Brand. This term influences individuals and organizations alike. Whether you call it a brand, your look, or your identity, it all ultimately refers to knowing who you are and how others see you.
It is vital to understand the different layers of a brand. Many organizations get caught up in defining their brand solely on a logo or other anesthetics. However, a brand is so much more than your visual elements.
Your brand encompasses every aspect of your organization. Every encounter your company makes with the world inside and out of your organization comprises your brand. If it's a touchpoint, it involves your brand - including how you market.
Yes, how you market is an enormous reflection of how you desire to be represented. Your campaign, your messages, the genre used in your communications, all speak to what you want your business to be known for.
As the world is evolving, your audience is looking to your business to do the same. The checklist buyers consider when making any investment has grown substantially. Individuals now study more than the value, use, and effectiveness of a product or service. Overall, what they are searching for is something that will benefit them in more ways than one - penetrating beyond their practical needs.
Companies that delve past the generic purpose of only wanting to sell a product to make a profit open themselves up to a new wave of marketing. When an organization takes the time to write and walk out a narrative that connects to the humans that purchase from them, their brand benefits. Your audience interprets this connection as care, and they respond by remembering you and becoming loyal fans.
As more organizations across industries are starting to recognize this shift, the ones who adapt are the ones with memorable brands. One example of an organization that has, and continues to humanize its brand effectively is Verizon. Known for its quality of service, excellent coverage, and high-speed networks, Verizon is undeniably a tech-centered company. However, recognizing that technology hits every aspect of our lives, Verizon has adjusted with the shift via its marketing.
Instead of waiting for the future, they have decided to build it. While its most recent ads have centered on their 5G technology, the message has been uniquely different.
From shedding light on how this technology will "help give doctors the ability to fight cancer like never before," to helping enhance over a million kids learning experiences, Verizon has emphasized how "human ability" can grow through the use of its technology.
By taking this approach, Verizon's brand becomes relatable to the end user. They see it as an organization that not only provides enhanced technology but one that sees and hears their humanity, and cares enough to produce a product that will elevate their lives.
Verizon continually acknowledges the individuals that its marketing touches, "At Verizon, we have one mission: to give humans the ability to do more in this world."
The company has also launched its "Why They Chose Verizon" campaign which features real people sharing real-life stories about - you guessed it - why they chose Verizon. Each ad showcases real struggles, emotions, and events we face at some point and highlights how Verizon was or is there to assist. Through this campaign, the telecommunications provider allows us to see their service and products as more than a means to communicate but why communications is so essential to our lives
Verizon is one example of many companies that are focusing on making their brand more relatable and human. Through connecting across a wide range of platforms and aspects of human life, these organizations are laying the foundation for a relationship where their audience will remain with them.
No matter how phenomenal your product or service is, your brand will suffer if you cannot relate to your audience. As the world moves forward, join it by ensuring you can understand and relate to what those around you are experiencing.
A marketing strategy that focuses on individuals and their experiences will carry your brand further than one that ignores the human beings behind the dollars.