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Sadly, even when brand communications hit all the marks—they're clear, meaningful and on message—they're often dull.

That's an opportunity, though, for companies that are willing to show off their human side and maybe even stick their necks out a little.

Try any of the following five stratagems, and you'll be on your way to building more powerful brands.

1. Have a personality

Often, businesses (including marketers) think they need to talk about their service, product, or industry in the way everyone else does. They fear that if they don't, they'll seem out of the loop.

Frankly, that makes little sense. How many businesses can you name that have made a big impact by following the crowd? And how can you convince people you're different if you sound just like your competition?

Let your freak flag fly. Or, at least sound like your company is run by humans—people who want to talk to other people. If you don't sound like the typical whatever, that's the point: In a crowded marketplace, companies with personality stand out.

To cite two well-known examples, consider how memorable Progressive Insurance and Geico are, even though they're not all that different from their competitors.

2. Be provocative

If you want to be a thought leader (and why wouldn't you these days?), the quickest way out of the gate is to be provocative. Challenging received wisdom or jolting people out of complacency can create buzz and show that you really are thinking.

Questioning conventional approaches in your field, prodding people to re-examine assumptions, and pointing out naked emperors are all ways to get noticed as a powerful brand. A classic example is Patagonia's "Don't Buy This Jacket" campaign for Cyber Monday.

A few tips on making this approach work:

  • Be sure you can support your claims.
  • Balance the negative with the positive. If you're only a downer, you'll turn people off.
  • Focus on the big stuff: Pointing out that the emperor has no clothes is a civic duty; saying his new haircut makes him look 10 years older is just petty.

Provocation for its own sake will seem like a cheap ploy. But if you have strong support for a controversial position or a good reason to blast people out of complacency, go for it.

3. Tell a story

The surefire way to truly engage people and make a lasting impression is to tell a story.

Stories are the oldest form of "mass" communication, and some researchers think we're hardwired to respond to them. We're certainly trained to draw messages from them—think Aesop's fables and classic novels—and that makes them invaluable for brand-building communications.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

image of Sandra Stewart

Sandra Stewart is a principal at Thinkshift Communications, which provides content marketing, messaging, and other strategic marketing services to cleantech and sustainable businesses.

LinkedIn: Sandra Stewart