Your Face: The Future Currency

Move over Bitcoin, there’s a new currency in town. Some Chinese brands have been experimenting with facial recognition software which uses your face to pay for things. Online payment has gone from tedious number punching to Apply pay and now your face?

Fintech has been a growing segment, though still in its infancy like VR and AR but how will it inadvertently shape the way branding will be defined? Brands are just starting to figure out how to incorporate AR and VR into their strategy but is it too early for facial recognition and branding?

Even though the idea of using facial recognition software is a great concept but it raises a slew of security questions that have yet to be thoroughly addressed. Does this type of technology impeded on privacy and how else will it be used to track consumers? How will this impact identity theft?

Despite working out all the kinks one of KFC’s brand K-Po is surprisingly paving the way for this new technology to be utilized in restaurants. This first ever venture launched in conjunction with Ant Financial, an affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. The technology is based on the digital payment platform Alipay, which has over half a billion worldwide users and already allows Chinese users to sign into the app using their face.

Diners at K-Pro can now use their face to pay for their meals. They simply place an order at a terminal, which then scans their face. It matches the image with their photo ID that’s stored in the system and customers will have to enter their phone number to verify their identity. Their order is still served by a regular human.

The use of facial recognition software has been tested throughout China. Tech giant Baidu has allowed its staff to pay with their faces at the company restaurant. Baidu even rolled out this technology at a KFC in Beijing. The software would scan customers’ faces in order to predict what they would order based on age, mood, and gender. A popular Beijing park even used facial scanners in the restrooms, where it had face scanners to catch people from stealing toilet paper.

When Your Brand's Sales & Marketing Collide

Brands are made because of the team you have in place. But what happens when your teams collide? Too often brands face challenges within between sales and marketing. Two of the most crucial pieces any brand needs to stay alive.

Sales think marketing doesn't do anything other than dictating what should be done. Marketing thinks the sales department are glorified rogue operatives that just run amuck. This kind of disconnect can easily break down your brand’s image and create a dissonance when it comes to your brand message. So what do you do when these two worlds collide?

Intertwine Your Brand Into Everything You Do

Branding isn’t just for your customers but also for your team. Make sure your core values are in line with what you reward your team with or how you incentivize your team. When there is a disconnect that’s when your team will be at odds with each other.

Create a Brand People Are Proud Of

As part of your brand’s responsibility is to create a brand that people will like. Too often sales struggle with gaining new customers because they don’t believe or like the brand. If you create a product that your team can’t be behind then the sales won’t soar.

Empower Your Team

When your team knows what to focus on that it can create a brand that moves cohesively in the right direction. Focus on the results of what your brand wants to accomplish. Along with focus provide your team with insights that can help them understand your brand in depth.

Switch It Up

Sometimes it's better to show than tell. Have your sales and marketing team switch roles for a day. This will help both teams understand the challenges faced by the other team and help them create solutions how to better work together.

What Brands Can Learn From Boxing & UFC

Exactly one month ago the world of Boxing and UFC collided in an epic match between Mayweather and McGregor, a fight that lit up the world of sports and the internet alike. it was estimated that this fight would garner 75-80 million dollars in ticket sales and this didn’t include wagers or bets. This was one of the heaviest wagered fights in history. So how exactly did these two totally different brands create such a bombastic hype and what they get right to spike revenue?

Create An Experience Using Shock & Awe

Both sides used to shock and awe as the major strategies. They wanted ticket holders to think that these two guys really hated each other. Both contenders even further demonstrated this with an Instagram photo that circulated on social media. It showed McGregor with a single duffle bag of plastic wrapped cash, Mayweather a table filled with neatly stacks wads of hundred dollar bills. This further fueled spectators to pick a side. The amount of smack talk that both sides participated in further swelled the hype and the crowd’s anticipation.

Unexpected Strategic Partnership

Boxing & UFC who would’ve thought these two sports would’ve created a partnership? One sport allows kicking the other not so much. Even the rules of both sports collide and seem unlikely to ever step into the same arena together. Nonetheless, it did. Both activities were considered sports but they each had a different audience. In the end, the partnership allowed both sports gain exposure to new fans and customers.

Brand Awareness

Through shock and awe, they quickly engaged the public, the promoters and everyone that would listen to the hype. When a brand generates this much noise people will be curious and people will tune into what you have to say.

Easily Accessible

They also got T-Mobile Arena to host the event which makes it available to a larger number of attendees. Not just that, the fight was also made public through pay-per-view for those who didn’t have the budget to fly out to Vegas and drop serious dough on tickets.  

Change Your Story, Change Your Brand

Every brand should be a fanatical storyteller as it is through your brand’s story that customers will empirically follow you. Have you ever noticed what every great story has in common? They fulfill the most basic framework for storytelling that everyone can follow. This framework clearly lays out who is the main character, the problem, the solution and the action needed to take in order to solve the problem. That is also why so many people love the story of an underdog rising up to success. It’s because their story fulfills the framework.

What happens when your brand’s story becomes diluted and polluted as in the case of United Airlines. How will you brand change its brand story without having to do a complete rebranding? There are three different strategies you can utilize to reshape how consumers are experiencing your brand.

Do Good For Your People

Your team is tirelessly working with you customers, connecting them to your brand. When a company is bad to its employees the work gets out and customer tends to turn away from that brand. But when you take care of your team customers are more inclined to follow you because they perceive that if you take care of your team then, in turn, you will take care of your customers. A great example is IKEA India they provide 6 months paternal leave for everyone no matter what.

Change Your Business Process

Some brands might find that doing good for their people to be a costly approach. So they may opt to change the process of their business and how they are used to doing things. Quartet Communications a Japanese agency started to pay employees a bonus for not working overtime. What they found was that overtime was cut down significantly from 9 hours of overtime to 3 hours per person.

Do Something Great With Your Values

When a brand is clear on its values they can also use that to make a change. The Time Hotel in Dubai will be opening its first location that has 80% female staff in management positions. They will also be providing additional education to their staff in order to catapult their careers to the next level.

How Brands Are Diversifying Inside and Out

Today’s brand landscape is ever changing at a speed that we can barely keep up with, from gender equality to redefining what your brand stands for or the rise of voice activation bots. It’s inevitable as tech innovates brands need to swiftly evolve their own identity along with consumers’ demand. So what does this all mean for your brand?

It means that you need to start paying attention to what’s really going on. Big box brands aren’t just listening to consumer demands but they themselves are morphing as well. Though some skeptics think that this is simply a trend as brands claw for inclusion but in fact it will be the new wave of branding to pay attention to.

So what kind of branding cookie crumbs are big brands trailing for us? Let’s take a look.

Gender Neutral Restrooms

This has been up for debate in many schools but brands such as Starbucks and Whole Foods have begun to address this. On a recent galavant to the trusty neighborhood Whole Foods, it was to my own surprise when I walked into what I thought was the ladies restroom to men walking out of stalls. It finally dawned on me that, oh yes gender neutral restrooms are here. Whole Foods and Starbucks aren’t the only brands to embrace gender neutral restrooms. Yelp has also started to lists business on its review platform that have gender neutral restrooms as well.

The Breastfeeding Squad

The rise of the millennial mom has caused brands such a Mamava to create breastfeeding pods. No longer do moms need to sit in a dark corner with a blankie thrown over her shoulder while trying to nourish her hungry babe. These pods are portable, private, sterile and totally equipped with outlets to charge phones and breast pumps. Mamava set out to solve the problems that all moms face, where can they breastfeed or pump that’s quiet and clean when they’re at the office or out and about.

The Hijab Meets Fashion

When Ibtihaj Muhammad became the first Muslim woman athlete competing for America to wear a hijab during the 2016 Rio Olympics she had taken on a brave stance to be true to herself. But born out of her courage to be her, Nike saw this opportunity and created a Nike Pro hijab for women athletes. Uniqlo also recognized the need to embrace head coverings as part of their product offerings. So they partnered up with Hana Tajima who created some amazingly beautiful head coverings.

Ad & Tech Industry’s Champion for Diversity

These two behemoth industries, advertising and tech are also striving for diversity which has always been a challenge. But there are two major organizations paving the way for minorities. Adcolor whose mission is to celebrate great talent in the creative industries and 20/20 Shift which advocates to helping tech and digital media companies diversify their recruitment process are both spearheading the conversation for workforce inclusion.

Is Pinterest Making a Comeback?

Don’t sleep on Pinterest because it has been a rising star lately. Brands are paying attention and even adding Pinterest into their social marketing strategy. The platform allows visual social sharing and has been a favorite for the transformational consumer. That customer that’s looking to better their life whether in health and wellness, finance, or DIY project ideas.

The key to successfully utilizing this platform whose main demographic is women is making it all about the customer and not about your brand. How will your brand bring value to better the customer’s life? How will your brand inspire, create change and possibilities for the customer by helping them along the way.

Here’s what you need to know about Pinterest in order to create a successful brand strategy utilizing this growing platform.

Pinterest Has A Longer Staying Power

According to studies, pinners engage in content for an average of 110 days once it’s uploaded onto the site. If compared to Twitter the average staying power is almost 30 minutes.

They’re Global

There’s over 50 billion pins and one billion boards across the world and it’s growing year over year.

Solve Problems for Users

Create content that will help solve everyday problems for users. Whether it’s Vegan recipes, DIY gardens, remodeling the den, things to do with the kids, etc. These are the types of content that will get shares and engagement.

Be Creative

Dare to bare the status quo be creative with how you use Pinterest. You can plan an event and run contest, get your customers to be a part of your brand’s initiative, or even run offers.

Does Your Chatbot have Botsonality?

As we usher in a new era of voice activation of almost everything in our lives, I wonder does your chatbot have “Botsonality” or translated into human talk chatbot personality? Now you’re probably wondering why does that matter? Oh, it matters plenty!

You see as brands find more innovative ways to either save or seize the attention of their customers, chatbots will have to congruently rise up in the level of connection it has with customers. When it comes to gaining loyal followers, your brand needs a personality to connect emotionally and your chatbot is no different as it’s a small piece of your brand’s real estate.

In order to create a humanized chatbot it will take some time, effort and a lot of tinkering. But to start with here’s a few ideas that will get you heading in the right direction.

Never Leave Users Clueless

As a user how many times have you asked Siri about a location and it sent you on your way to the other side of town that might’ve been too shady for your taste? Well when you create your chat bot you want to make sure that your bots will be able to be clear when communicating with your users.

Upbeat But Not OD

It’s as important for your chatbot to be positive as it is upbeat. The chatbot should come across as cheery but not overly cheery leaving users annoyed.

Deciding Between Right & Wrong

Make sure that your chatbot can discern between right and wrong. Good from bad when it comes to responding to customer’s needs.

Auto Completion Please

When you can identify what customers want before they know they want it is the way to go. Remember that you are either seizing or saving attention or time for your customers. Just like Google when it can auto complete sentences or words for you as a user you get a bit giddy about it don’t you?

Understand Your Customer

Chatbots need to understand the behavior of customers it interacts with. Is the customer here to browse or are they looking for product or information immediately? When your bot understands this then it will be able to provide efficient customer service.

The Fail Safe

You want to have a built in fail safe switch, which allows users to switch over to a live agent if chatbots aren’t able to assist. By making the process as seamless as possible with create a pleasurable customer experience.

The Sticky Art of Brand Naming

The time has arrived for you to name your brand! You’re wondering should you use your own name? Or better yet maybe you should come up with some cool made up name that’s not out there in the market. But what if it doesn’t catch on? These questions sound familiar?

It should because it’s the same questions that everyone asks themselves when naming their new business. Before we dive in trying to get funky with the names let's talk about the different types of brand names first.

Descriptive Names

The classic style of brand naming that simply describes what the company does. The challenge with this kind of name is that it’s constricting, it’s as good as it’s name. Some examples are Toys R Us and Paypal

Acronym

These are names derived from descriptive names. Tech companies are known for acronyms. IBM, SAP, HP are some of global giants we recognize today. Not many of us know what these letters really stand for but we know exactly what kind of products or services each of these companies offer.  

Made Up Name

Made up names are great in that they don’t come with any stigmas. But the tricky part about it is that you want to avoid using Latin or Greek words when you make up your brand’s name because it will take tremendous marketing dollars to educate the audience. Some examples of made up names are: Acura, Kodak, and Xerox.

Experiential Names

Brand with experiential names such as Virgin and Caterpillar are based on the feeling or experience that they want customers to feel when using their products. This type of name can be quite powerful because in today’s market where consumers are collecting experiences this may be provide you with the extra boost.

Founder’s Name

Using the founder's name is probably the easiest way to name your brand. What’s great about this is that most likely the founder will already have a personal brand which exists and cross promoting their business and personal brand makes it easier to get your brand out there.

So how do you know if you got a name that a winner? Here’s the ultimate quick and easy way to test your new name:

When you asses your brand you need to consider

• Distinctiveness: How does your name compare to your competitors?

• Sound: When you say it out loud how does it sound? Is it easy to pronounce?

• Stickiness: Is the name easy to remember?

• Expression: Does your name match your brand’s personality?

• Appearance: When you print it out using the Helvetica font 30 font size how does it look like? Is it easy on the eyes?

Decide what your name needs to accomplish and make sure it aligns with your brand’s core values. You will need to be clear as to which kind of brand name you’re going to go with descriptive, expressive, acronym, etc. and start naming.

Next Generation Branding: Gen Zer's

It’s official millennials are played out as they enter into their 30’s, the new “in generation” is the Gen Z’ers. Have you heard of them yet? These are the kids born between 1996-2010. They’re young, hyper competitive, and less collaborative. This is the first generation in history that will dictate what’s cool to the rest of the world.

What does it mean for brands? Well brands need to start thinking about pivoting their branding and marketing strategies as Gen Z’ers usher in an new era of advertising and lifestyle. This is a generation that isn’t afraid to start their own business even though they may be 14. Or even write a book.

They grew up having full access to information on the internet and are hyper technologically advanced. They create their own content and showcase it on Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook. So many of them will already have a personal brand in place before they even enter college. With this new generation here’s what brands need to be vigilantly cognizant of when crafting strategy around capturing this group’s attention:

Ads Be Gone- Value First

Your ads will no longer appeal to Gen Z’s. Brands need to start curating content that’s of value. Gen Z’s are more interested in what your brand can do for them. Rather than what they can do for your brand. Your brand’s content needs to keep it real- authenticity with an organic feel to it.

Celebrity Endorsements Don’t Phase Them

Now if you’re looking to use celebrities you can kibosh that idea as well. Gen Z’s aren’t interested in celebrity endorsements either. 63% of Gen Z’ers surveyed say they’d rather see real people in ads as opposed to a celebrity.

Talk Is Cheap

This is a generation that isn’t interested in just what you say, but they need to see that you’re backing it up with real results and action. No longer will your word be worthy, they need proof.

The Multi-Screen Generation

Since this is a hyper tech savvy generation, they are most likely going to be using multi screens in order to consume content. They are well aware of how valuable their attention is and everyone will be vying for it. On average they will be using up to 5 screens bouncing between smartphone, laptop, tablets.

Shorter Attention

Remember how you used to have 15 seconds to capture the attention of users? Well that’s no longer the case with this generation. You will have 8 or less seconds to garner their attention and create content of value. Can you do it?

Strictly Online Purchasers

They will only be purchasing through online portals so the average brick and mortar won’t be their primary choice to purchase. As brands you need to start figuring out how you’re going to either save or seize Generation Z’s attention.

With all these touch points covered, brands need to be aware that this is a generation that’s all about community and they just want everyone to get along. Now that we covered Gen Z’s are you ready for Generation Alpha? They’re currently 5 years old and younger.

You Got Branding All Twisted

It’s time for a branding reality check! Too often people assume that branding is just about a pretty logo and sexy websites. Don’t get it twisted those are just small pieces of branding. There’s so much more juicy details that go into branding and maybe you didn’t even know about. So we’re going to break it down for you and drop some branding 101 knowledge right here.

These are some of the other not so much talked about aspects of branding but many big box brands are willing to allocate top dollars for.  

Brand Personality

Brands are like people and have a variety of different personalities. Matter of fact there’s 12 different types of personality and finding which one your brand falls into will give you a guiding post. Just so you get an idea, brand personalities can range from outlaw like the Virgin Group to the lover like Victoria Secrets. Or even like Johnson & Johnson the caregiver.  

Brand Story/Messaging

This is essential for every brand. You need to develop a story or brand message that’s relatable to your customers. Something that speaks to why and how you brand exists.   

Customer Experience

How do you want your customers to feel when they are interacting or using your brand. Too many times brands skip this part and it’s one of the most important parts of branding. When you deliberately design your customer’s experience from the moment they go onto your website to the moment they check out can be the differentiator between you and your competitors.  

Strategic Partnerships

When you find the right strategic partnerships you can actually attract more customers and quickly. The key to strategic partnerships is finding other brands that are within your industry but won’t compete against you for the same customer or product.

Branding Strategy

All of this takes meticulous planning. So you want to have a clear set of strategic action steps as you roll out your brand. If you have ad campaigns that will be running together with certain branding strategies make sure you incorporate that into the planning process.

Another arguable misconception is that branding is marketing. But in fact these are two different entities. Think about branding as how your brand will showcase itself to the world and marketing as pulling customers into your brand through ads or promotions. So the next time you talk branding don’t trip up and assume it’s just about the aesthetics of your brand. The intangible also hold massive clout as part of your branding efforts.

NBA Jersey Branding: The New Revenue Driver

Almonds, tires, a tech company oh my! These are some of the contenders that will be closely snuggled up against the hard rock bodies of some of the most renown basketball players in the NBA. Say what? It’s a new wave of advertising that has openly rocked the NBA world for many years.

Brand sponsorship opportunities on jerseys was an arguable hot topic with the NBA. Though it’s a great opportunity for brands but some feel it may disrupt the ethics of the sport. Seemingly it can portray that players can be “bought” by brands therefore crossing over a fine ethical byline.

The NBA recently unveiled their jersey sponsorship opportunities to brands willing to pay a cool $4-$8 million annually for that small precious 2.5 square inches of fabric real estate. In exchange the brand’s logo will reside only on the right chest peck of  jerseys allowing for one brand per jersey per team. So which teams are the brave souls paving the way?

The 76er’s have partnered up StubHub, Sacramento Kings with Blue Diamond Growers for a reported $5 million. Boston Celtics will be featuring GE on their jerseys for $8 million annually, Brooklyn Nets have partnered up with Infor, a soft drink brand. Cleveland Cavaliers will be with Goodyear and the Utah Jazz with Qualtrics for $4 million annually.

With the decline of TV and print ads it will be interesting to see is if the NFL and NCAA will follow suit as this opens up new opportunities for sports team to further drive revenue. Though many challenge the effectiveness of such a campaign but if your brand’s end goal is simply brand awareness then this strategy will definitely do the trick. Not to mention if your marketing budget allows for you to burn a few millions then this might be a campaign to consider.

From Customer to Your Brand's Superhero

Is your brand on a quest to finding it’s next superhero customer? That customer who’ll be your brand’s cheerleader. The brand ambassador that raves about your brand as though you totally changed their lives? Don’t fret this is a common symptom that many start-up brands are combating. There’s one major fix for this challenge- ACTIVE LISTENING.

Yes, the act of truly listening online will help you identify who these customers are. Now keep in mind, not every customer will be your brand’s advocate but you’re in search for the 1% who are. When your brand finds the most engaged 1%, they are the customers that you want to focus on.

You’re wondering how you’re ever going to find them online? The steps may sound fairly easy but it will take time, patience and a bit of elbow grease to identify your brand’s superheroes.

Delight Through Amazing Customer Experience:

When you deliberately design a customer experience with the goal of amazing customers, you’ll stand apart from the competition. This is the first step to harnessing a customer who will come back and rave about your brand.

Bring Them Into Your Inner Circle:

Once you’ve identified who your raving fans are you need to create a community or tribe that allows them the space to share their experience. Even by giving these customers some sort of inside scoop about your brand will make them feel special. Who doesn’t want to feel special?

Surprise Your Customers:

When you send customers a small gift just because, it’s such a pleasant surprise because not many brands are doing it. Don’t wait till your brand messes up to send a gift. Be proactive and delight.

Feedback Baby:

Don’t be shy, ask for feedback. Even though your brand ambassadors’ are raving about your brand they will also be the first ones to let you know when you’ve messed up. Why? Simply because they feel like they have a connection with your brand. These same customers are also the one’s who are interacting with others about your brand so listen up to what they have to say.

Create A Referral Program:

This is a bonus tip and not all brands will choose to utilize this channel. But referral programs can be a great way for customers to help your brand drum up awareness. It can also expose your brand to new customers.

You Messed Up Naming Your Brand

One of the biggest challenges you’ll face when building your brand is, what on earth are you going to call it? You’ve probably Googled other brands in your industry. Or you even tried to see if there’s a funky, cool way to spell your brand. You finally find a name that you’re totally in love with. But to your utter dismay you find yourself against a wall.

You find out that the web address is already taken, the twitter handled you chose has 10 different iterations that’s in circulation and the only Instagram handle that’s available is the name of your brand with a number behind it. Now what? You let out a frustrated sigh and just like that you’re back to square one. No name, no brand. Of course you resort to just using your name and even that isn’t available. Does it sound familiar?

It’s not uncommon for brands to go through this vicious cycle in the beginning when it comes to naming. So before you start buying up web addresses and creating a social media platform, here’s some brand naming mistakes you want to avoid:

Don’t Be Brand Twins

Break the status quo, it’s ok go ahead. When you create a brand name that’s similar or the same to other brands it’s easy for customers to confuse one with the other. For example Domino’s Pizza and Domino Sugar or Dove (soap) and Dove (chocolate) and here’s another one Finlandia (Cheese) and Finlandia (Vodka).

You Didn’t Test It

It’s exciting when you come up with a name, but even though you love it doesn’t mean everyone will. Did you do an A/B test or even posting your brand name on Quora or Facebook to ask for feedback from strangers. Most of the time your family and friends will want to be supportive and if you name is plain terrible they won’t tell you. That’s why asking strangers is the ideal way to go.

Definitely Ask Siri or Alexa

This might sound silly. But when you say your brand’s name can Siri or Alexa spell it? If they have a hard time spelling it then maybe it’s best to try a different name. As voice activation becomes the next wave you want to make sure that your brand’s name can be recognized by this function.  

Simple Branding Made Simple

This is the moment of truth- reality check brands. Are you over complicating things? I mean are you making things harder than you need to? If you are here’s a large dose of check yourself before you wreck yourself. According to the Siegel+Gale Simplicity Index:

• 63% of customers are willing to pay a bit extra for a simple experience

• 69% are likely to refer a brand that provides a simple experience

So are you now convinced that your brand needs to serve a need or solve a problem with simplicity? Successful brands are those who are extremely focused on simplifying the customer’s experience. Now if you’re wondering how you can streamline your brand and create a leaner business here’s what you need to know:

Be Easy:

The more complicated you make your offerings the less likely it is that customers will think of you first. Customers want to use a product that not only solves a problem for them but makes it as easy as 1-2-3 in the process. For example if your brand is offering multiple promotions at the same time, it will create major confusions. Keep it simple to maximum 2 different types of promotions. You want your brand to be easily understood.

Position From Power:

You always want to position your brand from a power position in order to succeed. In order to do that your brand needs to answer these:

1. Your company is …

2. Your company does …

3. Your company serves …

Study How The Pro’s Do It:

If you’re needing some inspiration, check out how these pro’s do simplicity branding.

• Google (Simple website, yet provides a ton of valuable information)

• Zappos (Allows you to try on and return at ease)

• Warby Parker (No need to go to the optical store to get glasses, they come to you)

• Netflix (A monthly subscription gives you limitless movies without ads)

• Amazon (Buy almost anything on a single platform

Where The Magic of Personal Branding Lives

Personal branding- the other HOT HOT topic next to social influencers. So many times people have asked us, “how can we improve on our personal brand.” There’s actually a simple answer to that, there’s a magical sweet spot you need to tap. The intersection of your passions, your strengths, and what the world needs.

That magical space is going to be your brand’s purpose. You’re probably wondering what’s the roadmap? Or maybe I want to know the quick and dirty ingredients that will boost my personal brand to the next level.

We’re going to break it down for you. And for the purpose of the article we’re going to be using Richard Branson of the Virgin Group as an example.

 Tell Me Your Passion

Yes, get clear on what you’re passionate about. Is it tech? Maybe it’s fashion or reading poetry. Whatever your passion is, it needs to be a passion that’s so big, that’s at your core. Many of you will have many different passions but pick one that can not live without. Here’s Richard’s passion, “taking on big social and business challenges.”

 What’s Your Strengths?

When it comes to your strengths you might find it hard to figure out what they are so don’t be afraid to ask people who know you. This is a great question you want to also ask yourself, “If I was a superhero, what would be my superpower?” This might help get the juices flowing. Richard states that he’s good at bringing people together to solve social and business challenges.

What’s Wrong In The World?

This is a question that will warrant so many different answers but you want to ask yourself these three questions. What’s missing? What’s currently broken? What is the competition failing at? Here Branson believes that businesses should be a force for good.

Brand Purpose

This is that magical space where stars shine and fireworks go off. Your brand purpose is where the three things we mentioned above will intersect. Everyone’s brand purpose will be different, so keep in mind there’s no right or wrong answer. Richard’s personal brand purpose is to change business for good.

Create Your Action Steps

Once you have these mapped out, you want to create next steps as to how you’re going to get your brand out into the world. Whether it’s through podcasts, photographs, blogs, etc. whatever you choose it has to be a medium that will resonate with you personally.

The Serial Strategic Partnership Syndrome

Are you suffering from the serial strategic partnership syndrome? If you exhibit a collection of business cards stacked high on your desk, or you’re one of those who has excuses why you can’t work with another brand then you got the bug. Too many times we tell ourselves these stories from “oh I’m too busy,” to “I’ll reach out to them soon.”Ultimately In the end you never fortify these partnerships. And just like that you’ve fallen prey to the “Serial Strategic Partnership Syndrome.” If you’re wondering what that is, well here’s some the symptoms.

You’re a Business Card Hoarder:

If you have a stack of cards on your desk or in a drawer. That’s the first sign that you’re being a strategic partnership hoarder. I know it’s polite to take people’s cards when they offer it to you but you also have to do something with it. If they’re not the partners that your brand needs then throw away the cards. Just like the good cleaning rule states, if you haven’t touched it in six months give it away or throw it out.

Let’s Collaborate Disease:

Everyone seems to be throwing this line out all the time but is your brand backing these words up with action? Don’t say it if you don’t mean it or you don’t find any value in partnering up with another brand.

The Ignore:

If you’re being approached by people to work together, are you ignoring them? So many times brands ignore other brands and it ends up being a missed opportunity. The least you can do is hear them out.

So you ask, “how can I remedy this syndrome,” well it’s quite easy. Here’s how:

Get Clear:

What are your brand’s core values? Being very clear about what your brand stands for will allow you to align your brand with the right partner. Not every partnership is supposed to be pursued. But by making sure your values are similar to that of your partner brand, it will prevent you from holding onto every partner that you come in contact with. When you work with brands that compliment your brand the partnership can be successful.

Creative Partners:

It’s important that your partner brand is open minded and creative in their approach because it increases the chance of you both creating a unique end product. And not to mention lots of engagements evoking curiosity.

Complementary Products:

Make sure you’re working with a brand that complements yours and vice versa. You both don’t want to be competing against each other in the partnership. It defeats the meaning of strategic partnership.

Do Branding Like The Luxury Brands

Do you ever wonder why luxury brands have die-hard fans willing to pay exorbitant prices for their products? Many say it’s because of the outstanding customer service while others might argue it’s about the quality of their products. What if I told you that it’s about all that and more! Luxury brands exude this sense of belonging to an exclusive club tailored just for you- the customer. This kind of strategy isn’t by accident. These brands are very deliberate and precise in the methodology they present to you.

 If you study any luxury brand they will have at least 3 if not all of these kinds of strategies implemented. In conjunction to strategy these brands carefully select the words they use in describing their products such as quality, elegance, sophistication etc. An example of this is Rolex watches. They had created ads with the tag lines, “Powered For Precision” and “Live For Greatness.” These are words that point to the wants and desires most coveted by consumers.

 You can easily harness these same strategies to transform your own business.

 Aggrandize the product and the way it was made

Notice how luxury brands speak about how each of their products were made. A great example is Gucci, they passionately speak about the embossing process on their leather handbags.

 Value in history, traditions, and the craft

There’s a deep rooted value in the traditions and history of many luxury brands. It’s always part of their story such as Coco Chanel for Chanel.

 Pay Tribute to the innovator

They honor the person, the creative visionary, the brains behind the product.

 Glorify the obsessive fascination of collectors to a point of sophistication

Luxury watch brands do a great job in this category when they launch exclusive collections and hold private launch parties for their best collectors.

Pay Homage to the place or location where the product was made

If the product can only be found in certain part of the world, it adds to the exclusivity piece of the story and can command an even higher price on the market.

Secrets to Exploding Your Customer Experience

The ever escaping rally cry of what constitutes as “THE” customer experience (CX) in today’s ever changing world boggles brands regularly. In this moment, in any market, customers are demanding for quality experiences. Our consumers today are not just looking for one experience but in fact they’re looking to collect multiple experiences from multiple brands in real time. This poses as a real challenge especially for brand loyalty.

 Consumers are in some ways “experience cheating” on your brand, seeking the next thrill, the next “in” thing, that will level up their social status. So what exactly can your brand do in order to satisfy the experience appetite of today’s consumer? Many haven’t strayed too far from the continuum of social media posts and videos. But there are a few trends in CX that your brand can utilize to take it to the next level. It is through deliberate CX design that your brand will stand apart from the competition.

 Shock & Awe

There’s nothing like breaking out of the status quo box. The more your brand can delight your customers with engaging and creative experiences, the more they will pay attention. If we look at Gary Vee as a brand, what he says at times will surely shock you. He makes comments like, “You’re going to die soon. Do something about it.” Nonetheless it’s that kind of brutal honesty and shock that will garner attention.

Self-Improvement

Your customers want to feel good. They want to know that by consuming your product they will be better. For example Yoga as a collective brand is not only a lifestyle but the biggest attractant to the practice is for the bettering of your well being, both spiritually and physically. Thus yoga exploded as a worldwide phenomenon.

The Experience Venture

As the retail market for free standing stores shrink, many brands have gotten creative. They’ve devised a sort of cohabitation space within their retail stores by offering classes, events, or inviting a few celebrities to share their wisdom. Samsung 837 in NYC embodies this concept well. In their flagship NYC store they open their doors inviting the public to attend special keynote events. Apple has also announced that they will be offering additional courses in select retail stores, teaching photography and more.

The New Definition of Brand

The culmination of share and experience economy may slowly shift to Virtual Experience as a new brand definition. Though virtual is still in it’s infancy we see a rise of tech companies preparing for the next wave of snazzy tech obsession, from the Google Tilt Brush to Alibaba’s VR & AR shopping experience.

 The Virtual Experience economy will shatter the way brands have traditionally defined what it means to be a brand. No longer can they rely on a pretty logo, stunning websites, lavishly cool ads and defined corporate colors. Within the last 20 plus years the definition of brand has shifted so far away from where it started, a simple Norse word that meant to burn.

But are we truly ready to embrace this new virtual experience economy? Will it be a global phenomenon powerful enough to shift the way we conduct business? I mean we just started to understand the sharing economy. The questions will continually arise but it would be a total folly to not consider the fact that, yes your brand in the future may need to consider building a strategy around VR and even allocating dollars in your marketing budget.

 As of now we are not quite there yet. But what can brands do in the meantime? Connection is still the currency of brands. So in part it must be a focal point for brands to create a connection through emotions. That will be the strongest and most magnetic way to consumers’ brand loyalty.

So in order to create emotions it can be done through events, images, or the words you use. It can even be conveyed through the way you interact with customers both online and offline. It needs to be a deliberate, planned out approach that’s finely executed consistently.

In the end you what do you think? Is there any clout when it comes to the virtual experience economy? Will it shape the way brands are brands? Leave a comment with your thoughts would love to hear what you think.

Why Breaking Up With Clients Is Good For Your Brand

It’s hard breaking up with clients. Every business knows that serving clients is the lifeline of the brand. Many of us will take on clients knowing that they probably aren’t going to be the best clients for us. Yet we knowingly spend our time with them in order to hit our numbers.

But these might be clients who are extremely indecisive and 8 months later have still yet to decide on what color to use for their logo. Or what about those clients that only know how to speak down to you even when you’re trying to help their brand. What about clients that refuse to accept that they need to make changes to their brand?

When you come across these types of clients, you need to really assess. It may be painful having that gut wrenching breakup conversation but it can in fact boost your brand. Here’s the top reasons why:

1. Shows That You’re Serious

Your time is as valuable as anyone else’s so when you break up with a client, you’re letting them know that you take their time and yours very seriously. If a client can't appreciate that then you need to simply move on.

2. Spending Time in The Right Places

This will free you up to focus on clients who want to work with your brand. It may even make you happier doing the things that you love.

3. Creates Exclusivity

When you are selective of which clients you take on, it creates an exclusive image. The rarer the opportunity, the more clients are willing to pay. If you think about it, anything that’s limited edition is always priced much higher.

4. You Pick Your Perfect Clients

It’s important that you work with people you like. So now that you know what kind of client you aren’t willing to work with, you get to be picky as to which types of clients you will take on.