Brands Need to be Like Snow Globes

Julia Sullivan

“A brand is an entity that engenders an emotional connection with a consumer.”

Stanley Hainsworth, former Creative Director at Nike and Lego

I like to think that brands need to be snow globes. Snow globes are made of glass, and sometimes they are shaken up. When the snow settles, the scene is

almost always beautiful.

Great brands must be transparent, and sometimes they get “shaken up” with controversy. When the dust clears and

the truth comes out, they need to prevail with a great image.

Brands need to be clear and good.

The pieces of a brand need to be carefully examined. These pieces come in the form of the leaders, the foundation, the mission

statement, customer service, the employees, the product, the tone used in

their social media, and much more.

Many brand indicators stem from the creation of the company or product. Who created the company? Why did they do

it? How did they do it?

The more clear and consistent a brand is, the easier it is for the consumer to understand and

recognize that brand’s identity.

“Brands are verbs. Nike exhorts. IBM solves. Sony dreams.”

Dan Wieden, Wieden+Kennedy cofounder

Brands need to be clear and good.

“If a company lacks soul or heart, if it doesn’t understand the concept of “brand,”

or if it is disconnected from the world around it, there is little chance that its marketing will resonate deeply with

anyone...

...It’s a lot like putting lipstick on a pig.”Scott Bedbury, former brand consultant for Nike and Starbucks

Brands need to have a pure core in order to have a chance in this day in

age, where consumers ask for transparency or dig for information

themselves if they have to.

“The brand already exists. It’s already at work in the minds and hearts of people. Maybe they’ve just overlooked an aspect of it.”

David Fowler, Ogilvy’s Executive Creative Director

The End.