I’ve been fortunate to have worked with so many great people, partners and agencies over my career, and as a perpetual student of the work, I’ve learned, adopted and formed my own philosophical approach to the business that I’ve practiced and preached for the past 20 years. Whether you're targeting consumers or other businesses, creating participation and engagement with your brand is the ultimate goal in driving business success. So here are a few tenets I’ve tried to live by in guiding the work to help get there.
There’s nothing more powerful and authentic for a brand, than to express a bold point of view. Whether it’s altruistic or light-hearted, embracing a mission that comes from the strategic core is the best recipe for success. Which is why it's critical to give your brand a reason to exist in the world, and people a reason to rally around it.
A brand should be brought to life in a way that embodies everything it does using a bold creative voice that speaks and acts in the world. Which is why it's important to create an overarching idea that can be expressed consistently across all channels and support every initiative. A platform big enough to envelop every facet of your brand for years to come, and sharp enough to cut through the clutter.
Demonstrating what your brand stands for through action speaks volumes and is the best way to create consumer engagement. So whether it’s for the overarching brand, or an individual initiative, generating participation through brand action is a good rule to live by whenever, and wherever possible.
Consumers are most likely to engage when the work is fully-connected, so it’s important to map out a program to ensure there’s a method to the madness and that it all works hand in hand. So creating connected experiences to maximize efficiency and effectiveness is imperative when facing diminishing budgets and a complex consumer landscape.