Group Companies

Is your brand a liar?

We were delighted to attend the first MII event of 2020 in Cork last week and the topic, presented by Niall Tracey, Director of Marketing at Failte Ireland, was one that had everybody intrigued ‘My Brand is a Liar’.

In this context, a Brand could be anything from Guinness, to the Accountants down the road, to your own personal brand. And the focus was on Brand Purpose.

In recent years, companies have been told that they need a purpose, a reason for existing beyond making money. Customers look for authenticity, and prospective employees want to work somewhere that makes the world better. However, over time brands start to move away from why they really exist, they lose sight of their true purpose and they all start to sound the same…

“In a world where everybody is increasingly polarised, at least they can come together over [insert your brand].”

Brand Purpose

When looking at your Brand Purpose, ask yourself the following questions:

1.    What does the world need?

2.    What you are passionate about?

3.    What are you good at?

Where these intersect, you have your Brand Purpose!

It’s important to remember that your Brand Purpose should align with your Strategy and your Behaviours (both internally and externally in the marketplace). And if they are inconsistent, well then quite simply you are lying to yourself, and more importantly to your customers!

Sometimes you don’t even realise that there is a disconnect. It’s your customers who experience this. Therefore, it’s important to get out there and BE your customer. We are all our own brand’s biggest fans; championing our brand at every opportunity. But when you think of your brand, when you look at your brand, when you experience your brand – your brand is telling you exactly what you want to hear. That your brand is the best thing sliced bread, everybody loves it and it is genuinely impacting positively on your customer’s lives in a way your competitors can’t.

But that’s a lie.

You THINK you are great. But what does it look like to your customers? What’s their experience like? How do they feel about your brand?

Be Your Customer

You need to act as your customer: buy the product, ask the salesperson for advice, sign-up for the newsletter, complain about something, send a compliment… What is the REAL customer experience?

Are you satisfied that your purpose, strategy, and behaviours are aligned? Yes? Amazing! You’re one of few!

Or, have you realised your brand is a liar? How are you going to change it?

We always strive to keep our client’s purpose at the core of all of their consumer touchpoints and ensure the strategies and behaviours (or activations) align. Keelings Love to Grow, so this Januberry we helped their customers to Grow their Glow. We’ve worked with Lyons Tea to promote their Pieta House and Hotpress Partnership, reminding people how important it is to Talk.

Get in touch to see if we can help you too – sometimes it takes an external view to help guide change and realign with YOUR purpose. 

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