#10: John Whalley - Brand Battling Vs. Brand Building

I interviewed Head of Brand Strategy at Seventy7, John Whalley, on how he builds brands up to be successful. John gave me insights into his process and there are some valuable tips for anybody looking to create a brand or re-brand. The main topics we cover are: How John got into the creative industry originally John’s love of music and the influence it had on his creative process. Building your brand is not about designing your logo and writing your strapline. Brand battle Vs. Brand Building Battle: You can push out message, after message, after message, after message. Building: Or you can pull people in with your story and build your brand community Consumers see over 3,000 brands per day and they only remember 5. From a solid platform everything else can follow, stronger connections can be made, and more meaningful relationships built with your consumers. Brand Platform A brand platform is build on 3 key pillars; Purpose, Mission and Values. Purpose Your purpose is your ‘why’ you do what you do It’s the reason you exist, beyond making money. 58% of businesses with a clearly understood purpose experienced growth of +10% in the last three years. Harvard Business Review / EY Beacon Institute If you communicate your purpose and it links to that of your audience, they’re more likely to join your tribe. Mission Your mission is your action-oriented master plan. It’s your ‘how’ you plan to achieve your vision.  Your mission is what you do, who you do it for, and how you do it. Vision Your vision is your picture of where you aspire to be. It’s your ‘what’ you aim to achieve. It’s your hopes and dreams. To build your brand, first define your brand platform. Then live by your brand values and tell your brand story. Values Your brand values are the principles and behaviours that you stand by. They run throughout your purpose, mission and vision. They should be unique, meaningful, memorable, actionable and clear. They should never be vanilla or ‘off-the-peg’. Brand Story Your brand story is your unique brand narrative. Without purpose, mission and vision, your story can never be authentic and compelling. Stories are fundamental to the way that we communicate as human beings. Stories differentiate your brand. Stories are shareable. Links and resources: @john_whalley on Twitter John Whalley on LinkedIn Simon Sinek Ted Talk on “Start With Why”  Download the Seventy7 Brand Building Guide Marty Neumeier - "The brand gap” , “Zag” and “Scramble” Email me - [e-mail] Connect with the host, Paul Casey: @caseydigital on Instagram Paul Casey on LinkedIn @casey_digital on Twitter