This post is one in a series on our biggest brand strategy secret here at Distility: That most bad brands can be traced back to a failure of exploration, a failure of commitment, or both.
This diagram sums up the way most brands go wrong, and what it takes to get to the holy grail of the authentic brand.
The Conformist Brand Identity is the result of authoritarian leadership refusing to explore and commit to an authentic brand.
The firm with a Conformist Brand may have dabbled in the exploration of brand promise, position, and personality, only to be stopped short by an overriding pressure to commit. Or, the brand may have simply been dictated to the group by an authoritarian leader. Regardless, there’s typically little concern as to whether or not you have the story right.
The story itself is likely not authentic to the team or offer, but rather an imitation of another brand that worked, or simply the opinion of a higher-up. This puts your brand at risk of being positioned as unappealing, or simply another face in the crowd. Without an authentic, differentiated voice to tell your brand story, your audience or stakeholders may struggle to consider or buy into your brand.
You don’t want to be this brand. In fact, you probably don’t even want to be part of this team. To make a difference, your brand needs to blaze a new trail and engage truly like-minded people in taking that path. To Distility that’s an Authentic brand.