Branding for positive impact brands

To talk about branding is to talk about brand creation and brand management. Branding defines the strategy of the organization or project, and not only its visual identity. Branding has to do with brand identity. But it also has to do with the relationships we establish, with the actions we take as a brand or with the products and services we offer.

In addition, branding is a strategic asset for organizations of any kind, from small businesses to large companies, associations, NGOs or public entities.

How can we build and manage sustainable brands?

"Tell me who you hang out with, and I'll tell you who you are."

The first thing to consider when building and managing a brand is the context of that brand. We study the issues in our environment, the trends, what is happening and what could happen in the future. And we also study the ecosystem: what other brands, organizations and people are in our context. By studying all this, we can better identify what our role as a brand could and should be, in our context.

There are several authors who closely relate branding to CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), and this is no coincidence. The truth is that building and maintaining a brand involves considering relationships with stakeholders. These stakeholders can be internal (e.g. employees) or external (e.g. customers, suppliers, local communities and even natural ecosystems). This is why we talk about internal branding and external branding: how we manage relationships and communication both internally and externally.

These relationships inside and outside the organization are important, because they determine the impact our brand has. But in addition, brand identity is built collectively. The meanings associated with a brand are not something we decide unilaterally. It is something that is built with the perceptions of our stakeholders. Therefore, brands have a social role: they mean things to people and organizations. What they mean to them will depend on what we do and how we relate to them as a brand.

‍

To help you with all this, you can use the tools of the "EXPLORE" level of our Creative Regeneration methodology. They can help you study your context and ecosystem, identify strategic stakeholders and opportunities to improve your relationships as a brand and even create new relationships.

The communication part is what is usually associated with the concept of branding. A sustainable brand identity, however, must be based on truly sustainable actions. And these actions must be based on a philosophy and purpose also aligned with sustainability.

Let's start with the question of purpose. We can consider that purpose is at the heart of successful sustainable branding. Of course, it can serve to transform an organization. But it can also serve to empower stakeholders (e.g. employees or customers) so that they too become part of the transformation. The question is, how do we translate our purpose into concrete actions, and how do we communicate all this?

To build a brand in the minds of our stakeholders, it is not enough to state our purpose in one sentence. It has to be reflected in everything we do. For example, let's say our purpose is "to make homes accessible and enjoyable for people, while caring for the planet". This will have to be seen in our actions on a continuous and consistent basis. Our products will have to be affordably priced, but also consider wider accessibility (e.g. visually impaired or mobility impaired). In addition, if we are talking about "taking care of the planet", the continuous effort to reduce the environmental impact of our products will have to be very clear. We will gain credibility with our stakeholders if we measure and evaluate these impacts, and communicate them strategically.

Based on our purpose and knowledge of our target audiences, we will define our value proposition. That is, what is that special solution that we offer as a brand. Our value proposition will have to bring us closer to our purpose, while allowing us to earn revenue by offering it to our customers. Let's continue with the previous example, according to which, our purpose was "to make homes accessible and enjoyable for people, while taking care of the planet". In this case, our value proposition could be something like this: "to offer adaptable and accessible furniture for homes, with minimal environmental impact".

We need to communicate our value proposition strategically and effectively. To do so, we must create a coherent and consistent narrative. Create a story (hence the concept of storytelling) that connects with our stakeholders. Define well the messages we are going to launch. When we are a brand with a purpose of sustainability and positive impact, there is a common mistake. Focusing our story and our messages on the positive impact we achieve in the world, without connecting with the specific needs of those who will use our solutions. To avoid this, one tip is to differentiate the social and environmental issues we address from the needs we solve for our clients.

We continue with the same example. There is a global problem in our context, which is the difficulties that some people may have at home. For example, due to vision or mobility problems. There is another even more global problem, which is the climate crisis and how we contribute to it through our production. But, in a differentiated way, there are some very specific needs of our users, such as "to have my house furnished in an easy, affordable and uncomplicated way". Our potential customers will appreciate the fact that we address those global problems, but they will buy from us because of the specific needs we solve for them. Thus, with our messages we will have to differentiate very well what we offer to our audiences from the global problems we are trying to address. We will have to identify when it is better to communicate both at the same time, and when it is better to focus on just one with our message.

‍

To help you with all this, you can use the tools of the "ACTIVE" level of our Creative Regeneration methodology. They can help you define your purpose, your value proposition, and how you communicate all this to your stakeholders. An example of a tool is the 'brand promise', with which we emphasize how to differentiate the global issue we address from the specific needs we solve.

"Today, it is basically the offer of the product-service system that gives the company its identity and distinguishes it from its competitors" (Meroni, A. 2008).

As Meroni rightly says, the 'product-service system' of an organization is a mix of products, services, communication and people. When we organize this mix to respond to a specific need, we are designing a solution. In fact, this is at the heart of our value proposition, which we mentioned earlier.

Actually, the solutions we offer to our audiences, and how we offer them, are a very important part of brand creation. How the solution (product or service) we offer to our audiences will determine to a great extent the experience they have with our brand. Therefore, it will determine the perception they have of our brand, what image they have of it, what they think and feel about it.

Let's continue with the same example. Our purpose was to "make homes accessible and pleasant for people, while taking care of the planet". To this end, we offered "adaptable and accessible furniture for homes, with minimal environmental impact".

Within this value proposition, a clear product is the piece of furniture itself. But, in addition to the 'furniture' product, there are other things around it. We can offer a furniture subscription service. We can also offer additional services: maintenance, repair, even customization or adaptation of the furniture.

In addition to the product and the service, we have to take into account the communication. For example, what information we give about the furniture, or about the process to contract the service. We could offer information on how to make the furniture more durable and sustainable. In addition, we can give that information in a way that is accessible to everyone, regardless of whether they have vision or reading comprehension problems.

There are also the people involved in offering this service. We could pay attention to the fact that some of the people employed have some kind of functional diversity, in order to make an inclusive hiring. We should also make sure that the people offering the service are trained to consider accessibility issues that users may have. That they are trained in the sustainability issues that affect our product, and know how to communicate this appropriately. And that the environment generated by our brand is conducive to smooth and pleasant relationships between all people while the service is being offered.

All of this, defined very well and consistently, can form a solution. This is what makes up our product-service system.

‍

How can we apply our strategy and our brand identity to the products and services we offer, in a sustainable way and creating the best possible impact? We will talk about this in future stories.

To help you with all this, you can use the tools of the "IMPULSE" level of our Creative Regeneration methodology. They can help you define your portfolio of products and services, as well as the brand experience of your stakeholders, down to the last detail.

_

As we have seen, in building and managing a sustainable brand we must consider many factors. From the stakeholders we relate to and how we do it (related to CSR), to the last detail of our products and services. Considering the economic, social and environmental impacts in all of this will help us move forward on the road to being positive impact brands.

‍

Some academic references consulted:

Andersen et al. 2023.

Golob et al. 2022.

Meroni, A. 2008.

Russell Abratt & Nicola Kleyn. 2023.

‍