This year kicked off with a new project at Blue Light that I am wildly excited to be working on. In a nutshell, we’re helping a new food CPG develop its brand. They have the product, packaging, a logo and that’s about it. It was up to us to create everything else.
Our job is to help develop the customer personas, mission statement, and vision statement and define the USPs. We’re also creating the visual identity— and since the company already had packaging and a logo, the challenge becomes: “how do we build upon this in an exciting and memorable way”.
We’ve worked with brands in the past who fail to invest in this process (with us or with anyone else) and it presents numerous challenges for us as their marketing agency. For instance, if there are no brand guidelines it makes it much harder for your marketing team to ideate efficiently because the parameters for creativity haven’t been set.
I know it may sound counterintuitive to have parameters around creativity, but here’s the thing:
Ideas are easy to develop, but good ideas have clearly defined boundaries and objectives.
That’s what those guidelines are used for (in addition to the obvious benefits). If we’re thinking strictly from an ROI standpoint, my friend, agency advisor, and branding expert Anna Nassery says it best “Consistency equals currency and process equals profit”.
The largest brands in the world are successful because they’ve created a look and feel that is replicable and expected among consumers everywhere. Every billboard, Instagram ad, and commercial is thoughtfully planned according to the guidelines they’ve established. They do not shoot from the hip. Neither should you.
For the savvy marketer reading this newsletter, I hope that my telling you what you already know just gave you another line to communicate the importance of this practice with the brand(s) you’re working with.
To the entrepreneur/business owner reading this - take a week to establish these points and stop torturing your marketing team.
Confident Humility
This weekend I participated in a fireside chat talking about user trends, competitive pricing dynamics, net regulations, and new product offerings in digital advertising. The thing is, my co-panelist was the SVP of Market Intelligence at one of the largest agencies in the world.
To say I felt a little out of my league is a massive understatement.
My co-panelist was fantastic on every level. On top of being insanely knowledgeable in what is truly going on at a macro-level in the advertising industry, he was insanely kind. He was generous enough to agree with some of the perspectives I had while adding his color when he was asked to speak.
For a moment the thought of “what the $%!& am I even doing here” crossed my mind, and then I realized that I was asked for a reason, and I had a very specific perspective that I could speak to.
If I didn’t have an opinion or thought to share, I simply stated “I haven’t researched the topic, and don’t have an opinion to share” with confidence. And it was perfectly fine.
And when I did have a perspective I was sure to speak it with the same conviction I would in a strategy meeting with any one of Blue Light’s clients.
Know what you know. Know what you don’t. Don’t blur the lines.
Oversharing
It’s been a slow start to the year for my podcast, but that’s okay. I’m really excited about the stories that will be shared this year and the ones we have so far. If you haven’t checked out the podcast in a while here are some of the recent episodes:
How to Fight with Jessica Evans
Bigger Purposes with Robbie Kieran
Navigating Realignment with Hayley Jordan
I have one episode with professional boxer Tayden Beltran coming out this week but afterward, I’d really like to interview Johnny.
If you have 30 minutes or can spare to catch up on the last episode of The Last of Us, I strongly urge you to listen to his story on Soft White Underbelly. If you happen to know him, please send him my way.