Businesses use boring words like strategy, framework and, err, business. I don’t. Instead, when in the Brand Director chair, I explore:
1. Why are we doing what we’re doing? Who for? What’s the change we’re focussed on making? What 3 immovable, driving opinions or points of view do we (all) hold? What’s our essence? What thing are we most famous for, and own, in our category? ‘Could be one word. This is a short document.
2. What precise words and phrases do we say over and over? Subcategorised. A dozen phrases, notions or ideas. All with tonal consistency and clarity. This is a short document.
1. is a Brand Framework. 2. is a Messaging Framework. And no matter how great the resulting documents are it’s just as important to notice how crappy they look and where you keep them.
If they are beautifully pristine and carefully filed, that’s no good. If they’re dogeared, coffee stained and pinned or lying where you sit, every day, that’s good. Because that means you’re using them, every day.
Documents like this should be great. But it’s always best when they look a bit crappy.