Hey cutie patootie,

‍

"Guess who!?"

Those are the two words my mom texted me after she sent this photo.

I'll save you the suspense. It's ME! (I can't believe I'm sharing it).

But seriously, look at that face!

Yeah, I know. It's begging for a caption contest, and no I do not give you permission to take action on that.

At this moment, I'm guessing I wanted to know how the hell my fists got shoved under my chin. Because that pose is not natural for a who-knows-how-many-months old!

You may already know this about me, but to this day I cannot control my face. It's almost always full of curiosity with a good dose of healthy skepticism. It gets me into trouble all the time.

Anyway, it got me thinking. I wonder if who I am today was in there all along?

And I wonder if that's the same with brands.

***

Look to your origin story for the truth about your brand?

Let's get real for a minute, shall we?

Remember that feeling of being so stoked about a brilliant idea that you practically vibrated with enthusiasm? 🙌

But then, as you tried to explain it to others, the words got all jumbled and ended up sounding like gibberish. 🤦🏻‍♀️

We've all been there . . .

But, hold up a second. What if the real magic of your brand lies in that original spark of inspiration? The moment when you broke through with an idea that was interesting, novel . . . different.

Here’s the problem. Sometimes marketers are just plain poor communicators about their brand. (Other marketers, you and me, we always nail it). Their hearts are in the right place. They’re trying to prove why their thing is superior to our thing. 

But . . . 

Sometimes their marketing message get's so muddled that it leaves us scratching our heads and wondering what the heck the company is even trying to say. It's like they were trying to make the product sound important or sophisticated, but in the end, we have no idea what it does.

People don't want to hear a bunch of vague or empty words - they need a good specific story. They want to know what your brand is really all about and why they should care.

That's why it's so important to go back to the source. Go back to your brand's baby picture (metaphorically of course). That innocent snapshot of wonder and possibility. (And in my case, total confusion and curiosity.)

Find that kernel of truth, that flash of inspiration that is unique to your company and can only come from you.

Get back to basics and remember the real point of view and perspective you held when you first had that creative spark.

I know. This won't work in all cases. If your brand is more mature, it may be an entirely different beast than it was when it was born. (Like a teen! 😱) But you get the idea. Find the spark.

A great way to do this is to think about your brand’s archetype.

Around our office (virtual, of course), we love using archetypes to get to the heart of a brand’s personality. We’re working on a project in the cybersecurity space right now and after ruling out 29 other archetypes we landed on the one that really gets to their kernel of truth - they’re The Guardian. Their brand is kinda like the dapper (but ripped!) bouncer that doesn’t let any of the riff-raff get past the velvet rope.  

 
Here’s another trick you could use to de-gibberish your brand story and find that spark. 

Wait for it . . .
 

Explain it to a 5 year old. They will not tolerate obfuscation.😉

At the end of the day, it's all about telling a specific story. A story that resonates with specific people and makes them feel something. So don't be afraid to go back to your roots and recall what makes it march to the beat of its own drum. 

You never know - you might just discover something amazing! 🤩 

3 things to ponder this week.

• This letter was written by the real human me to the real human you. Can you tell? Does it matter? Let me know please. Just hit reply.
• You might be interested in Harvard Business Review’s How to Avoid the Ethical Nightmares of Emerging Technology, part of a series on the ethics of AI.
• I started listening to The Lazarus Heist podcast as background discovery for our cybersecurity client and let me tell you, it’s riveting! I predict it will become a show.

Thanks for reading to the end! Happy long weekend.

Be safe.

Ginger