I just started reading Steal These Ideas by Steve Cone. I’m not done yet, but a few ideas already stuck with me.
1. Your brand is a promise
A brand is a promise that delivers an experience. It has to be unique, and it has to add real value. If people get the same good experience every time, they trust you. If not, the promise is just words.
2. Never change a great tagline
If your tagline works, leave it alone. Nike’s “Just Do It” has been around for decades, and people still know it. You may get bored of your own tagline long before your customers even notice it.
3. Customers don’t think about you as much as you think
This one hit me. Customers only think about your brand now and then. Most of the time they have other things on their mind. And when they do think of you, they don’t want to be confused. They want to know that you still stand for what you have always stood for. Changing your message too often only makes people lose track of who you are.
4. Build your tagline on three core benefits
Write a short line that covers the three main benefits or features of your company, product, or service. Keep it simple. If someone can’t repeat it after hearing it once, it is too long.
5. Have a sound signature
Online, only two of our senses can reach the other person: sight and sound. Most brands put all their effort into how things look and forget how things sound. A sound signature is a short sound people connect with your brand. Think of the Netflix “ta-dum” or the Intel chime. Hear it once and you know who it is, even without looking at the screen. That is how it builds top-of-mind awareness so fast.
My takeaway
Be clear. Be consistent. Be easy to remember, both by eye and by ear.