If asked to provide one word that defines my business practice – one word that drives my philosophy of brand planning it would have to be “proof.”
Proof is the most tangible of marketing words. And the most tangible building block in brand strategy.
Proof trumps subjective opinion. It overrides marketing insouciance. It answers that age-old creative brief question “What is the reason to believe?”. Teach a man to prove and you build a brand for a lifetime. In brand strategy, of course, you need to organize your proof; into no more than three proof planks. Random proof becomes a grade school science fair.
The best framework for brand strategy is one claim and three proof planks. Get the claim right then make the proof fit like a glove.
Here’s an exercise: Spend time studying your marketing materials. See if you can discern the proof from the blather. From the self-interest babble. Underline or highlight the proof. See what you’ve got. Does it focus you?
Peace.