What is brand marketing anyway?

Does brand need a rebrand?

When I see postings for Brand Director or Head of Brand roles, job descriptions often focus on marketing channels that ‘brand’ teams tend to be responsible for: PR, organic social media, influencers, digital video — with the goal of building brand awareness and differentiation. If it’s a posting for a large brand, then TV and out-of-home ads might be in the mix.

But brand-building is not just executing ‘brand’ channels well. Call it purpose, mission, brand strategy, positioning, platform — brand is about a north star that links your company beyond marketing communications. Beyond product.

Brand should connect to everything your company does. Investing in quality products is one way to show brand. So is how you price. Where (or how) you distribute. Your tone of voice. How much you pay your employees. Who you hire. How you train. Trader Joe’s has built brand via its hiring and training of employees, who are known to be friendly, chatty, and generally delightful to interact with at the register.

Great brands demonstrate brand through irregular channels.

• Luxury gym Equinox shows brand through eucalyptus towels.

• Retailer Nordstrom demonstrates brand through its outrageously generous return policy.

• Yeti demonstrates brand by not partnering with influencers who don’t fit their core fisherman persona. Which may hurt their awareness in the short run, but makes them all the more authentic (read: appealing) in the long run.

• Gymshark demonstrates brand by breaking stereotypes around weightlifting — supporting men’s mental health, and showcasing diverse body types — even if it means frustrating some customers.

• Crocs demonstrates brand by being unapologetically themselves — from product design to communications: Rather than frantically redesigning the shape of the shoe to follow trends, the tactic of previous brands owners, [CMO Terence Reilly] chose to re-embrace the original clog…. “We know it’s always been a polarizing brand. But remember, when you’re polarizing, there’s one side of the polarization that loves you.”

• Ryanair demonstrates brand by removing the romanticism from flying. British Airways demonstrates brand by adding it back. Both work.

We know it’s always been a polarizing brand. But remember, when you’re polarizing, there’s one side of the polarization that loves you.— Crocs CMO Terence Reilly

Irregular channels don’t spring up out of nowhere. They come from a clear understanding — across marketing, ops, product, customer service, even finance — of who your company is, who you are targeting, what makes your company different from others on the market, and how you plan to win in said market. And, the confidence to forge your own path.

Back to the question — what is brand marketing?

It’s strategy.

There are a lot of new brands out there. Many of them are hoping to use ‘brand’ as a way to differentiate themselves and build a moat against relentless competition and price wars on online platforms. But executing the same channels as every other brand on the market won’t build a moat.

My $.02? Get brand into the c-suite. Don’t just invest in influencer campaigns. Define a strategy. Who are you for? Who are you not for? Why do you deserve to win? Marketing communications is one lever of brand. What are all the other places your brand should show up? How does your brand show up in operations? Product design? Distribution? Talent? What sacrifices will you make? How are you thinking long term over short term? Where are you over-investing? And why?

Or, start from what already makes you successful. What is your company already doing that’s unique across operations/finance/product? What relationships/access/real estate/capabilities do you have? Can your brand director help link into those into a strategy and identify inconsistencies?

Once you have your strategy, how do you get multiple departments (read: not just marketing) swimming in the same direction?

Doing brand isn’t easy. Then again, if it was, every company would have a standout brand.

I run brand consultancy Embedded, where I work with CEOs and founders of retail, fashion, CPG, hospitality and media brands to define brand as a strategy at the senior level, and map how it cascades across the organization. Interested in embedding brand into your organization? Get in touch here.