Reputation Archives - Emotive Brand

Brand Relevance Is The New Differentiation

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Tracy Lloyd

We believe brands need to stand out, not just by being different, but by being both personally relevant and emotionally important to people.

We came across this statement by Elliot Schreiber, Ph.D on his blog “Brand and Reputation” that sums up the key difference between “differentiation” and “relevance”:

Relevance is More Important than Differentiation: Business strategists, Marketers and brand managers have been fixated on differentiation. Customers, however, are drawn to relevance – the things that “connect with them emotionally”. As I explain to my students, differentiation is all the people you date; relevance is the one you marry because you cannot live without them. It is emotional and irrational, but the bond is strong. Consider all of the competitors who worked on their versions of the iPad that would be different, faster, etc. Regardless of what was introduced, the customer preferred the iPad. It was the most relevant product on the market.

When a brand seeks a meaningful position through personal relevance and emotional importance, it starts by discovering what makes it potentially relevant and then focuses on evoking the emotions that will support, extend and highlight that relevance.

That’s the role of the emotive branding process: why + emotions = meaning.

For more information on our brand strategy methodology take a peak at our methodology.

Emotive Brand is a brand strategy and design consultancy.

CEOs: Building Trust and Living Your Values

Posted on March 8, 2018 by Chris Ames

The Truth Is Always Trending

Good relationships are built on trust. Whether it’s between romantic partners, brands, customers, or government agencies, trust is the currency rate by which messaging is valued against. So, how much is your word worth? In today’s hyper-polarized landscape, it really depends on who’s speaking.

In fact, the world is moving apart in trust. According to the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer, “In previous years, market-level trust has moved largely in lockstep, but for the first time ever there is now a distinct split between extreme trust gainers and losers.”

No market saw steeper declines than here in the United States. The U.S. saw a 37-point aggregate drop in trust across all institutions. After all, this is the era of fake news, social media bots, and a react first, research later mentality.

For the first time in Trust Barometer history, the least-trusted institution was media. That also includes social media, platforms, and search engines. Yet, perhaps surprisingly, voices of expertise are now quickly regaining credibility. And that’s great news for CEOs.

Value Your Values

As trust in large institutions fades away, CEOs have the opportunity to establish credibility for their brand. How can they do this? For one, they can start by living their values.

Take a look at Delta Airlines. In the wake of the deadly Parkland shooting in Florida, activists online began pressuring companies that offered discounts to the National Rifle Association to sever their ties. Delta, along with others, chose to end their relationship with the NRA. Naturally, the political right responded with proposed boycotts, canceled memberships, and in some cases, threats of physical violence.

As a result, Delta faced a decision that many brands in this politicized, post-capitalist whirlwind must face: Take a stance and potentially divide your customer base in half, or remain neutral and try to appeal to everyone? Delta doubled-down.

“Our decision was not made for economic gain and our values are not for sale,” CEO Ed Bastian issued in a company-wide memo. “We are in the process of a review to end group discounts for any group of a politically divisive nature.”

Our values are not for sale. Delta may take a financial hit in the short term, but when a brand demonstrates consistent behavior and a purpose beyond profit, it’s going to excel in the long-run. That’s how you build trust. That’s the power of values-based decision making. It’s okay if your values don’t match up with everyone. Those who agree with your views will follow you with a renewed dedication. As we’ve said before, if you’re for everybody, you’re for nobody.

Trust the Process

We really can’t say enough about trust. We’ve written about the trust economy, how brand purpose drives trust, the need for trust with your employees — and there’s a good reason we tackle this topic from so many angles. While trust will always remain supreme, the way people define it is always changing. Just take a look at this timeline from the Edelman report.

Establishing long-lasting trust can feel like trying to hit a moving target. As we parse through the statistics, here are some insights and implications for today’s CEOs.

Insight: 56% of people believe that companies that only think about themselves and their profits are bound to fail.

Implication: Your company doesn’t have to be an NGO to think outside itself. Providing transparency in the supply chain, supporting worthy causes, and demonstrating diversity and gender equality in the workplace are all ways of elevating a brand’s trust.

Insight: 60% of people believe that most CEOs are driven more by greed than a desire to make a positive difference in the world.

Implication: You must have a clearly articulated purpose. Here’s the thing about core values: they will still be there if the market shifts or customer preferences change. Hence, brand purpose becomes the anchor that keeps the ship afloat, even as the seas churn.

Insight: 64% of people believe that CEOs should take the lead on change rather than waiting for the government to impose it.

Implication: To employ some bumper sticker logic, be the change you want to see in the marketplace. Warby Parker didn’t wait for customers to get better healthcare, they responded with the Buy a Pair, Give a Pair program to give people the gift of sight.

In the battle for trust, the truth is not self-evident — but CEOs have the opportunity to make it so.

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

Where Does Brand End and Reputation Begin?

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Tracy Lloyd

Confusing Branding Terms

It seems so many ” branding terms ” are being rendered meaningless these days and we tend to blur the difference between them. We use specific words in a broader context than originally intended. Often, we use words as umbrellas to bring together a multitude of ideas. But, among us, we’re not consistent in the way these words are used.

As a result, if you ask three business people what a particular word means, you’ll get no fewer than five answers.

Take these two words as examples: “Brand” and “Reputation”

What does each mean? What are the differences between them? Where does one end, and the other begin? Why is it important to understand what makes them different from each other.

To quote from our paper, “The Path to a Brand’s Meaningful Reputation:”

“For many, there is no distinct line between the meaning of a brand and its reputation. However, by intentionally creating a line between the two, at a point where one can presume one ends and the other begins, one starts to see clearly how a brand drives its reputation.”

To us, there is a big difference between the two words.

“Brand” is the things you can control (e.g. your identity, products, services, and behavior).

“Reputation” is something people control through their perceptions of what you offer, how you do business, and why you matter to them (if at all).

When viewed in this light, it becomes easier to see how important your brand is in shaping the reputation of your business.

Working from the platform of what your business does, and how it does it, people put you into a “good reputation for X” box within their hearts and minds.

If you truly matter to someone, your business is the only one in that box, and gets chosen every time.

If, on the other hand, your behavior doesn’t strike an appropriate give and take between what your business does and what people are seeking, that box can be very crowded.

And, as others in that box work to enhance their reputations by making their business matter more to people, your offering loses more and more appeal.

Others rise above you, because they better match what they do – and how they do it – to the needs, beliefs, interests, and aspirations of people who want to create more meaning in their lives.

These people gravitate to businesses and brands that help them do things better, achieve more, and live more fulfilling lives.

They seek to align themselves with businesses that have a clear and appealing purpose beyond profit.

They appreciate when businesses deal with them in ways that make them feel that they are valued, that the company is a caring one, and that doing business with the company is a smart and respectable choice.

Curious about brand strategy and your brand’s reputation? Download: Where does your brand end and your reputation begin?

Emotive Brand is a San Francisco branding agency.

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Tag: Reputation