The Hunt
Successful brands are always watching. Analyzing the market and spotting where the opportunities are.
All over the country people are actually walking around for once. Heads still buried in their smartphones, they are hunting for something. Pokemon.
Deep down in our DNA we are all still hunters and gatherers.
One of my favorite things about working in fashion, branding and design is trend hunting. Exploring the retail world, stores, cities, cultures, digital environments, observing human behavior. Finding the patterns is challenging, fascinating and intoxicating. If this is happening, what will that cause? What’s next?
Successful brands are always watching. Analyzing the market and spotting where the opportunities are. They get out there and walk around. They know that nothing stands still. What are the macro societal trends? What micro consumer trends are being created from them?
Sure, you can buy a McKinsey & Co. report, but there is nothing like finding that one insight, that one Pokemon of trend hiding in the corner that can make your day. And maybe your third quarter, too.
photo credit: Chase Elliott Clark @ flickr.com
What Makes You, You?
What is it that makes you human? Are you bearing your soul a little in your work and in your brand? Tell your story and embrace your narrative.
We are inundated with marketing speak. Jargon like “360º campaigns”, “to the next level”, “world class” and “surprise and delight”. We all use them sometimes. The danger is becoming a business ‘bot, or worse - you may be missing the opportunity to make a human connection with your audience.
I was chatting with an entrepreneur who is having trouble crafting her brand message. She is an avid horse-back rider and was wondering if she should leverage the phrase “unbridled passion” in her communications. Her friends were saying “Don’t do it, people will think you have an equestrian business!”
I encouraged her to embrace it. Her love of horses is what makes her human. It lets us into her soul a little. She approaches her consultancy with the same energy and love that she does her horses. It’s a great story, it’s her narrative and it’s authentic.
What is it that makes you human? Are you bearing your soul a little in your work and in your brand? Tell your story and embrace your narrative. It’s what makes you, you.
And it’s your customer’s way in.
Idea Muscles
Get that idea muscle to the gym. Lift some. Inspiration isn’t magic, you have to put in the work.
It’s been a while since I worked out. Things are starting to get a little soft. I know when it's time to get back at it because it gets progressively harder to entertain the thought of actually doing anything physical. A body in motion…
I found that coming up with creative ideas works the same way. The more I don’t do it, the harder it becomes. Creative thinking is like a muscle. Just like lifting weights, there are exercises I do that make it stronger. When I don’t do them, my creativity sits on the couch and orders in pizza.
Inspiration doesn’t pop in your head like a lightbulb. You have to go out and hunt it down. I feed myself with graphic design on Pinterest, branding trend on Medium, hit my retail go-tos in Manhattan. Whenever I get a thought, any thought, I click to my Google Sheets tab and write that sucker down. I brain dump. I have to get 5 ideas down before I can take a breather.
If you’re stuck, if you are feeling a little vacant, get that idea muscle to the gym. Lift some. Inspiration isn’t magic, you have to put in the work.
It's All About You
Your brand narrative needs to capture your passions, but what's key is how you will fulfill your customers desires. Great brands weave the two seamlessly together in a motivating and emotionally evocative way.
I met with a prospective client recently. She’s a Harvard educated powerhouse, an accomplished musician and recording artist, has a wellness brand and is exploring starting a museum - from scratch.
In our meeting she shared the personal motivation and meaning behind her music, her wellness practice, her museum idea. She shared how they were all integral to one another, synaptically connected. Her musical/creative/wellness/education narrative was important to capture in branding them!
While capturing her philosophy does fit into the equation, I am encouraging her to shift her focus. The motivations of the customers for each of these businesses are quite different. One wants to buy a song. Another wants to de-stress with body work. Another wants to take the kids someplace that will fascinate them for an afternoon.
Your brand narrative needs to capture your passions, but what's key is how you will fulfill your customers desires. Great brands weave the two seamlessly together in a motivating and emotionally evocative way.
photo credit: flickr: rafa_luque