The First Step in Experience Branding™

This is a simple question. Right? It’s your logo, of course. Well, no it’s not.

Step one in the process is asking why are you branding in the first place? Not who, what, where or when — but why? The answer lies in the beliefs and values of your company, business or organization.

So ask yourself what is the “why” of your company? Are you reaching out to customers because you want to close a sale to drive profits to meet next quarter’s projections? Is that where your thinking and marketing starts rather than end? In short, are you starting with the “how” and not the “why”?

“Why” is shorthand for a rare energy that permeates the air, crackles through staff conversations and informs internal communications. In the case of Nike and Wieden & Kennedy, that “why” is a deep love of sports. That is the “come from” you experience in everything they do?

Inspired by a great TED talk by Simon Sinek the companies that great this right have a visionary leader. So how does your company find its “why”

1. Ask yourself why you do what you do on a personal, emotional level.

2. Express that in simple emotional terms that will motivate your staff and customers.

3. Hire people that feel the same way.

4. Ensure each employee personalizes the “why” in terms of their own life experience.

5. Build a corporate culture that is framed in these human, emotional terms.

Do that and, as Simon Sinek asserts, you’ll have people saying there’s something special about your company and you’ll enjoy disproportionate satisfaction and success.