You scored as a
Rising to Radically Relevant 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)

Stand proud, you’re a stand-out brand! Your distinction score suggests you have a differentiated offering or experience, and convey uniqueness through your name, message, logo, or look and feel, as compared to direct competitors. High-distinction brands tend to visually and verbally stand out in the marketplace and get more attention.

Keep it up! And don’t forget:

• Keep an eye on your competitors–you might be the trendsetter today but others could start to copy you or catch up.
• Pay attention to your brand’s clarity–distinction can create confusion without it.
• If your look starts to feel tiresome to you, don’t give it up quite yet. While it seems like old news to you, your audience is likely just now getting used to it.

(003)

Your control score suggests your brand might be semi-consistent in your brand communications, but lacks the brand system tools to maintain consistency without draining your teams. For example, you may be inconsistent with your use of color, type, and photography, and your team struggles with brand voice without heavy direction. This can result in an inefficient internal brand process, duplicate work, creative frustration, and general wheel spinning.

Action Items:

• Take a look at your brand toolkit–do you have what your marketing teams need to create consistent communications? Or are they limited by an outdated or shallow brand system?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?

(004)

You’re on the right path, but you might be leaving some opportunity on the table. Your attraction score suggests the brand is connecting with some audiences, but perhaps is less appealing to new or growing audiences. This could be due to an outdated message and look, or simply one that isn’t speaking to the full value you provide. These types of brands are often legacy organizations that have long relied on relationships and word-of-mouth for new businesses, or industries that have experienced a shift in audiences' mindsets.

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?
• Audit your brand touchpoints and materials. Does it speak to only one of our audiences? Who might feel left out of the conversation?

(005)

Well done, your devotion score is well-earned! Your devotion score suggests your brand provides a valuable experience that keeps audiences engaged and coming back. High-devotion brands consistently deliver on their customers’ expectations, having successfully operationalized their brand positioning throughout the organization. As a result of devotion, these beloved brands often enjoy the privilege of premium pricing.

Keep it up! And don’t forget:

• Keep a pulse on audience shifts–new audiences might have different expectations that could put your overall brand devotion at risk.
• Keep customer devotion top of mind when considering the impacts of any brand refresh.

(006)

Your alignment score suggests your leadership has successfully defined and socialized a compelling brand strategy. They’ve made it clear how each area of the organization is expected to deliver on the brand, and with buy-in from higher-ups, those teams are held accountable through related performance indicators. High-alignment brands respect and understand the power of brand in today’s marketplace, and thereby benefit from an emotional connection to the brand internally that impacts culture.

Keep it up! And don’t forget:

• Check your recruitment and onboarding touch points–do they accurately reflect your brand vision and organization’s culture?
• Keep internal alignment top of mind when considering any future brand changes.