WATERFALL BRANDING

“We hired a brand consultancy and developed a grand brand strategy. Our ad agency went on to

create and produce an ad campaign that stepped way ahead of our capability to deliver the brand promise.

We ended up with customer disappointment, internal conflicts and brand credibility erosion”

WHAT IS A BRAND?

•  Is it the personification of an organization, product or service?

WHAT IS A BRAND?

•  Is it the personification of an organization, product or service?

•  Is it the source of a promise to the customer?

WHAT IS A BRAND?

•  Is it the personification of an organization, product or service?

•  Is it the source of a promise to the customer? •  Is it a trust mark?

WHAT IS A BRAND?

•  Is it the personification of an organization, product or service?

•  Is it the source of a promise to the customer? •  Is it a trust mark? •  Is it a set of associations that enhance or detract

from the related product or service?

WHAT IS A BRAND?

•  Is it the personification of an organization, product or service?

•  Is it the source of a promise to the customer? •  Is it a trust mark? •  Is it a set of associations that enhance or detract

from the related product or service? •  Is it a source of emotional connections with

customers?

WHAT IS A BRAND?

•  Is it the personification of an organization, product or service?

•  Is it the source of a promise to the customer? •  Is it a trust mark? •  Is it a set of associations that enhance or detract

from the related product or service? •  Is it a source of emotional connections with

customers? •  Is it something that should drive the deisgn of the

total customer experience?

WHAT IS A BRAND?

•  Is it the personification of an organization, product or service?

•  Is it the source of a promise to the customer? •  Is it a trust mark? •  Is it a set of associations that enhance or detract

from the related product or service? •  Is it a source of emotional connections with

customers? •  Is it something that should drive the deisgn of the

total customer experience? •  Is it a singular concept embedded in the minds of

the customer?

BRAND NARRATIVE

BRAND NARRATIVE

Narratives are constantly changing and open to Interpretation.

BRAND NARRATIVE

Narratives are constantly changing and open to Interpretation. "ere is no expectation of permanence.

BRAND NARRATIVE

Narratives are constantly changing and open to Interpretation. "ere is no expectation of permanence. Authorship is irrelevant.

BRAND DRIVERS

BRAND PRINCIPLES

•  Be relevant – you’re only as valuable as your customers think you are

•  Be different – but only different where it matter (like creating value)

•  Always deliver – but never over-promise •  Have a story – connect your idea emotionally with

customers •  Open authorship – customers create the brand

along with you

BRAND MATTERS FOR STARTUPS

BRAND AS HYPOTHESIS

•  What’s your hypothesis about how you will deliver value to customers?

•  What was the source of the insight? •  Did you validate that insight? •  How did you test your hypothesis? •  Can you distill it to one core promise?

ELEMENTS OF A BRAND

VALUES

•  What you believe in. •  What you care about. •  How you will make a difference. •  What guides your decision making.

PROMISE

You have identified a pain point in your customers’ experience, and validated that it’s real. How do you plan on solving it?

STORY

A narrative, told from the perspective of your customer, with a beginning, middle, and end.

It starts with your customer’s problem, and ends with

your solution easing their pain.

NAME

•  What is your name? •  Does it speak to your values? •  Does it resonate with your customers? •  Have your tested it? •  Does it align with your Visual Identity

•  Logo •  Colour Palette •  Copywriting •  Style Guide

LEAN UX BRANDING

•  State your promise as a hypothesis •  Start small •  Assume your message is wrong •  Test your assumptions •  Iterate based on customer feedback •  Accept that you will fail •  Be comfortable with a brand pivot