What do your brand and your front door have in common?

Checking in with your intentions for your brand

Here’s the audio if you’d prefer to listen rather than read today.

If walls could talk what would the word on the street be about your front door? Is there a house you walk by frequently that you gaze at and aspire to one day having the key to? Have you ever intuitively felt a kinship to something that appealed to your senses?

Your brand is your home

Whether you’re creating a new brand or refreshing an existing one, I like to think of your brand as your home. The foundations (your values) need to be solid, but once they are in place, well, the windows, brickwork, and interiors that’s down to you to switch up. Sometimes, we design our homes for curb appeal, and sometimes we want a place that becomes our safe haven, somewhere that nourishes our soul. Very few of us have the time, energy or money to create our dream home from scratch. It takes time, you learn what you can do and spend your hard-earned cash on professionals when you need them, and as any homeowner knows, there’s always something that needs doing. When it comes to your brand there’s nothing to stop you dreaming big and acknowledging the space you want to work towards occupying on the landscape.

Logo is King

Your logo is like a strong front door. I’ve been desperate to change our front door colour. It’s black and it’s never felt like me. I’ve been having back and forth emails with our freeholder for months about changing it. And whilst I was writing this post,I got realised I could switch up the “door furniture” whilst waiting for colour approval. I ordered a brass bumblebee door knocker, door knob, numbers and letterbox, and will fill the space with the best quality plants I can afford. I want it say, “Hello Amy, welcome home.”  Your brand is your home, and your logo is your front door. It’s an invitation to step inside, sometimes accompanied by a really nice strapline or slogan – that’s your welcome mat. (Between you and me, I think I’m going to go for it and paint it a pale Victorian pink).

Quiz

At Wordsby we like to work co-creatively with clients to establish what defines the brand. Ask yourself what sort of brand are you and how confidently are you articulating this?

What work do you want to do on your brand over the next year? Tell me in the comments.

Campaigns can be changed up

Campaigns that succeed have clarity. They know what they’re selling. We see a product or a service, and we go “YES” I want that. But why do we want it? If I see a gorgeous purple velvet dress, do I imagine wearing it whilst I’m matching up my husband’s socks? Or standing elegantly at the kitchen sink whilst I rinse out yogurt pots for the recycling? No! I want it to transport me into being a woman at a fabulous night out, where I turn down the volume on domesticated Amy, and turn up the volume on a fun carefree version of myself. That’s what I want. That’s who I want to be and what I want to be doing. Sell me the dress. That’s how campaigns work, they have a clear single offer. It’s like chemistry - make eye contact, have some good chat, get a phone number and then have a really hot date. 

Brand is long lasting

But how do you create a relationship? That happens when brands align with our values. When they say something about who we are, what we believe in, and the type of world we want to live in. Dreams are good, they’re where ideas come from, and brand engagement, connection, is an exchange of ideas, it feels like a two-way street. Really powerful brands know what they’re for and for whom. It’s deeper than the first impressions of the front door. We might have met because you took a cute selfie in front of my swish pink doorway but now you’ve come inside.

That brings me to the next niggle I have about our entrance, it’s the hallway. And in truth, it’s also a niggle I’ve been having about my own brand identity, one which I’ll be working on over the next year. Times change, we evolve, my life and business are very different to when I started Wordsby in 2013. My family has grown, my clients and services have expanded too. Sometimes, it feels like there are too many shoes, coats, bags, umbrellas in my hallway, it’s all too cluttered. I don’t want it to be a dumping ground, an accumulation of everything. I feel overwhelmed by it all, imagine how a visitor feels. It’s the same when you look at how you are showcasing your brand. There comes a time when you realise it’s not serving you as effectively as it should be, and unfortunately, that’s down to you not having the capacity to keep up with the maintenance.

Now I have been back and forth to IKEA, and I’ve managed the clutter, but it’s still there. Whenever we take Halloween photos on the doorstep surrounded by the magical lights and the giant spider I always try and remember to shut the front door, because that clutter takes us out of the fantasy. Our hallway doesn’t look right, it’s not giving me the look and I feel I need for it to be the home I want to own. I need take some action, hire a carpenter, pack away and maybe let go of some stuff, paint it eau de nil or green and enjoy coming home again. Just like I need to sit down and do the exercises I do with clients for myself, and acknowledge this is not a failing, every home and every business needs a regular glow up.

All the stuff will all still be there when we need it but smart brands make their visitors feel like a favourite guest. Visitors don’t need to know you’ve ice skates in the cupboard just in case, because right now it’s autumn and they’re wondering if you had an umbrella and a scarf they need for October days. Ask yourself what experience do you want to create for them, so they can confidently and quickly feel like they’ve knocked on the right front door? That’s why we look at what are the STAND OUT things that truly define our brands. I’m going to be diving further into this in the coming weeks, and if you’d like to come along with me, please subscribe and get involved.

If you’d like to read any of my published books then please consider buying from my online bookshop. The New Arrival, Our Country Nurse and Happy Baby, Happy Family. To find out more about my life as Head of Storytelling visit Wordsby Communications.