What makes a bonfire brand? The answer is quite simple: It’s about inspiring folks in an authentic manner to join your conversation and become your evangelists.
Marty Neumeier said it best in his wonderful book Zag: The days of telling everyone you’re a great lover is over. From now on, it’s all about others telling your story for you.
So how exactly do you, the marketing professional, actually accomplish that? In fact, it's a lot like dating:
Stop talking about yourself so much. As the old Chinese proverb suggests, "the unspoken word is heard a thousand times louder than the spoken word." So stop planning marketing and PR campaigns around every little green thing you do. It’s a waste of cash and in many instances, it can create a level of distrust and negative questions around your brand. SC Johnson telling me how green they are by creating their own green label, for example - it falls on deaf ears. You want me to connect? Have someone I respect tell me that you’re a great lover. Doing the right thing should be enough reward unto itself (forgive my altruistic ideals) and if/when others discover your goodness and share your story, well...that’s called gold.
Get in the game with social media. Your brand is officially in the hands of those you serve. So cut your marketing budget in half and invest in great human capital and better product. Yes, your marketing team will freak out and call bullshit, but once the numbness subsides, the great teams, will find energy and abundance in the necessity of thinking anew.
Choose authentic lovers. Partner with those that can tell your story. For example, look at all of the brands that benefited by having distribution with Whole Foods Market. The perception was/is that Whole Foods is the "house of goodness," and so your mere presence suggested you were legit. In many ways, Whole Foods helped shape and define the resonance and authenticity of so many brands (including Seventh Generation). Another example would be B Corporation, fascinating new initiative that seeks to keep conversations objective via a set of comprehensive and transparent social and environmental standards.
Consider your sources. The less we listen to corporations telling us how green they are, the more likely greenwashing will diminish. That said, we should place emphasis on those we trust versus those that pitch. Paying others to tell your story is not recommended. Case in point: Sierra Club endorsing Clorox’s Green Works product line would have been cool, but discovering that Sierra Club was a paid consultant, not so cool. It created all sorts of red flags and produced more questions than confirmation for the authenticity and intentions of both Sierra Club and Clorox. The moral of the story - authenticity cannot be bought.
Ditch your carefully laid plans. Ad agencies better reinvent themselves fast - real fast. Brands need to build bonfires, not media plans and fancy ads.
Be flexible. The Chief Marketing Officer role needs to evolve or it will die. As I have said before, I am not sure what marketing means, but resonance and relevance is vital. That said the tired CMO job description should shift to something far more meaningful. Can I suggest Chief Trimtab, Gardener or Conversationista?
Less is more. "Do-nothing branding" will emerge as a new trend. In other words, we will see bonfire brands grow without any traditional marketing strategies. I kid you not. One of the best things the team did at Seventh Generation was create a product catalog that mirrored a coffee table book. It brought the brand and product to life in a way that previously did not exist. It became a catalyst for discussion at the ground level. So the key for all of us going forward is to really sit and think about what will optimize resonance and relevance without any preconceptions as to what drives a brand. The cool thing is that it is a unique design question for everyone and thus, everyone can create and design on their own accord.
Natural selection. Brand Darwinism will ring true - we will see the collapse of hundreds, if not thousands, of brands based on natural selection. A logo and an idea are not enough any more (thank God!). That said, many brands will find it tough because they lack the authenticity and acumen to grow a bonfire brand. History and tradition are meaningless. It’s all about what you are doing going forward. The good news? A whole new breed of brand will emerge with stronger principles and a greater respect for authenticity.
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Duke Stump has worked as a brand builder for more than 20 years, most recently for Seventh Generation and Nike. He is now principal and chief architect of the NorthStar Manifesto, a brand-consulting studio.
