The human side of your brand

Just like humans, brands have unique identities created and developed on a archetype DNA structure. Beyond theory, consumer behavior and intuition stand as key knowledge in shaping a successful embodiment of your brand or product.

For instance, when creating my first brand positioning from scratch, I felt the need to find a rational analogy between that particular positioning and a somewhat a posteriori matter. Due to my poor professional experience on branding at the time, I was only relating on empirical knowledge coming from common sense observations, in what seemed to be the closest thing to get the job done at that moment. Because humans, since their early ages, have this fascinating battle between the “elephant” (the emotional side) and the “rider” (the rational side), I found that the best connection I could ever think about was the one between the brand and one fictive person identifying with it.

Once I found the perfect analogy, I had to go the extra mile of creating the convenient environment. So, because playing volley on the beach would make you (“the brand”) stand out only if your body was a “wonderland chords”, I chose something more modest, like a job interview. Simple and easy to understand. Just like Apple.

So let’s imagine the interviewer, excited to have his first job interview with the star of this article, the brand (“you”). You may notice the unusual order and that’s only because ‘brands are not perfect’. Neither are interviews. So keep in mind that the sole purpose of this article is to show you how a brand structure is reflected upon a real life situation.

First questions which you are exposed to, are: your skills (brand values) and “why are you the best candidate for this position?” (key benefit idea). These are fundamental elements that give the right hints about your structure. As you will see, the rational-emotional mix will be mandatory right from the start since the benefit will satisfy an emotional need.

The next step is demonstrating how you’re different from others (competitive positioning), what you stand for or simply put “what is it that you can bring to the table in order to improve things?” (brand promise). Your academic background and work experience (RTB) will follow in what will further prove to be arguments in keeping that promise. You should also be able to describe yourself in a few words, since that is the only significant way of presenting your unique, intangible attribute or value (brand essence).

While you’ll be busy talking about your “hopes and dreams“, the interviewer will be carefully analyzing if your personality, mostly suggested by your tone of voice, fits with the opened position and the team. You have the power to transform the way he sees you, performing a role based on your natural personality (advertising). Even if the advertising is rocking, the secret is to be as authentic as possible so that the brand image (the way people see you) will be close enough to the brand identity you have (the way you want to be seen).

Eventually you’ll be bored with the “where do you see yourself in 5 years” question, so you should be ready to reveal your long term brand mission. At this moment, the interviewer should have already made a personal opinion about you and how the company he represents, can benefit from your skills and experience (consumer insights).

At the end of the day, the only thing that will get you hired, will be the position you held in your employer’s mind in comparison with others (“other brands”). This is what we call “brand positing statement” – in our imaginative story, a 2 hours interview concluded in one sentence, that can either save you or kill you. Time can prove very flexible in a real life attempt to position a brand.

One final thing you must hold on to is that the brand, only lives in people’s minds and the way you get in there is the way you expose yourself (the brand exposure) and the way people interact with you (the brand experience).

Considering all these, which are you tips and tricks for finding the best place for your brand in consumer’s mind?

 

Por Andreea Florica, Marketing Manager at IntenseLife

Versão integral em https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/human-side-your-brand-andreea-florica

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