KMG Brand Development Sprint: Crafting a Swiftie-Approved Brand Framework

By Nancy Poznoff , CEO and Co-Founder

Welcome to the second installment of the series I like to call “KMG Brand Development Sprint: Taylor’s Version.” In part one, I talked about how we build personas to provide the cornerstone to brand development. Your customer persona is the center of any brand story, and the job of your brand is to build a relationship with them. That’s why it’s crucial to establish a brand framework that guides how—and why—you engage with them, fostering connections that transcend sales. Your brand isn’t just a logo, it’s a promise to your customer. Or in this case, perhaps, “the best brands are your best friends.”

I am surprised by how many brands skip this foundational step. Many establish a logo and visual identity, maybe even personality, but stopping there is “like driving a getaway car, you'll be flying but you'll never get far." If you don’t know why your brand exists, for whom, what problem you uniquely solve and how…then how can you expect your consumer to get it??

So how do we do it? It’s ultimately a (digital) piece of paper. Not a piece of paper, but THE piece of paper. It’s the culmination of our collaborative efforts, where we’ve debated every word to codify your big, bold thinking and boiled it down to the essence of what you want to communicate. It informs everything you do, not just your marketing. To do this, we leverage a traditional brand framework to unearth the DNA of a brand, usually workshopping it alongside our clients.?

Drawing inspiration from the enchanting world of Taylor Swift, I’ve employed our brand framework here to reverse engineer her brand foundation.

Here’s a step-by-step guide outlining our process:?

Step One: Identify your mission.

This aspirational statement embodies why you exist in the world, and lives above and beyond marketing or product campaigns. It is used to set direction internally and externally. We use story-based mission development - listening and distilling a crisp mission statement based on the internal team’s brand stories.?

Brand Mission (Taylor’s Version): To be your best friend whenever and wherever you need one.

This mission captures the “something bigger,” the reason Taylor goes on tour while simultaneously re-recording two albums, promoting a new one and also writing yet another one! She is there for her Swifties in a way that feels committed, personal and friendly. She’s got your back.

Step Two: Identify what we call the “key tension.”

What cultural, marketplace or business tension exists that can provide an opportunity for change? This isn’t specifically about your brand, rather, a conversation-starter into the category and a key universal problem that everyone would agree with.

Key Tension (Taylor’s Version): Women and young girls are under tremendous pressure, feeling more isolated than ever, and seeking community with other women who build them up, not tear them down

This tension sets the stage for the functional benefit your brand provides, but also the emotional impact it has. Our culture is at an inflection point for girls and women. They are finding their own voices, while cultural influences are simultaneously telling them they should find their power… but also sit down and be quiet. (Just watch the Barbie Movie – America Ferrera explains this tension best in her monologue.).?

Step Three: Focus on our customer.

Remember Becky? This should be your design target - your bullseye who represents the majority of your customers.

Persona (Taylor’s Version): Becky is a young professional who is seeking authentic connection and belonging as she navigates adulthood.

In the framework, we seek to understand what the customer needs (connection, belonging) and why (she’s finding her way through bumpy, confusing, life stages).?

Step Four: Hone in on the problem they have that we can uniquely solve via the transformational benefit we deliver.

Here we’re looking for friction (as they say, no problem, no sale), and simplicity. What would they type into a Google search or tell their friend over a coffee? Then, what changes in their life after we enter it? What do we do better than anyone else to solve this problem?

Problem to Solve (Taylor’s Version): “In a sea of social media and negativity, I want to be seen, understood, and welcome - exactly as I am.”

Transformational Benefit (Taylor’s Version): Taylor Swift inspires fans to find their own voices in a supported community, seeing themselves reflected in her music as multifaceted, always-evolving people.

Step Five: Outline three reasons to believe (RTB).

This is the proof behind your benefit. These are the three things that your brand will consistently demonstrate. These should be simply stated, and MECE (mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive).

RTBs (Taylor’s version):

1. Taylor’s music is raw, and written from the heart, from lived experience - the messy, the painful the beautiful, and everything in between.?
2. Taylor lives her values. She supports other women, her staff, and nurtures her community to ensure all her fans have a safe space to be themselves and connect with each other.
3. Fans are at the center of everything she does. Together they have built a culture and community that celebrates and supports each other - down to their own language, culture, and cryptic messages.

The transformational benefit and the RTBs should be the guideposts for all of your marketing and communications. The Eras tour is a perfect example of her bringing her brand strategy to life. From thoughtfully curated outfits to friendship bracelet trading, her audience comes together as a group of unique individuals, yet feel part of something bigger. They see their experiences reflected in Taylor’s deep catalog and eagerly anticipate the surprise songs. In this loving and safe community, Taylor holds them together, inspiring admiration and fostering courage.?

Step Six: Wrap it up in an emotional territory

How do you want your customer to feel when they choose and engage with your brand?

Emotional Territory (Taylor’s Version): Connected, Seen, Brave

I mean, have you met a Swiftie??

Dissecting Taylor’s brand has become a college course; it’s a constant part of the cultural discourse. Why? Because it is a masterclass in not only how to build a strong brand, but WHY. A solid brand foundation guides your promise to your customers - your fans. It builds their affinity, their emotional investment in your brand, and creates an army of support when you encounter the inevitable misstep (cue the latest Pentagon PsyOp conspiracy theory).?

The best brands are also our best friends. They feel like our partners, bring out the best in us, and hold space for us to be ourselves. At the end of the day, you want your brand to make your customer want to sing “Long live all the mountains we moved / I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you.”

Stay tuned for my next installment where we will discuss the power of using archetypes to define your brand’s personality.?