Brand in the era of Armageddon

Reading time: 5 minutes
Author: Matt Turnball, Strategy Director

Sustainability and the brand idea

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that the world is facing challenges that stretch the meaning of the word ‘unprecedented’. Our only hope of addressing these challenges is going to come from everyone – individual, community, country and organisation – doing their part to help solve it.

As a result, many businesses are doing incredible things to play their part, from evaluating and transforming their supply chains and operational practices, to new initiatives that genuinely make a difference. What’s more, these efforts allow businesses to engage with consumers in new ways, engage new audiences, or create meaningful points of differentiation from their competitors.

At Keel, we work with businesses to create transformation through the power of brand, and that means defining and then activating an idea at the heart of what they do – the brand idea. So, when it comes to sustainability, the question arises – how does a business’ commitment and progress towards a sustainable future play a role within that idea. Surely, given its importance and the ability to impact the game it should be right at the very heart of the brand idea?

“…a brand is simply the single-minded idea you put out to your clients and customers articulating why they should buy from you.”

It’s first important to understand exactly what a brand idea is. It is more than just a couple of words that sit in a PowerPoint document. Human decision-making has always been guided by simple ideas that we attach to things. These simple ideas are how we make sense of businesses as well, especially in an increasingly cluttered and distracted world. So, a brand is simply the single-minded idea you put out to your clients and customers articulating why they should buy from you.

It’s an adage in the industry that if you throw someone a tennis ball, they’ll catch it, but throw more than one and they’ll drop both. Nowhere is this more true than in developing the brand idea. In trying to give two ideas you end up giving none. Introducing a secondary idea into your brand idea merely complicates the idea you are giving them, and in the end makes it harder for your consumers and clients to grasp even one tennis ball. Or ideas.

Secondly, sustainability is a common goal that every business has. By focusing on it at the very heart of what your business does, the risk is to end up seeming the same as everyone else, not just within your category but even across categories. And not only is sustainability an undifferentiated or undistinctive idea, it’s also a tough one to swallow. Continually reminding people of the climate crisis is hardly great framing for a product about joy or happiness or whatever it is you do.

“It’s an adage in the industry that if you throw someone a tennis ball, they’ll catch it, but throw more than one and they’ll drop both.”

Finally, sustainability isn’t what you do, it’s the way in which you do it. There are a few exceptions, of course, but whilst it may influence why people want to work with or buy from you, it isn’t the central thing that matters. That remains the single thing you offer people, simply and valuably expressed. Nike offers Achievement and Apple offers Creativity. This is the very beating heart of a successful business. Adding sustainability here removes your ability to convincingly tell people why they should buy into what you do.

Sustainability has to be baked into what you do – the product, the supply chain, the operation, the organisation, the initiative. Not only is this vital, but by not doing this, you risk being caught out, by any number of the sleuths in the media, both paper and social, waiting to uncover the next bad actor.

“…sustainability isn’t what you do, it’s the way in which you do it.”

Sustainability should be an essential part of your communications mix. Shout about it on your website, create films about how you’re planting trees or collecting sea plastic, or simply how you’re upgrading the materials in your product to be biodegradable or developing world-changing and world-saving initiatives. But only do so in such a way that it doesn’t get in the way or clash with the central reason your brand is on the earth and on shelves. And essentially, don’t try and be something that you’re not.

Deep down, we all need to play our part to get through this global catastrophe, and we will need to for years, maybe decades to come. Within this need, the truth is that we will need to continue to operate as normal people and businesses during that time. That means people and businesses will need to make decisions about which chocolate bars to eat, which trainers to buy. This is what a great brand idea has always done, and will continue to do so, no matter the climate.

We'd love to work with conviction for you.

We help build brands find their conviction in order to drive transformation through the organisation. If you’d like to hear more then please email Keith, our CEO, at keith@keel-london.com