The most effective brands are designed to perform. They are optimized to gain their audience’s attention, stand out from their competition, deliver a compelling reason to engage, and cultivate customer loyalty.
Too often brand goals are approached by touting superior products or services. But businesses are slowly realizing that these claims simply contribute to the increasing market noise and inevitable slide to commodification and price wars.
Grasping at the “brand” straw, businesses then throw the most meager possible dollars at the lowest budget “funnel” creators, copywriters, and designers. These providers, in turn, produce glossy but often profoundly shallow communications materials, guided by tired and easy trends that only sink brands further into the mire.
This is the trap of brand cosmetics.
Brand cosmetics are a surface veneer that rarely dips into any relevant meaning for the customer. They tend toward current fashion and any perceived instant gratification – short-term results and quarterly sales targets. Rarely do they provide any lasting brand value.
Businesses serious about long-term growth and foundational strength will eventually realize that investment in their brand is not about looking smart or saving cash. If your brand doesn’t connect with your customers’ values in a deeper way, you are simply treading water, and wasting time, energy, and resources.