Getting stuck downstream
Why the unmooring of brand from organisation can be a limiting path to marketing effectiveness.
Against the backdrop of technological transformation and AI disruption, it’s worth revisiting a couple of fundamental questions on the nature of brands. Those hard to define engines of our industry that govern what we do. In an age of constantly evolving channels, tools, and frameworks, a few questions remain; who are brands for and what value do they serve?
Moreover, what will be a brand’s future source of competitive advantage; can we continue to carve out distinctive market positions, and offer truly unique products and services?
The one-dimensional trap
The problem as I see it is a narrowing view of a brand’s total audience. Getting stuck downstream means focusing only on a transactional and economic exchange. Of course, I’m not suggesting this isn’t important. The primary goal of any marketing activity is to stimulate demand and generate profit, but when brand only sees buyers, in the strictest sense of the word, it’s the hammer in search of a nail. If a brand is simply a vehicle for external communication, that is, to create consumers, it’s less able to influence, innovate and shape a desired future.
Redirecting brand internally first, however, as a unifying force that motivates people toward business’ goals and ambitions, can make way for something more powerful. With a firm eye on the customer and the organisation, we can consider the broader world in which the brand lives and therefore better influence the interdependencies that surround it.
The cost of neglect
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Thinking holistically in this way is arguably most apparent when things go wrong. Take the likes of Optus and their ongoing effort to repair trust and social licence in the wake of the damaging data breach. Or Qantas’ untimely industrial action at the height of the pandemic, and the reputational erosion it created thereafter. These are brands ensconced within systems that go beyond their subscribers and frequent flyers. Ignoring this reality might help balance the books in the short term but it can derail growth in the long term.
A systems approach to brand building
Organisations depend on a multitude of interconnected relationships to function. Brands therefore take on a remit beyond what can be scrolled past or flicked through on the commute home. By being clear on who they are and why they exist, organisational brands can adjust and adapt under increasing complexity and can respond to external pressure with greater clarity, consistency and customer centricity.
It becomes easier to communicate and advertising feels authentic and meaningful. Layer in creativity in the right places and you get the synthesis of a story people care to listen to, engage with, and buy-into.
Reframing your brand’s future
Defining the brand by building it internally first can help establish this — understanding what the brand stands for and which audiences truly matter now and in the future. Ultimately, it’s about understanding the system before crafting the components. A good place to start is with organisational values and behaviours. Knowing what matters to the organisation, what it won’t compromise and the beliefs it holds and advocates. Through all-in departmental workshops and strategy days that involve cross-functional teams, binding the organisation to the brand becomes an organic part of the growth agenda. The two, no longer detached, but inherently connected and working in harmony to deliver greater impact.
The wisdom of systems
Walter Gropius, the influential 20th Century architect and educator, expresses the idea of systems thinking in which he explains the cultural significance of the Bauhaus. “To make this possible would require a whole staff of collaborators and assistants, who would work, not as an orchestra obeying the conductor’s baton, but independently, although in close cooperation to further a common cause.” ¹ It was a recognition of the relationship of design with the natural, technological and social domains that surround it. By connecting in with the organisation and mapping the world of interdependencies, we can get closer to the common cause of enduring, sustainable and truly influential brands.
¹Buchanan, R. Systems Thinking and Design Thinking: The Search for Principles in the World We Are Making. The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation. 2019.
