Dominate The Marketplace With An Intentional Brand

There are different levels of brands.

There is the visual aspect of a brand – what most people will associate with a logo (a quick visual rendering that will grace the majority if not all of the brands physical or digital assets)

There is the physical aspect of a brand – the type of packaging used, such as a custom bottle or container – think POM Wonderful bottle.

And there is the non-visual and non-physical aspect of a brand – lately, this is associated with storytelling, the background of the brand.

All of these three aspects of the brand are developed within the confines of the marketing department. Don’t get me wrong, they require a lot of thought and creativity to make them meaningful.

Add a marketing budget to spread the assets around and you have a fairly decent brand. Nothing earth-shattering, but it works.

Consumers are no longer interested in these types of brands. They are looking for brands with deeper meanings – brands with values, brands that actually do what they say they stand for, brands with intent.

Intentional brands not only embody who they are at every consumer touchpoint but go deeper in everything they do – from sourcing, supply chain, suppliers they work with, retailers they work with, events they organize, etc. I wrote an article about how IKEA is using Design Thinking to become an intentional brand. This is a much deeper multi-faceted engagement but all these elements latter back up to feed the meaning of the overall brand and what it stands for. All these elements ultimately build the intentional brand.

If you only work with fair trade suppliers, that says something about your brand.

If you are only available in natural stores, that says something about your brand.

If you pay your employees the same, no matter their gender, that says something about your brand.

If you publicly take a stand on current events, that says something about your brand.

All these elements say something about the brand and are very much intentional.

All these elements continually reinforce and build the brand giving you not only an amazing return on marketing spend but more importantly help you dominate the marketplace. Sure another brand can be cheaper, but they can’t be everything that your brand represents. They won’t be as authentic, genuine, and omnipresent. Don’t believe me? Take a look at Patagonia. There are cheaper outdoor apparel brands, but not one can ever surpass what the Patagonia brand owns and represents. You will essentially have created your own category – your blue ocean – that no other brand can own.  That’s the power of an intentional brand.

The days of companies just crafting the physical aspect of a brand and well-written copywriting are no longer enough.

You have to be fully engaged, fully present, fully in the narrative. Everything you do (and don’t) reinforce the credibility and authenticity of the brand (or not). That’s an intentional brand.

Intentional brands win.

If you need help developing your intentional brand, reach out to me and let’s talk!