Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Over two years ago, I created a video titled
Brand Management is the Enemy of Social,
filled with fun little jabs at people
who protect the virtues of a brand.
But the truth is, is that I do think
that brand consistency is very important
and well, some of my best friends are brand managers
whose job isn't so easy in the social era.
"That's right, branding." Fresh Off the Boat
- So, in today's video, I'm going to talk about
what we at TSI call the social brand,
or the more flexible, friendly,
and above all, human extension of a brand.
I guess you could think of it as like the mullet of brands,
you know, like business in the front, party in the back.
"We can turn this country around, one mullet at a time." Billy Rae Cyrus
- My name is Tara and this is Truly Social.
(cheerful music)
Your brand is what differentaates you from the competition.
It could include a design, a logo,
or a color palette, but it should live way beyond that.
For instance, in the 1990s, Gap commercials
didn't even show the logo until the end of the spot
but you already knew it was Gap.
Pretty, perky, young people dancing around
in comfortable, stylish-ish clothes
against a white backdrop just gave it away.
They owned that format and anyone else
who tried to shoot something similar
would be accused of copying their brand.
Louboutin's red soles are more iconic than any logo.
GoPro is pretty much synonymous with adrenaline sports.
What would the Apple product be
without the unboxing experience?
Lots of people think branding is just
a logo, font, and color palette
but a brand is way more than that.
A truly strong brand, is recognizable
without any of those things.
Now a social brand builds on the qualities
that make a brand truly unique and recognizable.
How?
"I'm listening." Bojack Horseman
- Number one, a social brand has a personality.
Now this may sound a little bit hokey,
but think about it this way,
if your brand was a person, who would that person be?
He, she, transgender, gender-flexible?
Would they be sassy, sarcastic, flirty,
silly, dry, excitable, skeptical,
analytical, does she geek out?
"She geeks. She has the capacity to geek." "Okay" Scott Pilgrim
- If you close your eyes and imagine some of the brands
you know and love, I bet you can assign
a personality to them, try it!
I'll wait.
"Hello, I'm a Mac." "And I'm a PC." Apple Ad
- A social brand leans into that personality.
Number two, a social brand has a point of view.
Now this is a tough one for most brand managers
and professionals in general.
People want brands to be something for everyone.
They want to be neutral but neutral doesn't engage
and neutral isn't social.
It's actually the opposite of social.
It is the equivalent of a cardboard cutout of a person.
"You get that?" Broad City
- Here's a for instance, a social brand
doesn't just post a headline in a link.
It isn't afraid to take a stand.
Now of course maybe your social brand shouldn't
jump into a flame war or be super political
but if you post something, you need to make it meaningful.
You need to feel like you could stand behind it.
A social brand cares about something
and that something has to go beyond selling stuff.
"We're gonna take a stand." "Take a stand!" The Office
- Number three, a social brand is flexible.
One thing that's driven me nuts
about brand guidelines for years
is that many logos are designed to be horizontal.
"What am I supposed to do with that?" American Dad
- This does not work in a square or round avatar format.
There are so many variations and dimensions on the web
that you need to be more flexible with your design.
Square, round, skyscraper, wide, black, white,
multicolor, single color, the ability to make it a rainbow
during gay pride and green during Earth Day
and your color palette, come on,
stop with the two to for monotonous complimentary colors.
Have an accent or recognizable palette, yes,
but bring on the juicy color.
"As a company we want to be firm, but we also want to be flexible." South Park
- Number four, a social brand is multimedia.
"It means audio, video, movies, 3D movies." Parks & Recreation
- You don't make a media platform bend to your brand,
you need to bend your brand to the media platform.
How does your brand translate into a Pinterest board,
an Instagram story, a Twitter thread?
Too many traditional brand guidelines
lack multimedia adaptability.
In a post on the Truly Social blog,
which I'll link below, our designer, Alex,
dives into the complexities
of designing multimedia instances for our brand and writes,
"Don't be afraid to explore what each platform has to offer.
"That includes making note of any changes
"in file format restrictions, researching optimal
"asset dimensions, taking advantage of video slash gif
"capabilities or testing what performs well
"with each audience.
"For example, developing an Instagram grid aesthetic
"versus developing vertical assets for the Instagram
"stories feature."
In other words, it's both a pain
and an opportunity to be ahead of the competition
to have all of these changes all the time.
"Sounds like an opportunity." Evan Almighty
- And then finally, number five.
A social brand allows for shared ownership.
This is the most anti-traditional brand part
of a social brand.
In traditional brand guidelines,
there's always a page that shows
all of the ways that you're not allowed to adapt the brand.
Don't use it this way, don't change it that way,
don't put it on your stuff, don't wear it, don't eat it.
This kind of brand is about the brand
with a focus on boundaries and differentiation
and ownership.
A social brand, flips that on its head
and says take this.
Make it your own.
Mash it up, add your own flair.
Put your own stamp on it.
Examples of this include the campaign
from Straight Outta Compton where they created
a viral sensation by allowing people to change
content to their own hometown
and the Starbucks white cup contest.
Both of these examples blew up the internet
by inviting people to take ownership of their brand.
"Boy, that escalated quickly." Anchorman
- Having a social brand is important
in today's world where consumers are participants.
Content is multimedia.
Loyalty is built by connecting through shared passions
and experiences and taking a stand
is celebrated and necessary.
"We don't stand for anything. Remember our company plan, start up, cash in, sell out, bro down."
- So then, how social is your brand?
Does it have a personality?
A point of view?
Is it flexible, adaptable across multimedia?
Does it allow for others to take ownership?
If you don't know or if it isn't,
you should rethink that because any brand
less than social is gonna get lost in the noise.
"Irrelevant, you will not prevail, you will not succeed." Dr. Who
- My name is Tara and this has been Truly Social.
(cheerful music)