Best in Brand & Innovation for July
Every month we bring you the best articles we find in brand, innovation, and creativity.
In the digital age, how do brands demonstrate authenticity? How do companies set themselves apart from other brands? What inspires customer loyalty? This month’s digest answers these questions and explores solutions. Some of these solutions include utilizing psychology in branding, exploring behavioral economics, accessing functions of the brain to inspire customers and more. We look into new findings on creativity and are offered answers on how to promote creativity within ourselves – it may just mean working differently. And good branding demands creativity, but now it also requires culture. Read more to learn what customers are expecting out of companies. The answers are situated within these questions.
5 Ways Psychology Courses Can Help Small Business Owners – Business 2 Community
Understanding psychology can advance business. Author Sarah Daren delves into various aspects where business owners can utilize psychology to perform better in leadership. For example, using psychology to expand your marketing intelligence inspires customer loyalty. “Learning how people think will help you identify your ideal customers and expand your market intelligence,” says Daren. “Effective market intelligence collection involves a combination of data and psychology. Once you have the data, you can draw on what you know about psychology to make informed decisions.” As a business owner, psychology also offers insight into marketing decisions, catering to customer needs and telling better stories to further your brand story.
Sarah Daren @sarah_daren
How To Keep Your Branding Consistent On And Offline – Forbes
Creating a consistent image online and offline is key to successful branding. “While your online brand might provide smaller doses of value over a longer term, many clients will weigh in-person meetings and offline advertising more heavily when they analyze your brand values,” says author Adrian Fisher. In this article, he outlines ways to keep your brand consistent such as using consistent language online and in person as well as allowing customers to get to know who you are by looking at your user-generated content (such as reviews and testimonials). Since you can’t meet with everyone who’s interested in you, your online brand should accurately portray who you are. “It can bring you more qualified leads, even when you’re out in the field,” says Fisher.
Adrian Fisher @adrian_fisher
Thinking Fast and Slow: The Psychology that Fuels B2B Branding – TechTarget
The science of behavioral economics explains how branding can dramatically impact demand for your company and your products says author Michael Box. According to Nobel Prize-winning behavioral economist and psychologist Daniel Kahneman, we think we understand the world better than we do. In his book, Thinking Fast and Slow he outlines two types of thinking that Box says can help companies with B2B marketing. “Outlining two types of thinking— System 1 and System 2—[Kahneman] breaks down how all of us are susceptible to non-rational influences,” says Box. Essentially System 1 helps us make quick decision and System 2 comes into play when we have time to think things through. This article demonstrates three human brain functions that are imperative to the B2B marketer’s toolkit, from first impressions to choosing options more easily. Read on to find out how to access these functions and use them for branding.
Michael Box @Michael_E_Box
Demystifying Behavioural Science – Ad World
“Behavioural economics is the big thing in marketing right now,” writes author Jimmy Larson. He continues, “It looks at consumers in a different way, focusing on System 1 instinctive decision-making, the non-conscious and emotional drivers of brand perceptions and choice.” Because consumers don’t tend to evaluate products before they purchase, companies can leverage this by tugging at consumers emotions and intuition. Larson discusses different aspects of behavioral science to learn how to access system 1 thinking and get customers to sign on without hesitation.
Jimmy Larson @REDCResearch
What Marketers Can Learn from the Neuroscience of Creative Thinking – Skyward
Creativity can be improved and cultivated, according to new research author Taylor Mallory Holland writes about in this article. She uses this information to teach marketers about improving creativity – including dispelling myths such as the right brain is required for creativity and the left for logistics. “Creative thought activates both sides of the brain, which makes sense, considering creativity is not the opposite of logic. In fact, it requires logic,” says Holland. Now, with specialized imaging technology, scientists are able to measure blood flow to the brain to see what areas are being accessed when dealing with creativity. “Above a relatively average IQ (around 104), we actually all have the same creative potential,” says Allen Gannett, founder of TrackMaven and author of the new book The Creative Curve. And it comes down to a balance of spontaneous and controlled thinking. This means, writes Holland, “ If you’re not living up to your creative potential, your brain structure isn’t the only thing to blame. So are your inhibitions and your work ethic. And that’s good news, because once you know that’s the problem, you can do something about it.”
Taylor Mallory Holland @TaylorMHoll
How much does culture matter in branding? – RetailDive
Pulling from a forum of retail experts, Retail Dive offers insight into how much culture matters in branding. The answer? A lot. “It’s a fusion that requires thought and effort — like any business decision — and one that executives must consider strategically as it relates to their core mission,” writes author Nicole Ault. On the panel, Brandon Rael, Retail Excellence Leader at Tulip Retail, says that culture is, in fact, your brand. And Gabriela Baiter, Founder of Whereabout Studio, says that company leaders should reinvigorate their employees’ minds with work that doesn’t feel like work. Take Patagonia as a model, who allows their employees to take one service-based trip a year that protects the environment. Culture helps companies remain authentic. “Brand authenticity is everything,” says Cathy Hotka, Principal at Cathy Hotka & Associates. She continues. “ Consumers are savvier than ever and want meaningful and predictable interactions with brands they trust.”
Nicole Ault @nicole_renee971
Why This Overlooked Side Of Branding Is More Important Than Ever – Forbes
Author of this article, VP of marketing at Skifii and co-founder and principal at Flag & Frontier, John Rougeux uses his personal experience and expertise to push companies to invest in internal evangelism. “Internal evangelism is an ongoing, intentional investment in building a culture based on the same values and vision that are used in your external marketing efforts to customers,” says Rougeux. While so many companies invest in logo design, websites and advertising, companies that work to connect an audience with values and visions their customers want to align themselves with, are stronger and set themselves apart. However, companies that don’t invest in values and visions are “a hollow shell,” says Rougeux and even worse – are at risk for being seen as hypocrites, untrustworthy and malicious. While devoting company time to living out values is difficult and easy to put out, in the long run the effort will result in an inspiring workplace, customer loyalty, and strong branding.
John Rougeux @johnrougeux
