How come some people seem to “own the room” when they enter? Is it their bold outfit? Their voice or body language? Perhaps it’s the act of giving each person in the room a few seconds of attention. Something else?
Most people will probably say it’s the person’s air of confidence. You need to be confident to wear a bold outfit and stand out. You need to be confident to walk and talk like you’re in a group of friends. You need to be confident to look strangers in the eyes.
Being confident gets you seen and admired.
So how do you become seen and admired as a brand? Besides the obvious, that you should have a decent product and service to offer, it’s pretty much the same as for a person.
If you want to be seen, you need to stand out
Or at least have something recognizable. A lot of artists seem to have a natural talent for creating and nurturing their image. Like the rock band Kiss. Their spectacular make-up made them different from the rest. They quickly rose to fame.
Something that belongs to you
The artist Prince managed to turn purple into his colour. So much so that the colour company Pantone created a custom purple called “Love Symbol #2” in his honour.
The attempt to be associated with a colour is fairly common in the world of brands, but it is a pretty huge undertaking and is perhaps only feasible for brands with a big footprint. In the UK it was almost silly for a while, when the mobile phone competitors seemed to take one colour each. O2 took blue. T-mobile chose pink. Vodafone red. Orange took… well orange.
No matter how you do it as a brand: a colour, a mascot, a jingle or a slogan that belongs to you, it’s an important component to create a luminous brand.
Being recognised isn’t enough
If you want to be seen and admired you need to give people a reason to talk about you. In Hollywood’s glory days the so called Star System is a great example of orchestrating interest. For example: the studios arranged a date with two of their film stars and “accidentally” told the press. The next day, people could read and gossip about the stars.
“There’s only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.“
Oscar Wilde
How can you as a brand do something worth talking about?
The Best Job in the World started as a humble job ad in newspapers around the world. Black and white. Only text. But, it offered something amazing: a six-month dream job as a caretaker of an Island, next to the Great Barrier Reef. Eventually the story was picked up by various news outfits around the world and Tourism Queensland got 35,000 applications from over 200 countries. Tourism Queensland got even more attention when the winning application was announced. Ben Southall talked in interview after interview how amazing Queensland and the great barrier reef was. He did 450 media interviews, including one with Oprah Winfrey.
Create a luminous brand by investing in things worth talking about.
See your customers
Finally, being seen and admired as a brand is also about paying attention to your customers. To really see them. To create small moments of delight and surprise. Every touchpoint of a brand is an opportunity to shape your customers opinion about you.
A wonderful story is when Chris Hurn’s son left his favourite stuffed giraffe, “Joshie” in their hotel room after a recent stay. Chris called the hotel and asked them to send “Joshie” back home. He also told them that he made up a story for his son that “Joshie” wanted to stay a few days more, but was soon getting back home.
The staff at the Ritz created a series of photographs that included all of the activities Joshie had been involved in during his “extended vacation”. In the same package as Joshie was a little booklet with Joshie’s adventures.
Interested in making your brand luminous?
At Phosworks we believe that a luminous brand is created by thinking through all touchpoints of a brand. The big and the small. Have you taken the time to map yours?
Brand identity, storytelling and digital platforms should work together as one. This is our recipe for success – for brands who want to be seen and admired.
PS. Our Luminous campaign is live in print and digital channels. Don’t miss our Luminous Storefront Sessions. DS.