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PICK THE
BEAT
Just
as a drummer is expected to find the right beat for a song to help pull the band and song together in a way that connects with the audience a good
brand manager will really listen and learn about a brands product or service to help the organization find and articulate the true purpose and meaning of their brand. Essentially, the brand manager will “pick the
beat” of the brand and work with the organization to align marketing, operations, HR, and all support functions to
deeply understand, internalize, align and deliver the brand across the
organization and to each and every customer.
In organizations where this is done right it is easy to see and feel a brand culture living inside the company in the exact same manner as it does
with the customers they serve. The beat of the brand is the foundation that all things stand on.
KEEP
TIME
Once you have clearly identified your brand story it is the brand manager's responsibility to help the organization "keep time" and stay aligned.
While every organization function will have a unique set of
talents and capabilities just like each musician in the band its the beat that helps pull it all together making the “whole greater
than a sum of the individual parts.” Keeping everyone in the organization true to the
brand mission is just like “keeping time” in a song.
MAKE
IT FEEL GOOD
I'm sure many of us have been in situations where we feel a bit like we are floating on
air. It might be when you master an
instrument, a sport, of some talent where as you are performing you almost feel
as if you are watching yourself perform. It seems to come naturally. Some call this being in the zone and it feels a bit like you are simply
allowing yourself to express something your receiving from a higher
purpose! It feels so good and comfortable that it allows you to start adding style, taste and feel with ease as if everything around you has
slowed down and you can just focus on finesse.
What’s actually happening
is through lots of practice you have mastered the basic activity and developed muscle
memory that takes little conscious thought to perform. This allows you the added ability to use your
conscious mind to act by adding to the activity based on what’s happening in
the moment.
When brands have a
strong sense of who they are and have built a brand culture that permeates the business their ability to react to the environment in a timely manner consistent with
the brand comes more easily - just like the added finesse of the musician.
A good brand example is how OREO quickly reacted
during the 2013 Super Bowl between the SF 49ers vs Baltimore Ravens when the 34
minute lighting outage occurred. Within
minutes the brand posted on social media “Power Out? No Problem,
You can still dunk in the dark!”
Getting a organization's brand culture solidified within and across the business helps position the team to easily react to real-time opportunities in authentic ways.
BE
CREATIVE
So
much more is able to be accomplished creatively when the mojo is happening and
the team feels connected. It’s as if
almost nothing can stop the brand (or band) and creativity seems to build on
top of creativity. All cylinders are
firing and the creative capacities appear endless – albeit the path must remain
consistent with the brand story. Having a solid brand story,
an engaged and aligned organization that feels the brand culture
really positions a brand and business to take advantage of continuous
creativity.
