It’s safe to say that we are in a new age of connection that seemingly has caught marketers flat-footed. In this new age of two-way conversation and social media dominance over the old model of one-way push out the external media driven message, it is important to remember a timeless principle that connects human beings: we are creatures of meaning.
For thousands of years, humans have been concerned with who we are and why are we here. We are not a species of transactions, but of interactions. People naturally connect with ideas when they come from sources of similar vibration. For the life of me I can not figure out why, in this day in age, marketers are so obsessed with controlling their out-bound marketing message. Thanks to the Internet, marketers can’t control their external messaging anymore. Just ask the folks at Domino’s Pizza. The recent episode of the Domino’s employees home made in store video is evidence enough that years of goodwill building is destroyed in days on You-Tube.
More importantly, people are no longer listening to marketing anyway! Everything in our media obsessed culture is now clutter and white noise. No amount of media budget will change that reality. What people covet are deep relationships with people of like minded values and beliefs. Within the context of modern day marketing it’s us=them.
The thing to always keep in mind is that truth is always changing in relation to the culture of the day. And whatever truths were driving marketing and brand building a decade ago no longer apply. The speed of change is exponential. However, amidst all the technology available to connect us, none of it matters much if there are no authentically shared values anchoring the relationship you have with your customer. What’s powerful about social media technologies is how quickly your proposition is vetted out if it is not genuine, real and authentic. You can no longer say it, you must walk it. People make their decisions to engage with brands based on their own inner beliefs and core values. They no longer care about features and benefits in and of themselves. People today are seeking a greater sense of self. Products and services (and the companies behind them) that are aligned with these deeper shared values are re-defining our world. The internal beliefs and shared values between brands and people are replacing the usefulness of outbound push marketing. It’s from this authenticity that brands live and behave in the world, and foster the interaction and engagement of like minded customers.
When brands behave badly and are disloyal to the tribe–they are quickly banished from existence.
Your corporate or brand identity is more than a logo or promise to your customer–it is your own purpose, your reason for being, shared by the like-minded. As you express this value authentically, you will have greater influence with people who are pulled by the gravity of its greater embedded meaning. The new age of brand identity and expression has the marketing baked in. No need to push it out there.
