Branding. It fascinates me. It is complex….and simple all at the same time. It is an ART. One that I have come to admire and appreciate. Over the past months, I have been doing quite a bit of reading about branding and observing well done brands. Good branding is POWERFUL. Partner a good brand with a good product. Move mountains kinda stuff.  But like most things, it takes some intentionality and hard work too make a good one.

There are many facets to a good brand. But today I am honing in on something I am calling the soul.

Us creative entrepreneur and artist kind of people? We are passionate about what they do. Believe in it deeply. It is more than a means of paying the mortgage or buying groceries….our craft is an extension of ourselves. We may even feel called to do it. It is our form of engaging with life. Even adventure. Making the world around us a better place. Offering generosity, forming community, starting a movement, doing something really well, following our calling.  It is why we do what we do. All this? It is a beautiful thing. For the sake of this post, I will call it the SOUL of what we do.

The soul? This is where we will we will find our strength, beauty, and pulsing life of what we are offering to the world. This is what our people will connect with and believe in. To put it into business terms….this is our branding jackpot. Quite possibly our unique selling point and what will convert our market into devoted clients. But crazy thing? All too often, we keep it under cover.

(Photo from our recent Masters of Their Craft photo shoot…a brand done REALLY well. Stay tuned:)

Why don’t we share it? I think it is for several reasons…
1.
We are so busy doing, doing, doing….we ourselves lose touch with the soul. Aaack, danger. Stop, slow down, refocus….find that passion again behind why you do what you do. Now….before you burn out and lose sight of it.
2.
The soul is so much part of our daily thought process; we forget that our market isn’t aware of it.
3.
We underestimate the power of our soul. Maybe we feel vulnerable sharing it. Insecure perhaps. Maybe it seems boring, unoriginal or not ‘awe’ inspiring. So we keep it tucked away…where it feels safe.

Results? Our brand becomes centered around only the PRODUCT. While that is not all bad…it lacks heart. What we are offering becomes just another thing. Yep, it may be pretty and good and even amazing…but there is lots of that out there. Instead….how about building our brand around the soul? This makes us unique, gives our product depth, and humanizes what you are offering. It builds trust and gives others a reason to believe also. Let others in on this beautiful soul. The actual product? It is the TANGIBLE way others can be part of what we are all about. The product is the means of becoming part of the bigger purpose, the why, the vision, the movement, the generosity…the SOUL, if you will.

 And that is a BEAUTIFUL BRAND at work.

 Aaaah, I love it.

Do you agree..or not? What are some brands you think do this really well?