How can brand strategists become more persuasive in their work?

It's critical to know your stakeholders, and what drives their decisions. You can have the best brand strategy since God was a boy - but if it doesn't help answer the challenges of key people in the room - it won't get signed off. So - be predictive about how your brand strategy will help the organisation, product, or service achieve it's desired aims!

Understand the business. Understand who buys their stuff, and why. Understand the decision makers, what keeps them awake at night. But also, what they SHOULD be worried about. My experience is that most brand strategists are in reality brand communications strategists, and/or design people. And yes, creative work is important to make solutions come alive, but they are not the whole solution, and often they are not even a part of the solution because the strategists didn't even understand the problem. Don't be one of those.

While my initial instinct is to just shout "use data-led arguments," it's crucial to understand that data only tells us what's happened. Behavioural insights, however, unveil the 'why' and 'how' behind those occurrences. This is called gaining a 'contextual understanding.' Understanding the context and motivations driving behaviours aids in interpreting and contextualising data trends. This humanisation of the data makes it more relatable and actionable, which in turn helps us design interventions, nudges, or strategies to steer behaviours in a desired direction.

A key component of marketing is understanding your target audience. The Super Bowl is an excellent opportunity to advertise, but it is also very costly. In addition, only a quarter of the viewers are interested in your product. The selection of the right media is crucial to achieving marketing ROI. For example, if you sell running shoes, you may wish to advertise in running publications. A creative can be tailored to a specific persona, while a brand can be tailored to reflect the interests and values of the consumers who will purchase the product. Understanding your target market and developing relationships with consumers will enhance ROI. Consumers prefer brands that provide customized services, according to 80 per cent of consumers.

In the realm of decision-making, think of it as a Star Trek adventure where Captain Kirk's bold creativity meets Spock's analytical prowess. Our approach blends rigorous, data-driven analysis with a creative flair that injects life and color into numbers and trends. We recognize that raw data provides the map, but creative interpretation is the compass that guides us to new frontiers. This balance ensures strategies that are not only grounded in reality but also resonate on a human, imaginative level. It's a dance between logic and art, where data informs our decisions, but creativity sets them apart. In essence, we're crafting narratives that captivate as much as they inform, turning data into stories that engage and inspire.

While I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment that you need to wrap the strategy in a compelling narrative, I would argue that such a narrative is useless if it isn't presented well. It sounds simplistic, but having really strong presentation skills is essential to success. Don't assume that because you've got this thing all thought out that it'll just sell itself. YOU have to be compelling just as much as the information you're presenting, if not more so.

A compelling brand story is essential for creating an emotional connection with your audience and forming a lasting relationship with them. Today's consumers desire to connect with brands online and develop meaningful relationships with them. You can differentiate yourself from your competitors by telling your brand's story, creating a memorable experience for your audience and converting them into customers by using brand storytelling. As a result of these factors, your brand will gain more loyalty from your audience due to the fact that they will connect with it on a personal and emotional level as a result of a good brand storytelling strategy.

Once upon a time...Package your brand strategy in the form of a compelling narrative. Use storytelling techniques to make your strategy more memorable and emotionally resonant. Tailor your brand strategy to resonate with the specific needs and desires of the intended audience.

We as people love stories. Most of the time I’ve encountered business owners and try to shy away from why they started the company - their brand story - and just want to focus on the product. But people will connect with you on the story, the values, and the mission and become loyal fans because of it. The brand story is what sets you apart from competitors and is something only you can “own” <- this is what you want to find… what makes us different from competitors and how do we leverage that to the best of our ability.

Big fan of brandstortelling. When done right it is a powerful tool to connect with audience/consumers in emotional way that goes beyond the surface of function. Saying that it's hard to tale a compelling brand story without understanding the orgin story of the brand. The best brands have an orgin story, start from the beginning and build inward out.

There is no doubt that the Rule of Three can be an effective branding technique. As you can see above, each of these examples has become an integral part of our subconscious, becoming synonymous with the brand. For this reason, many taglines consist of only three words. Additionally, they reinforce the brand's values as well as help you recall the brand immediately, making them memorable. Think in threes when you are attempting to communicate with your audience if you are attempting to engage your audience if you are attempting to make your audience remember you. Ready, Set, Go!

Using clear and simple language in your marketing efforts will also be beneficial to your efforts. It applies to web pages, blog posts, articles, and all forms of marketing collateral. Plain language content has lower bounce rates, while simple and easy-to-understand marketing collateral can generate revenue and customer loyalty. Plain language can make it easier for you to communicate with your customers more clearly and transparently. Additionally, a positive image of your brand can help build customer loyalty. Communicating clearly and concisely will help you stand out from the competition.

Because I was in advertising for many years, and created the well-known “Wait’ll We Get Our Hanes on You” campaign, clients often come to me asking for a catchy slogan for their company. What they don’t realize is that clarity must come first; what are you trying to convey? Say it first in boring language. Then find a way to make it memorable. Another thing people miss is how much meaning is carried by deceptively simple tags like “Just Do It.” Three words that convey the eternal struggle of every athlete from the amateur to the pro to overcome their own resistance, excuses, and fears to win at simply showing up to play. A ton of consumer insight went into those three words. You don’t show up and “just do it.” Such simplicity is hard won.

Clear simple language is great when a brand is in its foundational phase, when it is new to the market, keeping the messaging simple increases engagement with its intended audience. As the brand matures, learns, and iterates in the market, it can speak to various personas and pain points.

Quick trivia on human behaviour- the more jargon you use, the lesser chance of customers believing you or retaining your message! KISS- Keep it short and simple!

It’s really easy to get caught up in your lingo when you are immersed in your industry. My goal as a brand strategist is to crystallize what you do and who you help in a way that we can explain it to a 10 year old. Which is why I prefer to come in as a blank slate that has never heard of you or your industry and come in without bias. When analyzing your brand messaging make sure a 10 year old would understand what you do and who you help… if it just sounds good to you and your team chances are it may be too complicated because you and your team know your business and industry best. People love to make themselves and business sound overly important rather than direct and concise. Don’t make people work extra hard to get what you do.

Engage and delight your audience by involving them in the process. Remember: you aren't creating in a vacuum. Solve for the audience, and you are guaranteed a higher ROI. Think of beloved brands like Apple and Nike, and emulate their strategy of engaging with their audiences through social media campaigns, UGC, contests and loyalty programs.

To be persuasive enough means your message resonates so much that your audience eventually becomes your ambassador. For this to happen, you must look at your offer from the outside in...taking in their input and perspective. That way, you will meet your audience at their specific point of need.

It's always about engaging the target audience, whether in the construction of a solution, a product, or a concept. People commit to a cause or proposal when they perceive that it adds value to them and is in harmony with their own culture and identity

Test your strategy with the target audience: Find people from your target audience set and run them through the strategy you are proposing. This exercise will help get some real feedback and honest responses. And, maybe you'll find a great insight!

If strategy is often about uncovering the deeper meaning to problems you can apply this same mindset to your client. Often we demonize the client. "They're difficult to work with. The client doesn't want to do x. They say one thing then fight it." Many strategists (brand and otherwise) have no idea what it is like to run a business or operate a CSuite level position in a company where the responsbilities & decisions affect multiple levels of an company & the people within it. By attempting to understand the motivation under the clients decisions and behaviors we validate their existence. In this validation we create trust, with trust our opinions have more value to the client thus we gain more persuasion.

It's hard for a brand strategist to be persuasive unless they're truly credible. So make sure you know the marketing science inside out. Make sure you understand both the commercial and cultural context the business operates within. Make sure you have a broad frame of reference. Draw intelligent parallels. Open up new ways of thinking. And when you speak/write, be clear, be decisive, and be imaginative.

Here is a crisp checklist of elements you should have in your communications that can help improve audience engagement. You should have at least 1 or more of these elements in your message to engage your customers: 1. Reciprocation: offer a delight and customer will warm up to reciprocate to your nudge 2. Contrast: set an anchor in the mind of the customer and show how your offering is above the benchmark 3. Similarity: people are more prone to say yes to someone they feel is similar to them or their environment 4. Authority: people trust experts call in making a decision 5. Scarcity/FOMO For details on each of the above points, I recommend reading Influence by Robert Cialdini

Let the numbers do the talking. Brand is often categorised as "loosey goosey", where there is a lack of hard numbers to prove its effectiveness. Hence, where possible, show analytics to prove effectiveness of branding: - Lift in business metrics: sales, spend, referrals, cross-selling, website visits, social media likes, engagement, keyword search and etc. - Lift in brand metrics: brand awareness, consideration, preference, affinity, top of mind, usage and etc. Granted that branding efforts is often not the sole driver of business metrics, but if some causal relationships can be established, they can go a long way to persuade.

Support your brand strategy with relevant data and insights. Utilize market research, analytics, and consumer trends to reinforce the strategic decisions you advocate. Data-driven arguments carry more weight. Develop emotional intelligence to understand and empathize with the perspectives and concerns of stakeholders. Being attuned to the emotional aspects of decision-making can help you navigate and address potential objections.