Monday 19 July 2010
You’ve heard of our famous BE Branding – the much celebrated philosophy that is based on changing consumer behaviour by creating a belief for what you do, that people will want to belong to.
Well, now comes the 21st century mega trend of ME Branding.
According to its creator, our illustrious Creative Chairman, Simon Hammond, ME Branding is the inherent and often subliminal art of choosing companies, services and leaders based on how they make ME look.
“We have arrived at a seriously savvy brand society where people now clearly understand, often without even being aware of it, how to brand themselves,” says Hammond.
“They choose their brands, whether it be clothes, schools, computers, cars or friends, based on how they fit with enhancing or creating personal brands.”
The ME Brand trend is a natural extension of BE Branding because consumers choose brands with beliefs and use those brands to state their own beliefs.
This will have direct bearing on the federal election as we, as people, look for substance and belief to follow.
ME branding explains how the Apple phenomena came about after Apple reinvented itself, not through function, but rather form. Having an iMac made you look cool. Cool people embraced the pure design decadence and others followed. It made your personal brand. It said something about you. The rest followed.
Google was adopted over Yahoo when those in the know deemed it the way to go. All of a sudden the search engine you used said a lot about your ME brand.
Toyota’s Prius was the expression of caring for the planet by the planet’s uber trendy; having a Body Shop bag said you cared; Ecko says you believe in free speech; and Harley Davidson says you’re probably mid 40s, get paid a lot of money and want out – albeit for a wreckless afternoon each week!
Brands are now being measured on what they say about me, not just what they do.
For all types of business, this must surely become the new litmus test. What does your brand say about those who choose it. And, would your brand pass, what Hammond calls, the T test?
Put simply, would an employee proudly wear the logo of the company they work on their T shirt as they enjoy a Saturday out with friends.
Nike passes that test, so does Apple, so do many rock brands – but does your business?
Moreover, can your brand be known merely by its belief, like Dove is known for changing the perception of female beauty or Apple is known for thinking different.
The big challenge for all business is the belief of its people in the collective and substantive mission of the company. In other words, do your people believe in something that binds them together as a tribe?
To have this all binding belief strong enough and connected enough for employees to proudly promote it when they’re not working makes for one cool and commercially successful brand.
To have a logo or set of words mean enough to the ME generation so that they wear it with pride is the new holy grail.
It’s the ultimate test for ME Branding.