Emotive Brand Expert #3: Polly Pearson

Continuing our Emotive Brand Experts series, we’re interviewing past and present Emotive Brand clients to discover what they do better than anybody else – and how that expertise can be used to embolden your brand today.

In this post, Polly Pearson, a long-time friend of Emotive Brand, and an Investor Relations Consultant, speaks about helping CEOs better engage with investors. Polly has been innovating and helping companies build value with investors at leading companies for over twenty years. The secret to connecting with investors in a meaningful way? Brand.

Brand strategies play a key role in driving better investor relations. Understanding your brands rational and emotional components can help businesses build more valuable, connected, meaningful, and ultimately productive relationships with investors. A strong brand positioning and corporate narrative inform investor communications by providing clarity, vision, and meaning. Hear more from Polly about the value of building investor relationships in the right way – the brand-led way.

Investor Demands

For many founders/CEOs, dealing with investors is a necessity they do not cherish. Investors demand time, which takes executives away from running the business. Investors often ask excruciating questions – from the mundane to the punch in the gut.

Why, then, give investors any more attention than necessary? Why focus on connecting with investors on an emotional level?

Consider Emotional Connection with Investors

Investors buy based on emotion and determine how much to buy based on logic. If they like you, can see your vision, and feel your passion …  and if this dynamic foots with what they see as a compelling opportunity (to make money), they will be more inclined to step up to the plate.

Once investors see and feel that you value them and are working hard to make their job easier, they will be more inclined to value you and your company. As a result, they will be more likely to help share your brand story and your brand’s unique opportunity – building more demand for your company’s shares. They might hang on a little longer to your company shares. They might also be inclined to double down when times get tough – because they’ve been allowed to fully understand and empathize with your brand’s vision and passion for that vision. Because like you, they have the ability to see the long game. And like you, they feel invested and do not want to walk away a loser.

Investor Love: Ben & Jerry’s Peace Pops

I was on a Ben & Jerry’s factory tour in Vermont in the ‘80s and happened to select a “novelty” treat called a “Peace Pop.” (Reagan was working to make peace with the Russians back then and ultimately the cold war ended as he and Gorbachev worked to forge trust.) Beneath the ice cream section of the pop and under those last savory licks, these words were emblazoned,

“The Best Way to Befriend an Enemy is to Befriend Him.”

A riff off an Abe Lincoln quote most likely – but more succinct, in my opinion. Tying this back to human nature, we all know a friend is someone you trust. Trust is key to the capital markets. So treat your investors like you would a friend – with honesty and emotional connection – and see what happens.

Mutually Beneficial Emotional Connection

The best part of connecting with your investors in this way is the surprise you’ll experience when you see how mutually beneficial such a relationship can be. Your investors possess a wealth of information about your industry, your competitors, and your own business that can benefit your company and move your brand and business forward. Opening a dialog with your investors is one of the best things you can do for continued success.

Emotive Brand is a San Francisco brand strategy and design agency.