A question posed during my branding MOOC was: “To build a successful brand, is it better to control every aspect of the brand, or to encourage people to adopt it and adapt it?” Here’s my answer to that question.
Apple is seen as one of the strongest brands out there. They’re known around the planet as creators of beautiful and easy to use components, whether it be computers, phones or soon-to-be a watch. They were the driving force behind a massive change in the way we communicate and listen to music. However the way they manage their branding is not the way I would recommend.
Apple dictates every aspect of their branding. They have specific rules governing packaging, how things should be displayed, what the price can be and who can work on their products. They don’t have much community outreach that I’ve seen, besides having ‘genius’ you can schedule time with. Yes the lines for new releases stretch down the block and around the corner, but they have yet to foster a community outside of their own workforce. Owning an Apple product is like being part of a strange cult, being one of their employees even more so. This can be off-putting to people who don’t want to adapt to a brand, but rather have a brand adapt to them.
You may never have heard of them, and maybe I’m biased having worked there, but a brand that I think is doing it right is HubSpot. They actually have a goal of becoming the Apple of marketing software, but they’re not promoting the brand in the same way. Instead they work towards fostering relationships with employees, customers, resellers and partners, in a way that Apple does not. They host webinars and social media chats with customers. They allow people to see how their brand molds to their lives. They give consumers the power to have a say in what HubSpot will do next, and this is more welcoming than dictating every move from behind closed doors.
Encouraging people to adopt and adapt the brand empowers them to feel as though they belong, and this is a better foundation for the future than trying to dictate what the brand stands for.
How would you answer the question posed above?
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