Is this a time in history when we have an unprecedented level of control over our brand? This interested question came up the other day as I was chatting with Wojtek Wojcicki from The OneCo.
Always one to see things just a little bit differently than anyone else, Wojtek had mentioned that we have so much control over our brand now. This brought me up short as I have always bought into the notion that we need to give up the idea that we EVER had control.
As our conversation progressed, it became apparent that this wasn’t quite what he meant. Yes, it is true that we can’t control our brand once it is out there in the public realm. With twitter, facebook and the myriad of other social media networks, it is impossible to control how others represent your brand. People can talk trash about you, spread information about your company that hasn’t been vetted by the communications department and make you look very good, or very bad.
As you dig deeper, however, you quickly start to see that there is more to it than just control. Never before have we had the ability to define our brand the way we can now. In the past, our brand was represented by an ad in the paper, a sign on our door or maybe even a billboard.
In today’s market, a brand has much more substance and depth. Your brand is conveyed by profiles, contests, games, apps and dialogue. Now, short bursts of 140 characters or in-depth blog posts can convey a brand. Your brand is even conveyed by the tone of a tweet – if you doubt that, try to image a staid, humourless @westjet tweeter. Organizations would do well to embrace the ability to add depth to their brand, rather than being afraid of losing control.
Do we have more control? I don’t think so, but never before have brands had an opportunity to gain a depth, complexity and dare I even say it, maturity?
