Saturday, September 24, 2016

Can Drummers Teach Us About Branding?



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.



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