Tiffany Sauder, President at Element Three, gave a very interesting talk on "Create A Winning Inbound Brand" at Inbound 13. One of the very first things she mentioned in her session, is still ringing in my head and is so simple and easy to understand; A brand is so much more than a product or label. 
Now that statement is not something that many people think of. Everyone is worried about the exterior of a brand. Well what are they known for? Who are they? How popular are they? I'm sorry I thought I left high school years ago - not leaving it to get my degree and then go back again. Since when does every brand have to be judged based off their exterior look?
What I learned from Tiffany? Here we go:
- When it comes to being a brand - be specific and distinguishable.
- Marketing is just a vehicle to deliver messages to the world.
- People don't care how it works. The market doesn't care how you solved someone's problem or how much you love what you do.
For example, Tiffany walked over to another session audience member, pointed to her iPhone and asked, "Do you know how this works?" and the audience member seemed a little puzzled but responded "I'm not sure what you mean. It just works." She proceeded to ask, "What does it do for you?" This is was a response starter. People started to shout out what their iPhone is used for - staying connected, work, emails, checking in on family, etc. This makes perfect sense to me now that she used the iPhone example. People who are looking for a product don't necessarily care how it works. They want to know what it is going to do for them. It's that simple.
In Tiffany's words: Brands that look like crazy town - should own it. Every brand to an extent looks like crazy town but owning it makes them different.
Tiffany showed an adorable picture of her daughter wearing a fairy costume with a puffy pink jacket and a Rudolf nose that she insisted on buying. Tiffany affectionately said her daughter looks like "a hot mess". Most brands do look like a hot mess but the ones that own it are the ones that are the best brands and the most well known. They do things right.
What brands can you think of that are "a hot mess" that you admire, watch, monitor or have a loyalty with?
Did you know? It is ok to screw up.
Tiffany read off a quote from Starbucks, "There are times when we don't know how well things are going to work." Even as a leader it is ok to screw up sometimes. This quote was made about the campaign that Starbucks started with Groupon for the first time. Groupon had never handled a deal of that size before and Starbucks had never started a deal of that size online either. Even though they had never handled a campaign of that volume before, they were willing to be one of the first brands to take on a deal that large.
I love her concept, or Element Three's concept, of the "elements" of a brand: Br - Brand Development, Mk - Marketing Strategy and Cr - Creative Execution. Three main steps - that is all it takes. This is a concept that every brand needs to realize. Building a winning brand doesn't take years or millions of dollars. It takes a well thought out marketing plan and the right tools to take a brand where it needs to go.
The best yet sort of hilarious main point that I took from this session? Be a hot mess but own it. Don't get sloppy but make sure that you are exciting, relevant and more than just a produce or a label. Remember: "The brand is the product" - Lee Chow
See Tiffany Sauder's Twitter account.
(picture credit: Tiffany Sauder's Twitter account)
Comments