\n#brandstrategy\n#purpose <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nA\nbrand’s success in our society is always measured in numerical terms.\nNumbers are the language of power. All that is quantifiable is\nreliable. We create brands to have a turnover of this much, grow this\nmuch, reach this many countries, employ this many people, and produce\nmore and more (to infinity and beyond). And now we can know precisely\nhow many clients we have, where they live, what they want, how they\nwant to be contacted, what makes them faithful to us, how much we\nhave to spend and on which channels… If it can’t be measured, it\ncan’t be managed, they say. And now everything is measurable.\nWe measure to grow indefinitely. Grow and grow no matter what, with\nno regards to the health and happiness of people, their welfare,\nbiodiversity, the Amazon rainforests, the climate…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nBut\nperhaps success can be reached from a different place, where being\nquantifiable is not a value in itself. Perhaps success can be\nmeasured with reference to the number of people that have been helped\nor inspired, by the number of positive experiences that one has\ncontributed to, or by the amount of actions that have somehow\nimproved our environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nIf,\nin the past, a brand became powerful by doing things faster, better,\nor cheaper, and by working to give an answer to an external\nsituation, now the important quality is born out of its heart \u2013 its\npurpose and empathy. A brand’s purpose, by its very nature, is\naspirational and is never fulfilled in its entirety, but gives sense\nand direction to its actions. And there is a true hunger for purpose\nin our lives, amongst other things, because people are waking up from\nthe alienation that came with aggressive consumerism, we are\nperplexed by the profound nature of the economic crisis, and we are\nbecoming more and more aware of the important social challenges we\nare facing. At the same time, we are absorbing more and more\ninformation that pushes us away from the institutions, including the\nbrands, that surround us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThere\nare many well-known brands that claim to be associated with emotional\nvalues and then deny it in their everyday behaviour. How can we\nbelieve a brand that defends a certain emotion if our experience with\nit proves the opposite? It is not easy to live one’s brand in order\nto fulfil a purpose that our target audiences (who are becoming\nincreasingly cynical) will believe and prove it in all we say, do, or\nshow. It is not about seducing with our discourse by means of\nexpensive advertising campaigns and sophisticated marketing actions.\nIt is about something much more simple and complex at the same time:\nbelieving one’s discourse, committing to it and acting accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nThe\nchallenge when it comes to managing this sort of success consists of\nfirst distilling the central meanings of our business strategy and\ngive our brand a unique personality and set of values. This\nconceptual synthesis will be the lighthouse of a soulful strategy and\nof our positioning within the heart of our potential clients. Our\nverbal, digital, and visual identities, together with our everyday\nbehaviour, will make our discourse come alive. But it will only be\nbelievable if we do it in a coherent and long-lasting fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nMeasuring\na purpose is complicated because each one is different, but perhaps\nthe increasing sophistication of Big Data will soon make it possible.\nBut maybe we should be asking ourselves whether measuring its\nmanagement is really that important.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
#brandstrategy #purpose A brand’s success in our society is always measured in numerical terms. Numbers are the language of power. All that is quantifiable is reliable. We create brands to have a turnover of this much, grow this much, reach this many countries, employ this many people, and produce more and more (to infinity and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3017,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"yoast_head":"\n