The role of brand strategy

What makes your brand unique? How does it stand out in your category? What “significance” gets people flocking to your brand? What “stickiness” keeps people coming back to your brand?

We wouldn’t be surprised if these questions keep you awake at night. After all, it’s clearly getting harder for brands to differentiate themselves. Categories are becoming commoditized as competitors mimic each other in both products and communications. Brand advantages based on innovation are short-lived as others rapidly copy technology, benefits, and promises.

Add to these challenges the myopic view that prevails within most enterprises. Within a company there tends to be beliefs that the world revolves around their brand, that their brand is truly unique, and that to make obvious and superficial claims is sufficient.

What’s a brand owner to do?

The first step is to move beyond the obvious and traditional modes of branding, and to embrace the new wave of branding that is based on deep, emotional, and differentiating brand connections.

This means stepping out of your usual and familiar approach to brand strategy. It means putting human needs at the center of your brand’s universe. It means shifting from promoting your outputs, to embodying the meaningful impact of the personal, social, and environmental outcomes your brand generates.

This is not business-as-usual. But it is necessary business.

This is certainly a different way of thinking about, planning, and executing brand strategy. Mindful and purposeful leadership is required. Organizational flexibility and patience are necessary. Individual persistence and fortitude are required.

The next wave of brand strategy will bring its own challenges to the business world. But at the same time it will deliver what every brand wants and needs: a meaningful difference that generates business by resonating deeply in the hearts and minds of all the people vital to your brand’s success.

Surf’s up! Get ready to ride the wave!

Looking for a more in-depth view of how to engage in this new wave of brand strategy? Download our white paper on Transforming your brand.

Emotive Brand is a brand strategy firm.