Filling your cup

Happy Friday

How was your week?

Mine went from meh to wow. 

Have you ever experienced a setback? 

Whether professional or personal, do you know how to refill your cup? For me, it's my girls, my man, and my friends. (It takes a village.) Spending time with them fills mine because they know me, my worth, where I'm from, and what I stand for. 

For brands, setbacks happen, too. 

Many brands will have things figured out and yet miss the mark. Even if ever so thoughtfully crafted, whatever the activation/campaign is, it didn't land, resonate, or work. 

Like any personal/professional complication, you must refill the brand cup. So, how do you go about it, you ask? Simple: You return to its village, its core, its consumers, and its brand ambassadors and spend time with them. They'll tell you what's up and help you to put your best brand foot forward.

One of the most useful tools in brand building is having a brand blueprint figured out. Many frameworks exist; depending on your organization, they might prefer the Aaker,  Keller or  Kapferer model. Still, all articulate what the brand stands for and define its signpost, values, personality, and positioning—giving a voice and tone to a brand to connect with consumers emotionally. 

Sadly, often seen as futile, having one allows clarity and consistency across all activations, provides a sandbox of what is or is not "on brand," and removes potential subjectivity.

We wrapped our 3rd summit for the LEAD program at Google (the best) yesterday.

After months of work, each member just delivered their leadership blueprint, expressing their core values, personality, superpowers, growth opportunities, and what they stand for. 

Considering that only 12% of women actively work on their careers (not jobs), having their blueprint figured out and acknowledging their worth, what they want, and where they want to go is paramount to remaining intentional about their careers. 

In any of these cases (personal, professional, and brand), they all have a community, a village, a core, and a blueprint to return to. So next time you have a setback or a big decision to make, you know what to do: Avengers Assemble

They help you refill your cup, guaranteed.

See you next week