One of my best friends – we'll call him Clem – is an assistant manager at a local grocery store. Clem works at a grocery store located deep in the bowels of the twilight zone. At least that's what you'd think after hearing the shocking and hilarious stories he has about the charming characters that shop there. A sampling:
:: The cross-dressing man who is now wearing pantyhose (a must as we move toward winter you know)
:: The crowd of people yelling for a security guard to shoot a belligerent customer in the knees
:: The customer who went nuts and smashed up their self-scanning terminal
:: And let's not forget the man who likes to come shopping with his pet squirrel (still hoping to find out the squirrel's name)
There are many, many other stories. Often disturbing. Frequently shocking. But always very funny.
I got an email from him today. The subject line was simply the name of his store and today's date. I immediately smiled and couldn't wait to open it up – I knew I was in for a treat. That's when it hit me:
My friend has become his own brand – a very strong brand.
How's that? He doesn't even have his own logo.
Remember, while a strong logo is vitally important, a brand is not a logo. Your brand is the place you hold in the minds of your customers – the expectations, the reputation . . . the promise. The more you deliver on the promise of your brand the stronger your brand becomes. The role of design is to express and extend your brand at every touchpoint by demonstrating, rather than declaring, what it stands for.
My friend's email created a strong emotional connection with me – before I even read it. He has created a brand promise of a story that will have me shaking my head in disbelief or holding my sides with laughter and delivered on it consistently over time. The result is what we should all be aiming for from our audience – an expectation of excellence!
This guy HAS to live in SoFlo ... these types of things happen here all the time.
You have me asking myself what my personal brand "promise" is.
Posted by: Janie | November 11, 2008 at 06:58 PM
Good stuff Todd. Delivering on the promise is what it is all about. I was talking about brand with a potential client the other day and that was the essence of the discussion. You can look good, but you have to deliver or your brand won't stand for what you want it to. When design and great delivery meet, success is in the making.
Posted by: Karl | December 08, 2008 at 04:54 PM
Great insight Karl.
Making that part of the discussion is the key - and it sounds like you're engaging your clients in that. Well done!
Posted by: Todd Adkins | December 16, 2008 at 11:22 AM