Despite working on the 'brand' team at my job, and saying the word 'brand' probably 100 times per day, I find it difficult to nail down exactly what it means. When I describe branding as logo, colours, packaging - it feels like I'm missing something. When I try to get too fancy with it, I feel like I'm making things up. I'm on a mission to explore what brand really means. My guess is that it means different things to different people, and different things in different contexts. Today, I'm digging into a piece on Harvard Business Review, written by Mark Boncheck and Cara France in 2016 - Build Your Brand as a Relationship.
According to the authors, 'brand' has gone through three cycles of evolution.
Let's start at the beginning. The etymology of 'brand' comes from cattle owners branding their cattle with an identifying mark of ownership. No surprise then, that the existing definition of brand is 'name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies a good or service, as distinct from those of other sellers'.
Then, brand shifted from an object to an idea. No longer something tangible, brand was now a 'singular idea or concept that you own inside the mind of a prospect'. In other words, brand shifted from how we identify something, to how something lives in our head.
In evolution number three, brand shifted from perception to experience. 'A container for a customers' complete experience with the product or company.' Not just how we perceive or identify a product or company, but how we interact with it, how we experience it.
To sum it up, brand went from something we make, to something we manage, to something we deliver. In singular words - from object, to idea, to experience.
The Fourth Evolution - Relationship
The most innovative companies are no longer operating along these lines - they're starting to think about the very nature of the relationship they have with their customer - the fourth frontier of brand.
What does this mean? The relationship aspect of brand can be defined as the respective roles and responsibilities of the company and the consumer. In most cases, the default relationship is provider/consumer - a one-directional and asymmetrical dynamic. The company provides a product or service, the customer consumes it.
Innovators, though, are redefining what this relationship looks like, viewing them more as collaborative and reciprocal. Let's look at some examples.
Hospitality -
Let's compare hotels to Airbnb. Hotels operate with a host/guest relationship - one-directional, asymmetrical, transactional. Airbnb, on the other hand, has built an entirely different relationship dynamic - it's reciprocal, symmetrical, and collaborative. Their brand relies on community, openness and sharing.
Transport -
Traditional taxis follow the one-directional, asymmetrical model. A nameless driver picks you up, then drops you off. Lyft challenged this relationship, positioning themselves, literally, as 'Your Friend With A Car' in their early marketing slogans. Encouraging riders to sit up front, and drivers to carry snacks and drinks has shifted the relationship dynamic entirely - becoming a key pillar of their brand.
It goes on. Nike has shifted their relationship positioning from buyer/seller to coach/athlete. American express from card issuer/cardholder to club/member. Disney from operator/rider to cast member/guest. And taking it all the way back, Starbucks positioned their workers as baristas over waiters, and challenged the role of coffee shop, as a community hub instead.
The Opportunity To Create A New Relationship Based on Co-Creation and Collaboration
There are three ways to think about building your brand as a relationship.
Frame the existing relationship that people have with your brand in the context of common social roles. If you're a healthcare provider, people will probably have a doctor/patient relationship with your brand.
With this in mind, try to frame the relationship in a way that doesn't relate directly to your industry. Perhaps there are student/mentor dynamics at play or those of a guide/traveller. Once you understand the relationship that people have with your brand, beyond the obvious, you can begin to explore how to build on this foundation as a key pillar of your brand.
Work backwards from the kind of relationship you want people to have with your brand. Start by considering the values and benefits of your product/service, then imagine the human relationships that might provide the same type of benefits. The authors reference Nest, the thermostat & fire alarm manufacturer. Rather than positioning themselves as manufacturer/buyer, they position themselves as a protective family member - perhaps the sensible older brother. This humanises the brand and creates an unbelievable level of trust.
Look for ways to shift your brand roles from one-directional, asymmetrical, and transactional to reciprocal, symmetrical, and personal. Think of the Disney example. The operator/rider positioning is cold, one-sided, and transactional. The cast member/guest positioning invites the guest into the experience, placing them not as a passive spectator, but as an active participant in this magical experience.
Thank you to Cara France and Mark Boncheck for sharing their ideas. All credit goes to them, and the original article can be found here. I encourage you to read it.