Renewing Your Purpose: How to refresh your brand through your "why."
As the new year approaches, many brands, big and small, begin to reflect on the past year, lay out future business goals, and realign in their mission and purpose to help guide them through another year. Part of that process often includes branding.
Visual branding is more than a marketing strategy; it's a language that communicates your values, mission, personality, and lifestyle. It's about creating a brand that resonates with your audience on a deeper level. Effective branding tells your audience, "This is why you should choose us." It transforms casual customers into loyal fans by providing a visual and emotional connection that aligns with their desires and values.
Needless to say, visual branding is a vital piece of your business that needs to stay aligned with your purpose as a brand.
Whether you're feeling a disconnect with your current branding or just looking to refresh your brand's identity for the new year, the first step is understanding your WHAT, HOW, and WHY.
Simon Sinek emphasizes this simple but powerful truth in his Golden Circle method:
"People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it."
This method is not just about superficial changes; it's about digging deeper into the essence of your brand and ensuring that your core values, mission, and purpose are in harmony with how you present yourself to the world.
(This concept is brilliantly explained in his TED Talk, which I highly recommend for a deeper understanding.)
The Golden Circle Approach
The Golden Circle is divided into three fundamental components: What, How, and Why. Each of these layers contributes to a comprehensive understanding of your brand.
What You Do: Your Brand's Positioning
This is about the tangible - the products you sell or the services you offer. It's what your customers experience directly.
How You Do It: Your Brand's Mission
This layer focuses on your unique approach and the specific actions and processes that set you apart in the market. Think of it as your unique value proposition.
Why You Do It: Your Brand's Purpose
Here lies the heart of your brand. It's about the passion, beliefs, or causes that drive your business beyond just making profits. This is where emotional connections are forged, and where trust and loyalty with your audience are built.
As Sinek says,
"Many companies are clear on what they do and how they do it. Few truly understand their deeper WHY.”
Your "why" affects everything - how you talk about your brand, your brand values, how your brand connects with your audience, and yes, your branding visuals. This is why starting with The Golden Circle at the start of and branding project is a MUST for me and my clients.
(If you're a reader and want to dig in even deeper, check out Simon Sinek's book, Start With Why.)
NOTE: This process isn't just a quick fix for your branding.
It's a process that involves deep reflection on your business, its goals, values, and the vision you have for your brand's future. This thoughtful approach is crucial in crafting a brand identity that resonates with your target audience and stands the test of time.
By dedicating time to understanding these core aspects of your brand, you lay the foundation for a visual identity that's not only aesthetically pleasing but also strategically aligned and intentional.
The result? A brand that evokes the right emotions, connects with your specific target client, and remains meaningful and impactful.
Real-World Examples
Let's look at how some renowned companies would apply The Golden Circle:
Dove
What: Nourishing, moisturizing, and repairing skin and hair care products.
How: Celebrating normal women whose appearances are outside the stereotypical norms of beauty.
Why: To widen the definition of beauty and help women develop a positive relationship with their look.
Apple
What: We give power to the people by making technology great yet simple so that everyone can make a difference in the world one touches.
How: We simplify, we perfect, and we start over until every product we make meets our standard for excellence and enhances each life it touches.
Why: We think differently and challenge the status quo.
Lego
What: The world’s favorite toy brand for plastic bricks.
How: Inspiring and developing the builders of tomorrow through play.
Why: To develop children's imagination and inspire them to think creatively.
Airbnb
What: An online platform that connects people to unique homes and travel experiences, and with their local hosts.
How: Enabling people to live like locals + feel at home anywhere in the world, instead of just traveling to it.
Why: We imagine a world where anyone can belong anywhere.
Now let's apply this to your brand!
Questions to consider:
POSITIONING: What does your business do? What do you do to serve your clients/customers?
MISSION: How do you do what you do? What is your unique process and/or approach? What are the actions you take to serve your clients/customers?
PURPOSE: What is your deeper why? What is your purpose, passion, belief, cause, or motivation (besides making money)? What is the reason your company exists?
Focusing on The Golden Circle's principles of What, How, and Why, you can ensure that your brand's story is not just heard, but felt and remembered.
This process isn’t just about aligning your branding with your business goals; it's about aligning it with the very essence of who you are and what you believe in.
As you reflect on these questions and re-evaluate your brand, you open doors to not just business growth, but to forming deeper, more meaningful connections with your audience.
Ready to put some action into The Golden Circle approach?
My holistic and collaborative branding process is designed for mission-driven businesses who want to create a timeless visual brand that conveys your story, shines a light on who you are, and meaningfully connects with your community.
If you’re feeling a tug, it may be time… I’d love to chat more about how we can reach your branding and marketing goals!
