What Does Your Brand Smell Like?

A BRAND?

A brand should be a clear statement.

Laser focused intent.

Not vague, unfocused or unclear.

Your brand must be consistent.

Your brand no matter what it might be must be CLEAR FOCUSED CONSISTENT. The focus on a brand or label is often the target audience or demo graphic - this is the tried and tested formulaic standard.

This is not clear enough. Your brand, label or 'signature' must personify what your business, product or service is.

Lets explore that notion in more detail : Personify

per·son·i·fy/pərˈsänəˌfī/

Verb:

Represent (a quality or concept) by a figure in human form. Attribute a personal nature or human characteristics to (something nonhuman). Your label must practically breathe. It must be 3 dimentional today. Its more than a notion of a type of person, of a particular age leading a specific lifestyle. That is very rudimentary and might have stood its ground in the less sophisticated past - as delightful and uncomplicated as they may have been. Although there are some very clear leads and exacting if not perfect examples that were set which I will address later in this piece, lets first explore the idea of your 'brand' personified. Is your brand a woman or a man, is it short or tall, muscular, fair, manicured? Does it sink or swim, is it rugged or refined, whats their garden like? Think about it. What would your brands rituals be? Up at 6am to work a farm or ski? Is it dutiful and kind? Is it sexy and svelte, chubby and cute. Where and how does it walk - or indeed strut? Perhaps it rides?  To have a totally Clear, Focused, Consistent vision you would want to entertain your labels diet. This may sound at first ludicrous but the more exacting you are with this the more precise your message will be and the more successful your marketing message will be. Ever met someone who is inconsistent, someone who cant hang their hat on one idea or thing...confusing isn't it? No matter how patient, kind and clever you might be it does your head in. Its hard work. What about the consistent person - what do they offer you? I am not talking about bland or boring - but you know who they are, what they are about, what motivates them what makes them shake! What makes them shake quake and want to copulate? You must know these things. Lets flick back to iconic 1970's advertising. What did this guy eat drink and do? I can tell you know he didn't use men's grooming products, would never even consider sushi, live in a modernist home or care what his postcode or zip code was. But we can imagine what is important to him and what his rituals might be... and... we can even imagine his smell! Earthy, sexy.  Get it?