Finding your Flo

Happy Friday

How was your week?

Mine was good, fun actually; I did a demo of a new platform I'm obsessed with. 

I had so much fun pulling videos and creating my own ads, but the demo wasn't as seamless as if my colleague Frank did it, who is on vacation and makes everything look easy, being born in Google platforms. 

I've always been the one writing the strategy and the briefs and need a little more (read a lot) practice building content. One of my favourite things to do while building a brand was to develop or revisit identity models. Sadly, often seen as futile by non-marketers (or my mom), it allowed clarity and consistency across all activations, providing a sandbox of what is or is not "on brand".

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. 

This personality might be brought to life by a personality demonstrating these attributes. Beauty is a big fan of it. 

But brands can also create it; some good examples come to mind :

- A gecko

- Old Spice guy

- The Most Interesting Man in the World

- M&Ms

- Or Flo

 That has humanized a brand and helped : 

- Increase brand awareness | more memorable and easier for consumers to recall.

- Enhance brand perception | more likable, trustworthy, and approachable.

- Built a stronger emotional connection | Feel a personal affinity with the brand.

If hundreds of thousands of children dress up as Flo for Halloween each year, something is working! These brands took a risk and have found a way to make a complex product fun and approachable while removing friction from the buying process. 

Sometimes, not taking a risk is a risk.

See you next week.