What? Uh…Think quick. This isn’t a tough question… Polaris?
We’re talking to a Senior Global Marketing Executive who, amongst other things, had run campaigns for one of the biggest names in golf. I had asked a friend in marketing for a contact who could do some photoshop work, and somehow ended up talking to this giant in the industry?
Once we laughed off the miscommunication, it turned into an amazing branding/mentoring/shoot the shit conversation which couldn’t have come at a better time. I’m still looking for a graphic designer, but that’s a problem for another day.
The North Star – as I’m coming to understand it – is the FEEL of your brand. Your BRAND is the customer experience. It’s so much more than the PRODUCT, which is all I was focused on.
Have you thought about the first moment a potential customer came in contact with you? Via an ad, a reddit post, tik tok, a billboard on the side of a bus? How did that FEEL. Did they get the same sense of pride and excitement you have about your PRODUCT, your baby, that you've created?
What does your customer want to do, NEED to do when they see your logo, advertisting, color scheme, design. Fast? Red, sleek, Ferrari, Ferrari Red. Sports? Take on your competition, get better every day, just do it, Nike.
I would love my brand’s FEEL to be of a perfectly struck golf shot. The feeling we get a few times a round of a ball hit perfectly, soaring into the air towards your target, you standing effortlessly in balance like a carved statue, as everyone’s jaw drops open. It’s what keeps us coming back. To a game that is expensive, takes forever, is wildly frustrating and hurts our backs.
It’s a fantastic, transcendent, addictive feeling. If we could capture that in a brand? That could really be something.
Building it is HARD. Overnight successes only seem that way because that’s the first moment they came to our attention. They’ve been grinding and working for years, refining their craft, building the tidal wave of personality that is now propelling them along.
Consistently pointing towards your North Star is hard as there are so many wind patterns and currents constantly redirecting you. I think I’m going to plaster my target FEEL on the wall. See it every day I'm working, like “Play Like a Champion Today” is posted in the Notre Dame football locker room. Or “Believe” is taped crooked above Ted Lasso’s office in…Ted Lasso. Which you ought to watch if you haven’t.
What's your FEELING? Let’s think about every step of the customer process, and see how many times we can get this feeling across. Good luck building your brand.