room-found-at-pixar-studios-where-steve-jobs-hung-out/
Photo credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/98868154304794481/
Frivolous? You may say so, but what is a better way to experience “Creativity” and “Out of the box” and “Fun”? A value poster? Or a secret Love Lounge? You decide.
Conclusion
Culture is not a set of posters on the wall. To encourage a thriving culture, think beyond behaviors. Think about how people can experience and discover what’s to be expected of them without telling them. Whether it’s traditions, artifacts or secret rooms, the key is to never force something, it should be organic and real.
Ways I can help you:
Subscribe to Healthy Brand Mondays: Leverage brand thinking to accelerate your growth
Download free guides and tools: Learn from my years of experience as a brand strategist
Work with me: Be a podcast guest or hire my services for your brand
Top Questions I Like to Ask at the Beginning of a Brand Engagement
1.5 min read - 1 Quote & 1 Lesson
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Read time: 1.5 min
At a glance:
Quote: Questions are key
Lesson: Questions you should ask as a brand strategist, questions you should expect as a a client
Quote
"To ask the right question is already half the solution of a problem"
Carl Jung
Lesson
Brand strategy is the face of business strategy - it involves making critical decisions in how your business strategy comes to life and how to intentionally provide the best environment for your brand to thrive.
In every brand strategy engagement, it’s about understanding at a high level the bright spots and dark areas of the business.
What’s the transformation needed for the organization to win and succeed?
What are the key differentiators that matter to the ideal customer?
What position might the company own in the minds of the customer?
What may be standing in the way of the transformation?
Any hints of potential solutions?
Getting a firm grasp of the business and it’s journey allows for a more relevant brand strategy and a higher potential for success.
Ask the right questions to solve a business problem
What else can great questions do?
Since branding is often misperceived as just colors and design, asking the right questions at the outset can dispel some of these myths. You will notice that I don’t ask anything about the visual aspect at this stage of the engagement - it’s far too early!
Design agencies tend to go there straight away and that’s a red flag… unless a client wants to potentially rebrand a year later because nothing makes any sense. GASP!
Here are my favorite questions to ask (not exhaustive, just a start). So steal these questions for your brand strategy engagement or sniff out imposters as a client!
What worries you about your company? What keeps you up at night?
What’s your business goals for this year, in three years and out five years?
Anything unique about your business model?
Describe your current state and desired state (of the business, of the organization, of your customers etc.)
Is there anything confusing about your offering? Could it be simpler?
What does your product pipeline look like? Does it complicate or simplify the offering?
Who are your competitors and why do you win? Why do you lose?
Does the market understand this company? What should they know that they don't know today?
Is there anything about the company and the product you wish every prospect knew about?
What is a commonly held belief about your industry that you passionately disagree with?
Do you feel like you understand your ideal customers wells? What problems are you and aren’t you solving for them?
If we asked five customers or prospects, what would they say your company stands for?
What sets the company apart? What does it do that nobody else does, and how important is that to the market?
Conclusion
Questions allow you to understand your client and also communicate who you are. Ask critical questions early on to set the engagement on the right path.
Ways I can help you:
Subscribe to Healthy Brand Mondays: Leverage brand thinking to accelerate your growth
Download free guides and tools: Learn from my years of experience as a brand strategist
Work with me: Be a podcast guest or hire my services for your brand
It's Time to Leave "Value Proposition" Behind
3 min read - 1 Quote & 1 Lesson
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Read time: 3 min
At a glance:
Quote: Focus on what we really need
Lesson: Positioning encompasses what value proposition is trying to accomplish
Quote
"The best way to find out what we really need is to get rid of what we don’t."
Marie Kondo
Lesson
The world of marketing and branding is complicated. So complicated in fact, most marketers don’t have a clear grasp of all the tools and frameworks they need to build a strategy and a plan.
Why?
We are bogged down by lexicon and jargon, not unlike any industry that has been around for awhile.
I say it’s time to clean house.
In this issue, I’ll help you truly understand what is “value proposition” and how it can be abandoned for a clearer and more powerful concept: Positioning. I’m not an academic, and so my point of view will always err on the side of application and practicality. Are you open minded? If so, read on…
Ditch value proposition, embrace positioning
The definition of value proposition
Value proposition is the full mix of benefits or economic value which it promises to deliver to the current and future customers who will buy their products and/or services (Wikipedia)
It’s derived by looking at the pains, needs and wants of the customer and matching them with the features, functional and emotional benefits of the product.
“Howie, isn’t this important? Why trash it?”
It is important, but it’s insufficient, the work is not done, because a value proposition alone is not unique or different and it will simply blend-in with the myriad of options in the marketplace.
This is where the concept of positioning comes in.
The concept of positioning
Positioning refers to the place that a brand occupies in the minds of the customers and how it is distinguished from the products of the competitors (Wikipedia).
A positioning strategy is determining and deciding what is the most RELEVANT and DIFFERENTIATING for a TARGET CUSTOMER SEGMENT.
If you have this in mind, there is no need for a value proposition, because it’s a more encompassing concept.
By understanding the target customer, the product and the white space unoccupied by competitors, you can uncover opportunities for a positioning strategy which incorporates the unique benefits you need to communicate anyway.
Said another way, if you focus on positioning, the value prop is already covered.
So simplify and drop the value prop… stop trying to figure out why their different, when to use what and end up confused. Decide on clarity now.
Your objections, my replies
But Howie…
1/ I’ve read somewhere that the value prop is what is on the landing page, so don’t I need one?
Copy on the landing page should be a headline that hooks the audience. It is an expression of the positioning and brand strategy into a creative line as defined by a creative campaign brief, not a “value proposition”. Why not have a headline that not only communicates the benefit, but starts to own a unique space in the mind of the customer? So no, you don’t need it.
2/ Isn’t the value prop a broader concept than positioning?
The value prop as discussed earlier is not differentiated and hence you may read online that it is a broader concept. It is less specific and not as effective as it fails to consider the competition. Pass on the value prop.
3/ Don’t we have to communicate the benefits through a value prop?
Nope. See 1/.
Conclusion
Stop being confused on value proposition vs. positioning. Think of positioning as being inclusive of what the value prop is trying to accomplish, so drop it and keep it simple.
Ways I can help you:
Subscribe to Healthy Brand Mondays: Leverage brand thinking to accelerate your growth
Download free guides and tools: Learn from my years of experience as a brand strategist
Work with me: Be a podcast guest or hire my services for your brand
Establish the Voice of Your Brand & Get Ready to Be Loved
3 min read - 1 Quote & 1 Lesson
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Read time: 3 min
At a glance:
Quote: Voice matters
Lesson: The Clouds & Dirt brand voice model
Quote
"It only takes one voice, at the right pitch, to start an avalanche."
Dianna Hardy, Author
Lesson
Words move people.
From “I have a dream” to “This was their finest hour”, language creates ideas in people’s minds and if you change the language, you can change the ideas. “Self-checkout” sucks, but “express checkout” is attractive. “Sports mode” is ok, but “ludicrous speed” is exciting. Yes, words matter, both what you say, but more importantly how you say it.
One of the most informing book I read about the power of language and how to create a brand voice comes from Strong Language by Chris West. (Go buy the book! You won’t regret it!) He uses the example of Mini and Ferrari, showing how a brands voice can show up dramatically differently.
Mini
Born to corner. Driving a Mini is a ton of fun, thanks to its legendary go-kart handling. We could go on about its lightning quick responses and glue-like grip…
Ferrari
The Ferrari embraces the Side Slip Control 6.0 concept, which incorporates an algorithm that delivers a precise estimate of sideslip to the onboard controls systems…
It gave me and my practice of brand strategy an adaptable model to create a voice for any brand I’m helping to create.
Establish a voice for your brand that your audience will recognize and love
In this issue, I will share with you the Clouds & Dirt Brand Voice model, derived from the brilliant work of Chris West.
MACRO VIEW “CLOUDS”
Narrative
At the highest level, we need to know what story the brand is always telling. This sets up who the brand is trying to be. If there is already a brand strategy document, you will find either a brand narrative or you will be able to craft a narrative from the purpose, core values and personality traits. Here are some questions the brand narrative needs to answer:
What is the world the brand is trying to create?
What kind of people live in this brand’s world?
What does the brand stand for or against?
What does this brand believe in?
Example:
Mini (the Mini Cooper) believes in a world where driving your car should be fun, like driving a go-kart.
Tonal Values
You only need three tonal values. Each of them with descriptions that make the value clearer. Tonal values can be extracted from the brand personality. A brand that is “caring” can have a tonal value that is “friendly” or if a brand that is “prestigious” can have a tonal value that is “aloof”.
To give the tonal value more specific descriptions, use the 5 HOW technique, ask it again and again, until you get the value defined and differentiated in the category.
The brand sounds friendly.
How so?
It’s friendly like your neighbor
How like a neighbor?
Like someone who is welcoming
How is it welcoming?
By being very open, acknowledging your presence and sharing information
(Here we are getting someone - Friendly through information sharing)
You can keep going until you get to something highly relevant and differentiating for the brand.
MICRO VIEW “DIRT”
Once you have the Clouds set, it’s time to get down to the ground and really be specific.
Lexicon
Jargon is inevitable in any industry. The question is, which ones will you retain and which ones will you kill? If you are launching a whole new sub-category that is trying to differentiate itself, what words will you kill from your vocabulary?
What are some of the most used but meaningless words that your brand will not stand for?
Create a list around different groups, for example:
Product description
Customer service
Culture and careers
Problem statement/ disease state
Category/ sub-category description
Levels
When you have your tonal values, there is an ability to fine-tune them by your audiences. Take each tonal value and give them a 0-10 scale where your language most embodies that value at 10 and least embody that value at 0 (neutral). So effectively you have different levels of each value by audience.
For each of your key audiences whom you will be developing targeted copy for, go through an exercise to score a number on the scale to denote how much of that tonal value you will be using.
Example
Physician audience (Friendly 5, Prestigious 8, Nimble 10)
Patient audience (Friendly 8, Prestigious 5, Nimble 7)
This will give your brand voice guidelines the specificity it needs so your writers can do their job effectively and efficiently!
Conclusion
Establish a brand’s voice and you can paint the world in the mind of your audiences. They will recognize your brand anywhere and they will love you for it.
Ways I can help you:
Subscribe to Healthy Brand Mondays: Leverage brand thinking to accelerate your growth
Download free guides and tools: Learn from my years of experience as a brand strategist
Work with me: Be a podcast guest or hire my services for your brand
Seven Principles for Brands to Capture & Hold Attention
3 min read - 1 Quote & 1 Lesson
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Read time: 3 min
At a glance:
Quote: The value of attention
Lesson: How to capture & hold attention
Quote
"One of the greatest gifts you can give to anyone is the gift of attention"
Jim Rohn
Jim Rohn probably didn’t see it coming, but he predicted the attention economy. The value of our attention is being traded everyday and so if we were to master this economy, we have to master attention. Not just giving our attention intentionally but also the skill of capturing and hold the attention of our audiences.
Lesson
To influence anyone’s behavior, you have got to first capture and hold their attention. If not, your brand is invisible and will do no one any good.
I will share seven principles I learned from the book: Influencing Human Behavior by Harry Allen Overstreet and use The Dollar Shave Club ad as an example to illustrate each principle.
This ad has more than 28 million views on YouTube, it launched in 2012 and sky rocketed the brand into unicorn status, ultimately resulting in a $1Bn acquisition by Unilever four years later in 2016.
Learn and apply these key principles of attention for any brand
1/ MOVEMENT
Imagine if you had to hold your attention to a dot on the wall. It’s an impossible task, our eyes want to wander and if it does in fact stay focused on one spot, our brain is going to be put into hypnosis, or state of sleep.
Movement is paramount to holding attention, and if you’ve noticed, the scenes in the Dollar Shave Club ad is in motion the entire time. Whenever you ask “What is happening” or “What is going to happen?”, you’ve nailed this principle.
2/ KEEP THEM GUESSING
Unpredictability and drama is key. When the audience discovers it for themselves as opposed to being spoon fed and explained, they pay far more attention.
In the ad, they keep you guessing the whole time. What other crazy things will Mike say?
“Are the blades any good? No, our blades are f***ing great”
And what ridiculous scenes will appear?
Screenshot from Dollar Shave Club YouTube Channel
3/ LIKE ATTRACTS LIKE
The way in which we influence will determine who we influence. When we speak passionately, we arouse those with passion, when we proceed with cheerfulness, we get frank cheerfulness from those naturally cheerful.
I also call this the magic mirror. We need to show up as the person your target audience wish to become.
In this ad, Dollar Shave Club is clearly attracting those who have a sense of humor, not prude and see themselves as a rebel of sorts.
4/ LEAVE IT UP TO THEM
It’s infinitely more interesting if you ask a question than if you give a statement. Example in the book:
Let’s say there is a pamphlet on habit training for kids. Which is more attention grabbing?
“Does your child have temper tantrums?” vs. “Many children have temper tantrums”
“Does your child fuss about his food?” vs. Many children fuss about their food”
When you are asked a question, you are expected to reply. It leaves the answer to the audience and it engages them.
In the ad, Mike asked:
“Do you like spending twenty dollars on brand name razors? 19 of them go to Roger Federer”
This is infinitely more interesting than saying “The brands you buy today are too expensive”.
5/ INTRODUCE A CHALLENGE
When Gandhi flung a challenge to the British Empire, he became a figure of foremost interest in the world. If you want people to pay attention, throw up a challenge, but it needs to be fair and it needs to show sportsmanship.
Mike throws down a challenge to the status quo of paying for expensive razors.
“Do you think your razor needs a vibrating handle, a flashlight, a back scratcher and ten blades? Stop paying for shave tech you don’t need.”
And people paid attention. It rallied an entire market to rebel against big brands choose affordable convenience instead.
6/ NEW BUT FAMILIAR
We all know that introducing something new attracts attention, but what’s really important is that the new thing you are introducing, it needs a connection to what is familiar.
If an idea is introduced that seems like a complete overturn of the current perception and idea, you will turn people away instantly. The magic in the new never grows old, but be sure to sufficiently tie it back to the old to be at least interesting as well as acceptable.
The new business model of a subscription vs. buying each blade at a retail store wasn’t just thrown out there in the ad. It was introduced as money and time saving solution. Affordable blades shipped to your home.
7/ DON’T OVERWHELM
The mental limits of attention is real. When too many options are given, when too many elements are presented in a piece of art, the mind wonders, it shuts down and attention is lost.
With all the craziness going on in the ad, the key message is clear and presented as a slogan at the end of the commercial.
SHAVE TIME. SHAVE MONEY
Conclusion
Attention is critical to influence behavior. Apply the seven principles so you can best capture and hold the attention of your audiences.
P.S. - I’ve watched the ad probably 50 times. It’s just so good…
Ways I can help you:
Subscribe to Healthy Brand Mondays: Leverage brand thinking to accelerate your growth
Download free guides and tools: Learn from my years of experience as a brand strategist
Work with me: Be a podcast guest or hire my services for your brand
A Contrarian’s View on Branding - How to See, Think, & Do Different with Ulli Appelbaum
EP. 23 | Ulli Appelbaum
Read time: 3.5 min
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What does it mean to be a contrarian? How does taking a contrarian view help with brand strategy and branding? How can all of us be more of a contrarian?
In this conversation with Ulli Appelbaum, Founder and Chief Strategist at First the Trousers then the Shoes – a brand research and strategy boutique, author and creator of the brand positioning workbook and a set of best-selling positioning method cards, we break down how Ulli became a contrarian and get his take on using that superpower to build winning brands.
APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY | STITCHER
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In this episode, we explore a variety of topics:
Ulli’s journey of becoming a contrarian
How to protect the core business while disrupting it
Shepherding the brand from the POV of the customers
Three ways to thrive as a contrarian
Curiosity of a contrarian - hold strong opinions loosely
Learn from failures and don’t hesitate to change your mind
Discussions and stories about Hallmark, Bud Light and Wrigley
KEY LESSONS
How to protect the core business while disrupting it
To Ulli, being a contrarian doesn’t mean just disagreeing for the sake of disagreeing. He defines it as follows:
“Contrarian is not the pain in ass that contradicts, everyone all the time. That's not the idea of being a contrarian. It's a skill. It's the ability to adopt an opposing point of view of maybe what the majority might think.
So if everyone is focused on brand purpose, you're able to step back and say, well, maybe it's not about brand purpose. Maybe there is something deeper going on. I think that is at least for me, the essence of being a contrarian”
So for organizations to adopt a contrarian POV, it needs to look beyond its core business and experiment challenging category conventions. But how do you do that and not risk the core part of the business? Ulli offers a suggestion.
“A company spends 99% of its energy to maintain success, to maintain the way things have worked. You would be crazy if you say, you know what, in the next 12 months, we are gonna risk all of that.
Instead, the bulk of our effort is going to be focused on maintaining our success, but let's carve out resources and a team, or several teams to explore, to look for new ways of doing things to challenge the category conventions, to look at a new way to engage consumers”
This way, you get to continue with the core business while green housing a separate group to look at the world differently to continue growing in new ways. If not, your business will be waiting to be disrupted by others or fail to become relevant in the shifting consumer landscape.
“If you identify a skunk team or a group that you take out of the organization and the regular way of working of that organization, then you can be innovative, then you can be contrarian and challenge all the ways the business has been built without threatening the core business. It's easy when the market is in decline, but more difficult when the business is doing well”
Shepherding the brand from the POV of the customers
One of the topics we discussed was the Bud Light debacle and Ulli’s point of view was that it can be risky to bring personal beliefs to a brand.
“I'm pro inclusion, that doesn't mean that everything I do in my work needs to be pro inclusion. That's a potentially damaging comment I'm making here that can easily be used against me, but it's the reality.
I think in her interview, she (Alissa Heinerscheid, Bud Light Marketing VP) said my job is to bring my beliefs to the brand. No, that is not your job. Your job is to revive the brand, to make it relevant to a broader audience while not leaving behind your core audience.”
It's more about the strategy and then the nuance of how you execute on the strategy.
“It doesn’t matter what political view you have. Is your strategy a bad or poor strategy?”
And in the case of Bud Light, strategically it seemed right, but tactically failed. Ulli recalled a conversation with someone at Budweiser.
“I've talked to a guy who was an insider at Budweiser. Bud Light has been supporting the LGBT community for many years. They just never overlapped the media, and they always were very targeted in their effort. And Bud Light is a very inclusive brand. If you are the market leader, by definition, you are an inclusive brand because you appeal to a broad, um, spectrum of the population. So it wasn't that ‘they took a pro LGBT stand, they have done that 10 years ago successfully, it's how they've done it”
Four ways to thrive as a contrarian
1/ Leave your ego at home
“It is so much about identity politics nowadays, but you know what? Your identity doesn't threaten mine. And what you say about your identity or your opinion doesn't threaten who I am and how I feel about me. So leave your ego at home and try to really understand what the other person is trying to say.”
2/ Assume good intention
“So let's say we have different opinions and that's perfectly fine. I'm sure there is a strong rationale or good reason for why you have this opinion. There are very controversial areas, example the Arabic world versus the western world. Try to understand why the Arabic world thinks the way they do about the U.S. And trust me when you do that, there are 25 good reasons why a lot of them hate the United States. They have their reasons like you have yours.”
3/ Think critically
“Often people confuse critical thinking and criticism. I'm an immigrant. I moved to the U.S. 20 years ago. I absolutely love the U.S. My wife is American. My kids are maybe way more American than I wish they were. I love it here. But looking at some of the policies or the cultural things going on. I love the country, but I don't agree with this. The typical reaction is, well, if you don't like it, why don't you go back home? You know that is the dumbest answer I've ever heard to any form of comment because that shows me you don't understand the difference between being critical, having an assessment and criticizing.”
4/ Practice real empathy
“Empathy doesn't mean accepting and being nice to people who have similar views to me, and then dissing people who have the opposing views to me. Empathy is really the ability to put yourself in the shoes of, you know, that single African-American mom that raises two kids… a liberal that goes and talk to a hardcare Trump fan to understand why they are the way they are.”
Conclusion
Thinking like a contrarian is actually not contrarian at all. In order to build a brand that is relevant and distinct, you have to be seeking alternative points of view, irrational truths and non-standard insights. In order to do that, leaders cannot be seeking validation, afraid of conflict or act solely through their ego. Are you ready to be one?
Ways I can help you:
Subscribe to Healthy Brand Mondays: Leverage brand thinking to accelerate your growth
Download free guides and tools: Learn from my years of experience as a brand strategist
Work with me: Be a podcast guest or hire my services for your brand
The Problem of Brand Purpose & How to Solve It
2.5 min read - 1 Quote, 1 Lesson & Framework
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Read time: 2.5 min
At a glance:
Quote: Give it away, give it away , give it away now!
Lesson: Learn a framework to get your purpose “just right”
Quote
"The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away."
Pablo Picasso
The idea of purpose has become a cultural talking point, at least here in the United States.
But the big problem about purpose is that it can be too big and intimidating for every brand to embody (at least that’s the prevailing perception today)
I saw this comment once on LinkedIn
“We sell ball bearings to businesses, there is no need for a purpose, we aren’t saving the world”
So what should brands do?
(My point of view is that I don’t care what you call this: mission, vision or purpose, technically they are different and I’m more than happy to get into an academic discussion about them, but hey, who has the time? You just need an idea to bring energy and a direction to the brand.)
Lesson
In this issue, I will help you solve this problem of purpose.
I will share a framework that helps you choose a purpose that is just right for the brand and use it as a Northstar, no matter how “small” it may be.
A brand’s purpose should feel natural and bring energy to the brand
Introducing the Goldilocks Purpose Zone
Where the right purpose for the brand rises above the BAR OF IMPORTANCE and falls within the ROLE OF THE BRAND.
1/ THE BAR OF IMPORTANCE
A purpose needs to feel important. It doesn’t have to be about saving the world, but it needs to feel like something a person would be willing to fight for. Something that goes beyond the product.
Some brands talk about being the best, building the best widget in the industry. If we are honest about it, does it rise above the bar of importance? Do people really care? Are they willing to fight for it? What about your customers and stakeholders? Do they care?
But Howie, my company just makes widgets…
I say, if water company can have something compelling, you can too
Liquid Death: “To make people laugh and get more of them to drink more water more often, all while helping to kill plastic pollution”
To make people laugh -> right there is an idea that goes beyond the product, water in cans. Who doesn’t want to laugh more and feel more joy?
Even if you are making ball bearings, are you helping the world run smoother? Can that idea transcend the product?
Notice that this is a choice, and that’s part of your brand strategy: making a set of decisions and choices to win in the market.
In the world of healthcare, brands can usually rise above this bar, the problem is usually the next guideline.
2/ THE ROLE OF THE BRAND
Sometimes the purpose of the brand is unbelievable, so audacious that it feels inauthentic, forced and unachievable.
Some brands will talk about “transforming the entire industry”. And whenever I hear that in healthcare, I call BS. No one company and brand can change the multi-trillion dollar industry with misaligned incentives at every level. That’s going beyond the role of the brand.
But Howie, my company IS really saving the world…
This is where we have to take an honest look at not just our beliefs but actions. What is the proof of your company saving the world? Especially beyond what you are selling? Brands who have grand visions of world changing work, don’t just do it through the products they make, because that is self-serving. When making claims of world changing ideas, actions need to directly oppose making money.
Patagonia: Yvon Choinard cemented their purpose of “in business to save the planet” by giving the entire company to a trust that will forever fund sustainability efforts.
CVS Health: “Building an entire world of health care around each and every person we serve, no matter where they are on their journey” They were one of the first to pull all tobacco products from all of their stores even though it meant losing millions and millions of dollars in revenue at once.
Fall within the role of your brand.
Don’t go talking about world changing ideas unless you have the actions to back it up and it passes the sniff test.
Conclusion
Every brand can have a purpose. Having a Northstar beyond just making widgets and money will bring energy to the brand, and give it opportunity to communicate and engage on a larger idea. Just make sure it rises above the bar of importance and falls within the role of the brand.
Ways I can help you:
Subscribe to Healthy Brand Mondays: Leverage brand thinking to accelerate your growth
Download free guides and tools: Learn from my years of experience as a brand strategist
Work with me: Be a podcast guest or hire my services for your brand
Using the Power of Archetypes to Transform Organizations & Build Brands with Margaret Hartwell
EP. 22 | Margaret Hartwell
Read time: 3.5 min
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Have you ever wondered why the same character types, themes and settings recur across time and place in stories, myths, and literature? What can we learn from archetypes and how do we apply it?
Margaret Hartwell is a creative catalyst for organizations and author. She helps innovation teams, CEOs, and emerging leaders with transformation, culture, team development, and anytime their teams get stuck. In this episode, we talked about what are archetypes and how do we leverage them when building brands.
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In this episode, we explore a variety of topics:
Archetypes are a means to emotional magnetism
The rule of three in brand archetypes
The pitfalls: too meta, trying to be perfect, stuck in a style guide
Stereotypes are reductive and archetypes are expansive
Don’t use archetypes as personas – focus on the organization
Techniques to warm up a group for an archetype workshop
The critical litmus test for any engagement
KEY LESSONS
Archetypes are a means to emotional magnetism
What are archetypes? Margaret gives us a reading from the Oxford Concise Dictionary:
Archetypes are symbols, themes, settings, or character types that recur in different times and places in myth, literature, folklore, dreams and rituals. And they appear so frequently or prominently as to suggest that they embody some essential element of the universal human experience.
In the broadest of strokes, Margaret shares with us three principles of brand archetypes:
Everybody has access to the archetypal field - it’s a part of our collective unconscious so we all have an innate understanding of it.
Archetypes are a way for us to understand ourselves and we can’t help but have an emotional reaction to it.
Every culture has archetypal underpinnings whether or not we are conscious aware.
From talking with Margaret, a powerful perspective about archetypal work is that it is an exercise in lateral thinking, helping an organization to its truth without being bogged down by rational analysis.
If you go in through this side door, that's not about anyone being right or wrong and you're talking from an archetypical story perspective, you start to unearth aspirations and preferences of the business, which ultimately leads them to a more confident place of understanding what they stand for
The rule of three in brand archetypes
When trying to figure out brand archetypes, it’s really important to not use it as stereotypes. Margaret offers a simple way to steer clear from it:
Stereotypes are reductionistic and archetypes are expansionistic… take the classic example of the soccer mum, is that reductionistic or expansionistic?… it is a slippery slope to stereotyping when you use archetypes for personas.
When developing an archetype for brands, there is a magic number.
Three. It proves to be a magic number. It gives enough breadth and scope without brutally confusing everyone… you can then start to bring in the symbols and metaphors of this new character that includes all aspects from the three different archetypes.
By having a process where you create and develop this character, then express it creatively across the organization and then put it out in the world to see how it works, it guarantees that the brand archetype is never stale and irrelevant.
Avoid the typical pitfalls of archetypal work
1/ Too self-important or academic
People getting too meta. They are not doing the inner work themselves to understand how these energies are alive in them, but just talking about them. You lose the whole reason that you're doing this: to find an emotional relatedness and an emotional through line between the business, the brand, and the person that they're serving
2/ Aiming for perfection
You’ve got to keep it living and breathing. Trying to be perfect I think is a really big problem, as opposed to recognizing that there's a vulnerability in all of us and that's what actually can be connecting us as well.
3/ Adopting archetypes as a label
Unexpressed biases by the use of labels and turning an archetype perspective into a label. I've seen this more in personal branding than I have in corporate, where people will say, I'm a caregiver, and I'm like, no, you're not <laugh>.
Conclusion
Archetypes are powerful if you can wield it in the world of brand and anytime you need to better understand and influence human behavior. But beware of its pitfalls, else it becomes a limitation, a reductionistic effort, rather than an expansionistic one!
Learn more about Margaret:
https://www.archetypesinbranding.com/
Other Resources:
Archetypes in Branding by Margaret Hartwell and Joshua C. Chen
The Hero and the Outlaw by Margeret Mark and Carol S. Pearson
Ways I can help you:
Subscribe to Healthy Brand Mondays: Leverage brand thinking to accelerate your growth
Download free guides and tools: Learn from my years of experience as a brand strategist
Work with me: Be a podcast guest or hire my services for your brand
Start With Who: Understand Your Audience With This One Analogy
2.5 min read - 1 Quote, 1 Lesson, 2 Resources
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Read time: 2.5 min
At a glance:
Quote: Dig deeper, go behind what you see
Lesson: Learn an analogy I use to understand audiences
Resource: A book and a tool
Quote
"Many men go fishing all of their lives without realizing that it is not fish they are after"
Henry David Thoreau
Simon Sinek told us to start with WHY. But I think that’s wrong. We need to start with WHO.
If there is one thing we need to do as brand builders, looking to better influence human behavior, we need to understand the humans we are trying to influence!
In this issue, I will share with you my favorite way to break down any stakeholder we are trying to analyze.
Lesson
There are many frameworks out there, whether it’s the StoryBrand framework from Donald Miller or the Value proposition framework by Dr. Alexander Osterwalder (see resources below), they seek to understand the person better.
Instead of trying to memorize a particular framework, I’ll share with you a simple analogy that captures the core of any framework.
Understand external (rational) and internal (emotional) sides of your audience
To understand the person you are trying to influence, there are three main things you need to understand, both from an internal and external perspective. To remember them, I use the analogy of a car.
1/ FUEL: What drives them?
Is there a unique belief that drives their behavior?
Why do they do what they do?
What is their fundamental philosophy about the job or the category?
Examples of questions to ask:
Is there something about your industry you disagree or are upset about?
In a parallel universe, what might your career be?
If you could wave a magic wand, what is the first thing you would change?
2/ DESTINATION: What do they desire?
What do they want?
What are their goals, hopes, and dreams?
What job(s) do they need to accomplish?
Examples of questions to ask:
Imaging your best day, what does it look like?
What does success look like? What does it feel like?
What is a fear that you have about your work?
3/ BARRIERS: What’s in their way?
What is a bottleneck that limiting their success?
What challenges do they have to overcome internally?
What problems do they most need to solve?
Examples of questions to ask:
If you could magically remove an obstacle, what would that be?
What is the most painful problem you have?
Who is typically in the way? Why?
Conclusion
Understand your audience’s FUEL, DESTINATION & BARRIERS both internally and externally, rationally and emotionally so you can influence them and give them what they want. And what they want is never 100% reasonable because we are human and we are irrational.
Ways I can help you:
Subscribe to Healthy Brand Mondays: Leverage brand thinking to accelerate your growth
Download free guides and tools: Learn from my years of experience as a brand strategist
Work with me: Be a podcast guest or hire my services for your brand
A Creative & a Strategist Walk Into a Studio: Creating Desire in Brands with Meg Beckum & Paul Collins
EP. 21 | Meg Beckum & Paul Collins
Read time: 2.5 min
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What if creatives and strategists worked seamlessly together? What if they were able to put aside their egos and created brands that were desirable?
In this episode of the Healthy Brand Podcast, I had a great discussion with Meg Beckum, Executive Creative Director and Paul Collins, Executive Director of Strategy & Innovation from Elmwood, a brand design consultancy. We dove into the potential conflicts of creatives and strategists, where to find big ideas, and how to create desire in the world of healthcare.
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In this episode:
Strategy needs to be provocative by having a point-of-view
Choose debate over framework, conflict over compliance
Make healthcare brands desirable through emotional rewards
Get strategic inspiration in the arts and culture instead of peers
How to be a super star creative
The epiphanies of Paul and Meg during a pivotal moment of their lives
KEY LESSONS
Strategy needs to be provocative by having a point-of-view
“How do we be very commercially sound in our recommendations? How do we create the urge to actually want to work on this brand? It should make people say - Oh my god, I never thought of this category like that.”
Paul Collins
One thing that both Paul and Meg emphasized was how the brand strategy needs to provoke new and expansive thinking about the brand.
The rigor of analysis needs to be there, but the end result is a definitive point-of-view, a distillation of research and creative thinking.
“Love your hundred page deck, but we’re going to put everyone to sleep. A strategist needs to bring things to a hard point”
Meg Beckum
Choose debate over framework, conflict over compliance
“That's something that we'd really try to encourage in our studio. Maybe we frustrate each other a bit with that. But I think our best work comes from all of us sitting around the table debating - are we pushing this far enough? Is this interesting?”
Meg Beckum
When asked about whether they use templates and frameworks, what was more important to Paul and Meg was the culture of debate and critical thinking. Rather than filling out a template, it was more important that creatives and strategists get into a room and push on the idea.
“We are building a learning culture that's based on crits or critiques, infusing the values into those meetings because you don't want it to become like a checklist. And so the idea is to be meeting frequently and having conversations and reinforcing those beliefs. So it becomes more organic to the work versus formulaic...”
Paul Collins
In this way, there is actually more learning and it becomes more specific to the context and problem at hand.
Make healthcare brands desirable through emotional rewards
Healthcare has a dearth of desire and that is impacting people’s lives. Meg and Paul sees a world where healthcare brands are attractive and desirable, helping to remove psychological barriers so people can live healthier.
"People talk about experience all the time, but it's less about the path to purchase or moving commercial drivers. And it's really about saying, what are the psychological obstacles or barriers that are preventing people from taking this action. And then how do you actually design the experience to remove those obstacles and barriers?"
Paul Collins
Paul shares three things to think about when creating desire:
Vision: Paint a really interesting and compelling vision of the future instead of just talking about what the brand does for you in the here and now.
Chemistry: Express beliefs, values or point of view to establish a rapport between the brand and the audience.
Agency: Through effective communication design and experience design, give people the control over their destiny and “art direct” their own future - part product, part perception and framing.
The trap that most healthcare organizations especially those creating medicines and devices is communicating solely about their science. According to Meg, what they need to make happen is creating a world where that abstract science becomes tangible and real. That’s how desire is created.
“A lot of organizations come to us and are like, we really want to talk about the science. The science is so advanced. And it is, it absolutely is.”
“Imagine a cancer drug or something like that. Yes, I want to know it's the very best science imaginable, but I also want to feel better. Making the abstract of science feel real and see how people can make that progress and paint that picture for them. I think that's sort of the power of a designer - you can make that abstract science real”
Meg Beckum
Conclusion
When strategy and creative can move and groove together, amazing things can happen. Whether you are in an agency or a client working with one, make sure your teams are aligned, willing to debate, so the best work prevails.
Learn more about Meg and Paul:
Ways I can help you:
Subscribe to Healthy Brand Mondays: Leverage brand thinking to accelerate your growth
Download free guides and tools: Learn from my years of experience as a brand strategist
Work with me: Be a podcast guest or hire my services for your brand
The Magic of Semantics: The Quickest Way to Change Perception
3 min read - 1 Quote, 1 Lesson, 1 Book
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Read time: 3 min
At a glance:
Quote: Perception over intention
Lesson: Learn when and how to change a name
Resource: A book about Alchemy
Quote
"It is not what you meant to say, but it is what your saying meant."
Walter M. Miller Jr.
The Patagonian Toothfish is on every expensive seafood menu, but you wouldn’t know it.
In 1977 an American fish merchant named Lee Lantz was scouring fishing boats in a Chilean port. As a wholesaler he became excited when he spotted a menacing looking, five-foot long toothfish that inspired him to ask “That is one amazing-looking fish. What the hell is it?”
When he tried a bite of the fish, it had almost no flavor. He surmised that its attributes was a perfect match for the American market. A texture similar to the cod, richness of tune, with the mild flavor of a founder. It could serve as a blank canvas for any chef.
He renamed it to Chilean Sea Bass, because it sounded exclusive. in 1980 a company who struggled with the rising cost of halibut bought the entire stock from Lantz. From there, it quickly went up the food chain. In 1990, the Four Seasons served it. 2001, is was Bon Appetit’s dish of the year.
The rest, as we say, is history.
Image Credit: https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/the-ross-sea-toothfish-fishery/
Lesson
The story about the Patagonian Toothfish is not unique. Monkfish was once Goosefish and Orange Roughy was once Slimehead. When you change a name, you can change people’s perception of it, ultimately influencing a new behavior. Sure you can try and change the meaning of the name and not change the name, but how big of a battle would it be to change the meaning of the word slime?
In this issue, I will layout a framework of WHEN and HOW to leverage the magic of semantics.
Magical, because it’s not rational, there is nothing fundamentally changed, but its perception is shifted, which is able to affect real behavior change. Brand work doesn’t have to be reasonable, it just has to work.
When you want a shift in perception and behavior, change the name
WHEN should you think about changing a name:
Current name has a negative meaning
Current name is not an accurate description
Current name is limiting
Current name has baggage
Current name is hard to pronounce
HOW could you change the name:
Include a geographical or topographical adjective (“Pilchards” was changed to “Cornish Sardines” and instantly became more valuable. Not only that, it reinvigorated the entire Cornish fishing industry.)
Change the language. It becomes more exotic and thus more premium (An “ice-cream parlor” can immediately charge more if it was a “Gelateria”)
Introduce a new descriptive term and retain part of the name as an anchor to the category (In healthcare, particularly in orthopedics, the term “bio-resorbable implants” have baggage in the industry for not working very well - it wasn’t strong and it didn’t really resorb into the body. But when a startup introduced a technology that is dramatically different that actually worked, they called it Bio-integrative instead of using the same name, changing its perception and stayed away from the negative connotation of the existing term.)
Use descriptive words from the point of the view of your target audience (When a college in California wanted to increase the percent of women with computer science majors, at the time, only 10% - the first thing they did was to change the name of the intro course from ‘Introduction to programming in Java’ to ‘Creative approaches to problem solving in science and engineering using Python’. This course went from a most despised course to the absolute favorite - not squarely from the name change, but it was the lead domino to fall.)
Conclusion
Is a name or a description limiting the potential of a product, a service, a program? Think about how you can change the name and immediately change the perception and behavior of those you seek to influence. The nature of our attention affects the nature of our experience and a name is an immediate way to direct our attention.
Resource
Want a book that tickles your imagination? This book inspired this issue and I've shared just a few of the many examples that shows us the irrational nature of humans.
A great read for anyone who is into human behavior and what we can do/ have done to influence it
Ways I can help you:
Subscribe to Healthy Brand Mondays: Leverage brand thinking to accelerate your growth
Download free guides and tools: Learn from my years of experience as a brand strategist
Work with me: Be a podcast guest or hire my services for your brand
From a Copywriter to an Agency CSO: Brand Strategy Principles with Maureen Alves
EP. 20 | Maureen Alves
Read time: 4.5 min
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What is Brand Strategy? Why does it matter? And what are the key principles to becoming great at it?
In this episode of the Healthy Brand Podcast, I had a lovely discussion with Maureen Alves (Mo), Chief Strategy Officer at Havas Health Plus, an integrated agency focused on healthcare. We talk about her journey from a copywriter to the top of her profession and her philosophies about brand building.
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In this episode, we cover off on a variety of topics on brand strategy, arriving at a solid list of the top 10 principles of brand strategy you need to know.
TOP 10 PRINCIPLES
Brand Strategy is…
(1) Leading with empathy
Mo was very candid about what she thought and what she believed:
One of the biggest traits we need as strategists is empathy. Let’s keep it real, I don’t like a lot of business talk. I hate words like utilize and I show up as a human being… I often tell my teams, we don’t take off our human skin when we come to work, we come to work as people.
Because the ultimate task for a brand is to influence human beings, we need to understand humans and be empathetic about what they (we) are facing.
(2) A state of mind
Brand strategy is not about writing briefs and making templates. It’s a way of thinking.
I’m not precious about strategy. If you can ask questions, you are curious, and connecting dots, you have the makings of a strategist
(3) Nature with nurture
When pushed on what really makes a strategist, Mo offers a perspective that starts with some natural qualities.
I think it can be trained, but it’s like you have some natural ability for it. If you love strategy, you are probably good at it.
There definitely needs to be an innate nature to be curious, an ability to see patterns and then the desire to build the skills on top of that.
(4) Starting with clutter, ending in clarity
We talk about our process as a strategist and it’s typically split into three phases. Phase 1 is the mess and the clutter, phase 2 is stepping away and disconnecting, phase 3 is getting a spark and getting to clarity. (I actually wrote a piece on insights for one of my newsletter issues).
You have to kind of go down a rabbit hole of a lot of things and then you're like, what am I doing? Where am I? And then walk away from it. And you know, it's rarely that I'm sitting at my desk that I have that aha moment first. It's always like, I've walked away or I'm in bed, or I'm on a walk or I'm on the airplane and all of a sudden I'm like, oh, it's that
(5) Seeing from different perspectives
Mo talked about an eye opening moment for her when she was teaching in Thailand. It helped her realize that we are often trapped in our own perspectives, but that is such a limiting view of the world.
I had one of my transformative life moments. Right out of college, I taught in Thailand for a year. I went on a field trip, Buddhist Saturday. There were like thousands of people there, there were alters and certain kinda things. I grew up Catholic. I had to go to church every Sunday. I was like, all these people don't believe in God the way that I was taught and I had this moment.
The logical teaching extrapolated here is that if you don't believe in God, you're gonna go to hell. All of these people here are going to hell? Like no. They believe in this other thing… My mind kind of just exploded. It sounds very obvious…but your perspective is not the only perspective. Someone else's view does not have to be wrong for your view to be Right.
(6) Multi-dimensional and evolving
There are many types of strategy and different sub-specialties have been evolving over time - content strategists, digital strategists, customer experience (CX) strategists etc. One thing is clear, strategists need to know a lot about a lot of things with a particular specialty, so they can connect the dots holistically for the business, but also deliver on a specific need.
Where does brand strategy end and CX strategy begin? The solutions are getting more sophisticated and more on the business side.
(7) Finding the hidden gem
With a background in copywriting, Mo shared a couple of stories in which following an instinct on a lead and an idea, it led to some amazing things happening. The linch pin of any brand strategy - uncovering the insight that leads to everything else.
It was a breast cancer awareness event. So these women were driving cross country on motorcycles to raise awareness for breast cancer. They handed me a flyer all about breast cancer. And the very last line, there was a bullet point that said 10% of breast cancer patients are men. And I was like, wait, what?
And then I dug in and I found out my uncle had had breast cancer. I wrote an article for the American Cancer Society, and the local hospital found a male patient. Maybe I saved somebody's life?
(8) Not being afraid of being human, being vulnerable
Most companies and brands shy away from what’s uncomfortable, but the truth is that human vulnerability is the thing that connects us. Mo said it superbly:
There’s great risk in doing great work. And you know what? Being afraid of failure is actually what connects…so if you are comfortable, you probably should have pushed it
(9) A team sport, not a solo endeavor
Brand strategists sometimes find themselves working alone. It might be a problem of budgets or simply just the mindset that the insights should just come from one person. Mo offers a different perspective:
As a brand strategist, sometimes we think we should do it alone. Don't go out there and struggle on your own. Take advantage of the fact that you have people who are down the road a little and always use people to balance your ideas.
I always like to encourage people to cross pollinate. Cause I think as strategists, we are sort of like writers where you have your five favorite writers and you take little pieces from people who I have worked for and people who have worked for me, from everybody.
(10) Honest and true
A great bit of wisdom from Mo nearing the tail end of our conversation was about being true to our values and our voice. While this is not specific to brand strategy, it relates to its practice and for the clients it serves.
Live your values and truth, not producing or doing things the way you think other people want it to be. And if you're really in a space where you feel like your genuine self can't be heard and you have to be different, you just need to change it.
Learn more about Maureen:
Ways I can help you:
Subscribe to Healthy Brand Mondays: Leverage brand thinking to accelerate your growth
Download free guides and tools: Learn from my years of experience as a brand strategist
Work with me: Be a podcast guest or hire my services for your brand
Organize Your Brands for Clarity & Resource Efficiency
4 min read - 1 Quote, 1 Lesson
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Read time: 4 min
At a glance:
Quote: Simplicity gives way to what’s necessary
Lesson: How to organize your brands
Bonus: Healthcare brand architecture hot takes
Quote
"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak."
Hans Hofmann
Lesson
In today’s issue, I will share a quick framework for you to determine a good way to organize your brands.
Whether you are launching a new brand, adding a brand to create a family of brands, or currently managing a portfolio of brands, it is critical to have a strategy.
The wrong step can be costly, not just in implementation, but in undoing the work later on and creating confusion in the market place. You don’t want BRAND PALOOZA!
When you’ve strategically thought through how to organize brands, it results in clarity, greater return and a decrease in the risk of jeopardizing a successful brand.
The problem is, most people aren’t educated even in the basics of brand architecture.
ARE THE BRANDS BETTER TOGETHER OR APART?
What is brand architecture?
It is the structure of brands within an organizational entity. It is the way brands within a company's portfolio are related to, and differentiated from, one another. It is a strategy, which means it is a decision the organization needs to make.
Ultimately the decision you are making is whether the brands you are launching are close or distant from each other.
An analogy I like to use: are they twins or are they from different families? As you move down the line, they are more and more different from each other.
Master Brand (Twins)
Sub-Brands (Siblings)
Endorsed Brand (Cousins)
House of Brands (Unrelated)
Instead of having you go through the academics of brand architecture, here are some principles and a list of questions to help you decide on how you should be thinking about your brands. This is not full proof, but it gives you a good start.
Principles:
Every brand is a mouth to feed: without resources to build brand equity long term, they become useless exercises
The closer the brands, the more similar they become: good or bad associations from one brand will rub off on the other
It’s not what YOU want to brand, it’s what brands your CUSTOMER want to buy: always remember to look at the portfolio from the customers perspective
Questions:
For startups
(1) Can you win with just one brand?
YES = Masterbrand
NO = Yes you can, answer the question again
( a little tongue and cheek here, but if you are a startup, you are better off dedicating your scare resources to one brand)
For companies with one brand, and now launching more
(1) Can you win with the current brand?
YES = Master Brand
NO = Next question
(2) Is the new brand for a similar market? Will the brand associations of the current brand help the new brand and vice versa?
YES = Subbrand
NO = Next question
(3) Do you have sufficient resources to launch an entirely new brand?
YES = House of brands
NO = Get resources OR consider Endorsed brand
For companies with many brands and are starting to confuse the customer.
In this case, instead of one brand architecture system, it typically requires a hybrid approach. Each question is an option to consider for a subset of brands.
(1) Are there brands you can retire?
YES = Phase out the brands and reduce SKUs.
(2) Are there brands that are not worth investing in but you still need the products in the portfolio?
YES = Masterbrand (convert them into masterbrands, use descriptors of the product)
(3) Are there brands that have unique visual identities, do not yet have strong brand equity and can benefit from the company brand?
YES = Subbrand (convert those brands into subbrands by leveraging more of the corporate brand)
(4) Are there brands that have unique visual identities, strong brand equity and can bolster the company brand?
YES = Endorsed brand (convert those few brands into endorsed brands through proximity)
Brand architecture can bring clarity to confusion. Before working with CSL, the large pharmaceutical company, their brand experience was not optimal. An example of that was in their recruitment process. A candidate would apply to a subsidiary Seqirus for a job, but when they got an email from HR, it could be from CSL, the parent company. Then when they arrived at a site for the interview, the name on the building could be CSL Behring. By helping to bring all the brands together under the CSL brand, it gave more clarity to the entire organization. Now, everyone who works there also has a CSL.com email address, where in the past customers or candidates could have received an email from different brands. Kudos to the organization for undertaking such a process to help bring clarity to their brand!
Conclusion
I hope this gives you a foundation to make some decisions, if not, I’m sure it gave you enough to engage in a fruitful discussion with your brand agency and strategist!
Bonus: Healthcare brand architecture hot takes
Pharma:
In the world of Pharmaceuticals, the brand architecture follows that of traditional CPG companies, partly due to legal and regulatory requirements where drug names have to be unique and not have the company names in them. However, let’s think about the recent COVID-19 vaccine. Instead of calling each vaccine by its product name. Do you even know the name of the Pfizer vaccine? It’s called Comirnaty. Not the easiest name to pronounce. They typically aren’t! But what if drugs start to be more linked up with their company brand? The reputation of Pfizer has definitely improved ever since this vaccine was introduced.
If your want associations with a certain disease category or area of specialization (eg. women’s health), you may want to consider starting to pull product and company or even division brands closer together so brand equity can start to flow more freely. How to avoid legal troubles? Simply by placing the brands close together and not hiding the company brand in 4 point font at the bottom of any communication.
Medtech:
In the Medtech world, Master Brand structures are typical. Medtronic, Abbott, Boston Scientific all utilize this structure. However, to keep things fresh, these companies continue to launch new products with new names, not necessarily new visual identities, but there are cases. My take is that these short term “brands” are not really moving the market as there is not enough time to build true brand value with the customers.
What if instead of focusing on products, they launched more longer term platforms or technologies? Using a Sub-Brand structure, this can bring continued positive associations to the parent brand and also distinguish it using the longer term platform or technology brand. Something to bring energy and freshness to the Master Brand. Checkout an example of this: www.NevroHFX.com
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