Did you just have a brand moment?
Everybody talks about what their brand stands for. Large campaigns are devoted to clever tag lines and signature statements. Lavish events launch the campaign and… then… all…of…it… dies… down. Settles into normalcy. Into the daily humdrum.
And then you see one irate customer venting about something. Others join the chaos. More rabble-rousing happens (it’s so easy today on social media) and you’ve lost the essence of the brand.
That’s the moment the brand fails to live up to its promise. Putting it simply if your brand tagline is (hypothetically speaking) “We’re honest” then is honesty the way you operate? Are your employees being honest with the customer? With each other? Is your product delivering its value honestly?
Here’s what I call a true brand moment. (I’ve mentioned it in another blog)
In the early 2000s the tag line for Four Seasons, the hotel chain, was “What will you remember”. The ads were understated and displayed pure luxury. They looked elegant, classy and talked about how every little thing was looked after. Great. That was an ad. And yet, when I landed at the Orchard Road, Singapore one early morning without any change, the bell hop who came out to help me with my luggage, gallantly paid off my bill in Singapore currency (this was in 2005, I think, so we needed local currency). That became my moment to remember. That was the ‘brand moment’ and someone as seemingly insignificant as the bell hop brought it alive for me.
Here’s another example. Once again Starbucks. (Will they never stop?)
The local Starbucks near my place has something scrawled on the board – to the effect that if you don’t like your drink, we will replace it.
I placed an order for a Frappe recently but forgot to tell them not to put sugar. My error clearly. When I tasted the drink, it was sweet (duh-uh!). I made a face. As soon as the barista saw it, he asked me what was wrong. When I told him what the problem was, he promptly said he could replace it! Of course, my ‘just’ sense ruled and I refused to waste a perfectly good ‘sweet’ Frappe, but the brand moment had just happened. Here was an
employee ‘living’ the brand. Here was a customer, who will come back for more.
(Even if it’s a heavier customer that walks in the next time!)
Have you had any brand moments lately? Do share.
Do you want your employees to live your brand? Let us know.
Read the earlier posts? Check them out here.
