A group of people protest the war at the corner of Fair Oaks and Mission in South Pasadena every weekend. They jump around waving signs asking that you honk for peace. It’s fun and makes you feel better for a bit somehow - the simple fact of having ‘raised a voice’ perhaps. Who would have thought there could be any trouble with it?
What makes a brand a brand? Its ability to stand out of the clutter, how the product fits lifestyles, how the advertising fits mindsets, the price, the packaging, the connection it makes over time with consumers… the list could go on and on. How does belief in the brand fit in the big picture?
At an account planning conference I went to recently, Domenico Vitale talked about ‘belief’ branding. One such is the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. This flavour of branding seems to derive itself from a higher purpose, a greater calling, if you will. As Carisa Bianchi put it, “People want to be inspired. It’s up to us to find a way.” Consumers appear to be looking for a way to make a change for the better, to be part of something bigger than just the brand. And sure enough, companies are beginning to create appropriately ‘noble’ contexts for their brands.
But some brands are inspired from within - where a ‘purpose’ need not be superimposed on the brand, since the product and the greater good that inspires it are seamlessly spun. Consider Method. I’ve been following it for a couple of years and been fascinated.
They are a home cleaning product brand with the tagline “People Against Dirty”. Their aim was to clutter-bust P&G and other big soapers. They also knew they wanted to be environmentally friendly, aesthetic and fun. Their products look beautiful, they clean well, are naturally scented - they are truly sink-top accessories rather than something nasty that you hide away as soon as you are done. They don’t make a big deal about being “green” in their advertising but their blog is explicit: “Dedicated to the fight against dirty. In whatever form dirty appears.” On it, they talk about individual and corporate social responsibility with respect to the environment and other such things.
I have never known a brand that comes from the inside-out as much as Method does. These guys are young, smart, and above all, they have a vision. They seem to sleep, breathe, walk, and talk Method. They deeply believe in their brand and (perhaps consequently) have been wildly successful in engaging deeply consumers’ belief in their brand. The result: a near cult phenomenon linked to something as banal as cleaning! Of the co-founders, one of them was an account planner and the other is a chemical engineer. Together, they have a brand that was initially bottled in their kitchen in San Francisco. It has grown almost 4000% (?!) in the last 5 years and they were listed this year as the seventh-fastest growing company in America.
Here is an engaging telling of the entrepreneurship of Method by one of its co-founders, Eric Ryan.
Listen to Sir Ken Robinson make a marvelous appeal for designing an education system that nurtures creativity. I heard him speak at an Account Planning conference in San Diego recently and he made similar points with respect to organisational innovation. This talk is from TED where some of the world’s most progressive and articulate people share their thoughts. Truly ‘ideas worth spreading’.
Those words are boldly painted on the sides of a vehicle being driven around Silverlake in Los Angeles. They are followed by a phone number presumably belonging to the dashing middle-aged driver. And blaring from his shiny red ride today was the “…hello, I love you, could you tell me your name… hello, I love you, could I get in your game…” song. Talk about an integrated message! I’m sold, aren’t you?
