You scored as a
Dated & Dying brand.

(001)

Do you feel like your sales and marketing materials require long-winded explanations to unpack what you do? Your clarity score suggests customers may have a limited understanding of your offerings or even be confused about your category altogether. Confusion is often found in emerging markets, scaling and growing brands, or merger & acquisition scenarios. This happens most often when you have complicated relationships between your sub-brands or products. (Spoiler: Not everything deserves a logo).

Action Items:

• Look at your noun–how do you describe your business or category? Don’t sacrifice clarity on the altar of distinction. Is there an opportunity to add more clarity through how you describe the organization?
• Review your brand’s visuals and messaging. Are you using terms and vocabulary that your audience understands?
• Sketch out your current brand architecture. Are the relationships between your sub-brands or products creating more confusion than clarity? Hint: Don’t brand your org chart.

(002)

Do you feel like you are simply blending in? Your distinction score suggests your brand may be expressing considerable sameness in your industry or category. Low-distinction brands are often forgettable, usually due to playing it safe by looking and sounding a lot like others in their space.

Action Items:

• Revisit your brand’s position in the market–is your competitive advantage distinct? Or does it sound like what most offer in the space?
• Look at your competition’s brands against your own–what repeated trends do you see that create a sea of sameness? How can you break through the noise? For example–if everyone is a blue, serious-sounding brand, you shouldn’t be.

(003)

Your brand is struggling with consistency, right? Your control score suggests an inconsistent and fragmented approach to brand communications. For example, you may be inconsistent with your use of color, type, photography, brand voice, product claims, message, etc. Low-control brands often inadvertently make skeptics of their prospects during the buying process, because their unpredictability creates a subconscious lack of trust.

Action Items:

• Take a look at your brand toolkit–do you have what your marketing teams need to create consistent communications? They could be limited by an outdated or shallow brand system.
• Consider how you manage your brand. Do you have a role that can act as brand quality control?
• Do you have easily accessible templates for non-designers to use? Most people want to be brand-compliant, if you equip them they will use it.

(004)

Is your brand creating more blank stares than sparks? Your attraction score suggests the brand is not instantly connecting with your audience. This could be due to an outdated or unappealing message and look, or simply one that isn’t speaking to the full value you provide. Low-attraction brands are often legacy organizations that have long relied on relationships and word-of-mouth for new business. Consumers may describe them as dated or irrelevant.

Action Items:

• Do audience research to understand better what your audience wants or needs. Then retool your brand accordingly.
• Revisit your brand’s value proposition–is your message relevant and aligned?
• With your research in mind, what are other brands that are relevant to your target audience? What visual cues can you take from leading brands that inspire a refresh for yours?

(005)

Do you feel like you spend more time responding to customer complaints than promoting your brand? Your devotion score suggests a lack of brand loyalty and a high churn rate, often due to customer expectations not being met. Low-devotion brands struggle to establish long-term value in the minds of their customers and face intense price pressure from competitors. We highly recommend low-devotion brands revisit and fix the operations and delivery of your product or service, before approaching the brand.

Action Items:

• List your customer’s needs and expectations. How can you realign your offering and/or promise to deliver what they expect?
• Gather customer feedback. Where are those expectations consistently falling flat?

(006)

Does your team believe in your brand? Do you struggle to get buy-in from leadership on the benefits of a strong brand? Your alignment score suggests a lack of internal alignment around the story the brand should tell in the market—or a lack of emotional connection to the brand internally. Low-alignment brands often suffer from challenges in recruiting talent, and struggle to maintain important stakeholder engagement.

Action Items:

• Take a look at your brand toolkit–do you have a clear internal brand strategy? Does it feel like a memorable rally cry for your team?
• Gain an understanding of your team’s perception of the brand. Is there an opportunity to align your brand with what lights their fire?