The Secret to Build a Winning Brand

Mes amis,

Branding can make you a rockstar in whatever domain you compete in. Whether you're applying for a new position in your career, building a business or even dating it's all about branding.

But here’s the catch, your brand can break you too.

Brand = reputation and reputation is the wealth of an individual and company, therefore you should mould yours with meticulous micromanagement.

My promise to you by the end of this issue is to give you the must-haves of how you can communicate the correct message and receive the rewards you deserve.

Sometimes you can focus too much on branding, e.g., colours, vision, statement, mission, who you’ll partner with as well as who you won’t. But that can get in the way of fulfilling needle-moving tasks - doing the things that actually get results. 

You perform brand masturbation. 

While you’re there fiddling with your logo size your competitor is executing and is getting ahead of you. On top of that, you're probably getting it wrong too.

Branding isn’t about you, it’s about your customer. 

Your customer is the star, the hero, the chosen one.

You are the guide, mentor, and enabler. Your why needs to tie into their narrative otherwise your customers and potential customers will not care. 

They’re selfish. All they’re concerned with is what’s in it for them and if this isn’t communicated to your customers clearly and with clarity then you've just wasted time on a campaign you'll never get back and money (which is especially not ideal in this economic state at the time of writing).

“So how do I communicate that my brand is there to help them, Kennedy?”

The answer is quite simple actually, you do it with a story. Take a look:

As I explained before, your customer, partner/lover, employer, and client are the focus of your brand not you.

They wake up every single day and see the world through their eyes, all their decisions seek to benefit them by removing pain and seeking pleasure. In other words, they're trying to rid themselves of their problems and rest in their dream state. 

Think about yourself here. Do you wake up and feel like the side character in someone’s story? I seriously doubt it and that’s not going to change any time soon either.

But what does change is the main character's status quo. A problem comes and if they want to go back to how they lived before or better their lives then they must do something about it.

Let's use break down the story framework with Wakanda Forever.

I promise you I haven’t seen it yet (because my girlfriend would be big mad if I watched it without her) but I can guarantee you Wakanda Forever followed this framework (SPOILERS in case I am right...):

• Main character (MC) - Shuri must step up to the throne to replace T’Challa

• Problem - She doubts she can lead. Let alone become the next Black Panther. External threat comes in as Namor, King of Atlantis who threatens Wakanda

• Guide - I’d be sad if they used Chadwick Boseman but they may. Whoever the guide is (probably the Queen Mother, Angela Basset), they give Shuri the plan and encouragement she needs to be…

• Called to Action (CTA) - Shuri overcomes her limiting beliefs and imposter syndrome to defeat Namor and his army

• Success (Happy ending 😊) - Shuris is now confidently the ruler of Wakanda. Wakanda is safe

All good movies, at least those that reach the benchmark of being relatable and watchable (*cough* Black Adam *cough*), follow this framework. All stories do and all the best brands do too.

The best brands are guides and they win. The unrelatable brands lose because they're too complicated to understand, they don't have a plan to help their customers win and they make it about them.

The guide is there to come in with their experience and their plan to take the MC from their undesired state to their desired state - life without their problem.

Here we must be the position of authority if we want the MC to pay attention to us. We must show them that we talk the talk and walk the walk, how we do this is by giving our customers a plan. This can be a lead magnet, social proof, job history, or even just a plan.

What keeps the MC's ears open to us and, more importantly, have them continue to follow us is our authenticity. This is how you build loyal customers.

With the MC following us, we can't assume they’ll know what action we want them to take so we need a clear and direct CTA. Which could be: 

• Wanna go on a date with me

• Hire me to work here

• Buy my product

But our MC won't act unless they are challenged to act.

Using Shuri as an example again, she was called to act because of her people needed her protection. Humans' natural state is to find rest - we’re a lazy bunch. If there’s no urgency or scarcity the likelihood is that inertia will just lead to people not acting.

You can also show them what transformation is in store for them when they act. Show them how they’ll not only survive but thrive. Show them the happy ending they've been dreaming about.

It's also important to show them the consequences of not acting. Show them the pain they’ll continue to experience without you, the pain they’ll have to go through doing this by themselves.

This is what your brand needs to communicate.

Your messaging needs to be clear, don’t confuse or bombard your customers with too many messages hoping one will stick. 

Follow the rule of one: one topic, one message, one call to action. 

Branding really shouldn’t be overcomplicated and simplicity will take you leaps and bounds ahead of others.

Thanks again for taking the time to read this issue. I’ll see you next week where we’ll be diving into funnels 

Until then, ciao 🫡