A culture instance—has at its core a set of values, a way of seeing the world, and a way of acting in the world which never changes. Culture survives hundreds of years of occupation precisely because those values don’t change. It will only morph around those values to adapt to an ever-changing world.

Brand Culture offers a new model of branding. It suggests that a brand can operate much like a culture, in the anthropological sense of the word. By putting a stake in the ground in the form of values which never change, a brand allows consumers to measure those values against their own values. When consumers find a close-enough match, that brand is permitted to invite those consumers to join its culture. It works the same way with employees.

Soul of A Brand

Today, what one company makes is nearly indistinguishable from the competition. In our highly-evolved marketplace, culture has become a powerful point of brand differentiation. And often plays a bigger role in what consumers buy than the products or services themselves.

How You Do It

It’s not “What” you make that defines your brand (you undoubtedly have many competitors that make the same product or service). Rather, it’s “How” you choose to go about making it. The choices that you and every one of your employees makes each day, and the practices you put into place reflect your beliefs, values and aspirations.

Culture and Brand Collide

As we elevate culture, we begin to see the blurring of lines between internal audiences and our external audiences. Brand goes beyond defining the internal culture of the organization, but extends to building and defining the culture of the consumers it appeals to. People should want to buy from you as much as work for you.

A brand conversation is the continuous dialog that brands have with their fans and potential customers across all touch-points — digital and analog.

Sometimes it is a one-way conversation where the brand is dictating a lifestyle position or company messaging, which usually isn’t very effective. Not long ago, brand marketing involved strategically creating campaigns that targeted consumers with a specific message. It was directional. Increasingly, thanks in large part to social media, the brand conversation is becoming a two-way dialogue between customers and the brand.

Brand Evolution

Brands are in a constant state of movement and evolution. They must act as collaborator and contributor, constantly inspiring conversation and making a connection with consumers. Conversation is an art. It relies on mutual respect and taking a genuine interest in the people you engage with. But more than anything, conversation is sparked by a shared interest between people.

Creating the Bonds

Think about what happens when two people first meet: the instant they find a common interest, the conversation intensifies, each person leans in, they want to learn more or say more. As the conversation progresses, they find more in common, and soon there is a bond. This is the human connection we seek.

Forming the Foundation

The power of our Brand Conversation process is leveraging the shared interests between organizations and employees, brands, consumers, leaders and stakeholders. These shared interests become the foundation for the brand conversation. That is the new role for brands: to use conversation to build lasting bonds and relationships. Through content marketing, public relations, social media marketing and communications, Intrinzic helps brands create lasting bonds that drive business.

A culture instance—has at its core a set of values, a way of seeing the world, and a way of acting in the world which never changes. Culture survives hundreds of years of occupation precisely because those values don’t change. It will only morph around those values to adapt to an ever-changing world.

Brand Culture offers a new model of branding. It suggests that a brand can operate much like a culture, in the anthropological sense of the word. By putting a stake in the ground in the form of values which never change, a brand allows consumers to measure those values against their own values. When consumers find a close-enough match, that brand is permitted to invite those consumers to join its culture. It works the same way with employees.

Generating Response

The point of brand – and the ongoing conversations that surround it – is not to simply drive a one-time action, but to create an emotional response and personal connection that draws brand and consumer closer together over time. This is what we call Brand Re(action).

Building Trust

Every channel, every tactic and every communication is crafted to generate a response. But not in the way most marketers think. It’s often assumed that action is driven through awareness, repetition and asking for the sale. But in truth, the single most important aspect of motivating action is trust. When a person you know or have something in common with makes a recommendation – a movie, a restaurant, a product – you enthusiastically act on it. But if there is a lack of trust, or you don’t believe they are looking out for your best interests, you will hold back, wait and see, or likely not act at all.

Inspiring Action

Marketers need to understand this critical dynamic in their relationship with consumers. Our job is to use all the tools and channels at our disposal to gain trust, make a personal connection and create anticipation. Together, they culminate in action. A consumer who is personally connected with a brand has a strong desire to actively participate and help shape the brand. Not just today, but reliably and consistently over time.