How to create a magical brand
By Osama Masood
If well-designed logos and communication are common among all brands, then why do only some brands have that magic factor?
When we design a logo and our tagline, it’s meant to make a promise to the world. Say for example, if we go into a jewelry store and the decor is really posh, in some ways that decor is the logo and the things we generally consider branding. What is expected of that jewelry store is that they have something that matches the expectations set by that store. Really expensive, really high-quality jewelry. But if you end up seeing artificial jewelry at that store and that’s the only thing they sell, then the whole experience for you is going to be sour and phony. You’ll end up with the feeling that that store was phony in its portrayal and you would probably feel a little disappointed and maybe a bit angry.
In terms of logos, branding, and communication, what we’re doing is designing a jewelry store. But the Magic happens when the brand uses that promise and completely delivers on it.
It all starts with your Value Statement, a sentence that is the foundation, the central idea behind the brand. The Value Statement is necessary because it acts as a filter, to grow ideas that fit and to ignore those that don’t. I highly suggest you develop a Value Statement to simplify your products and your marketing.
So when we are branding we are creating promises. And the part when the promise gets delivered is when your product comes in contact with your customer. It’s a magical experience that the customer cannot forget. It’s the make-or-break moment because it is the time when the customer decides if the company follows through on its promises or is it a phony company, selling artificial jewelry in a high-end store. I still remember every single time I’ve had an interaction with a product that was just magical, to say the least. When my aunt let me unbox her iPod Mini back in 2009, when I ordered a couple of shirts off of ELO, and when I rode my friend’s Yamaha. The Yamaha in particular was nothing like I had experienced before and I ended up saving money for 2 years to buy my own bike. So you can say that The Magic can change the course of people’s lives forever.
A few of the things that I have observed is that during the firsts interaction phase, the person is most looking for a physical manifestation of the Value Statement of a company. So if you think of it in terms of “How can I design my product in a way which helps me to show my Value Statement?”. If we’re talking SAAS companies, it’s all about the communication, the graphics, and the UI. And the initial copy that the person reads. But if we’re talking physical products that we deliver to customers' doors, then the magic factor needs to be physically executed.
Think of how many physical things you can connect your Value Statement to. So if we’re talking about an environmentally conscious brand that sells electric scooters then we can construct a Value Statement like this: “Saving the planet while commuting” then we can break this Value Statement down into physical attributes like such
- All instructions on the box
- Sustainable box
- A box that has a seed embedded in it
- Ability to see others who have grown trees like you
These are just some of the physical attributes that I have come across while writing that can be implemented to make the Value Statement a physical phenomenon.
Remember that marketing and branding are not something we plaster on top of an already developed product. When every product is designed with a Value Statement in mind the brand becomes real, otherwise, it’s as phony as the claims it’s making.
Patagonia represents a sustainable minimalist adventure lifestyle, so on their Black Friday sale, they ran an Ad that said Don’t Buy This Jacket. It works because it is in line with Patagonia’s brand purpose of standing against consumerism.
So, to conclude, you need to create that magic by
- Making an achievable promise
- Following through on that promise.
- Create a physical manifestation of your Value Statement to create an even more magical experience.
Ohh yeah, and it goes without saying that your product needs to be amazing. Go and create Magic.
Osama is the principal of Knightsburg, a brand strategy firm that helps tech companies become admired brands.
