Many of you will by now know I work for Brando-Digital. And when our site goes live (in a few short days now) you'll find more defining, and refining, the following there.
But in the meantime, I'd be really greatful if you'd take a look at this slidedeck (just five slides in total - and just three key ones), and let me know what you think.
What I've tried to do in this deck is really simplify what we're about. Collectively we've been working on our service offering (we're a full service social media outfit with everything from simple online PR to board-level strategic advice on offer and pretty much all stations in between; viral, blogger outreach, engagement strategies etc).
That's the strategic 'What' side covered.
We've also got the tactical stuff nailed (the How).
But the way we've arrived at both is by discovering our 'Why' first. Most businesses either forget or never bother working out for themselves why they are in business - other than 'to make money'. A shame, because it's more important than strategy. It's what defines your strategy.
What gets you out of bed in the morning, what do you want to do to change the world, what's wrong and needs fixing? These are the kind of questions that can tease out your 'Why'.
It's what gives a business its purpose.
Mark Earls always likes to dig this out of people and organisations and I follow his lead in this. In fact what I'm working towards is a combination of Mark's Herd thinking and my own communities of purpose. A double-purpose whammy!
I hope the result is compelling. I believe in it.
Our purpose is to bring people together around things they care about - in communities of purpose. We want to do that because communities of purpose create great value for everyone involved. They find each other, talk to each other and act together to create change that matters to them.
And because we believe that's important, we think that makes us better at delivering our tactics and creating our strategy - because all of it grows from our Why, to our Purpose. There is a reason we do everything we do - and it goes beyond money.
So, maybe now go take another look at that slidedeck? Tell me what you think?
Over the coming weeks, through our Brando-Digital website, you'll come to discover the rest of the team, their take on all this (the above is entirely my own interpretation, not an official nailed down, it shall-be-for-all-time mission statement or similar) and our approach to opening silos and sharing - to engaging the power of the network in the way we work and in who we are.
BONUS LINK: The Social Media Play Book.
The further ahead you look - the faster you go | davidpcushman AT gmail.com | These are my views and my views only.
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FasterFuture.blogspot.com
The rate of change is so rapid it's difficult for one person to keep up to speed. Let's pool our thoughts, share our reactions and, who knows, even reach some shared conclusions worth arriving at?
Everything you need in 3 slides.
ReplyDeletePerfect.
Great stuff, mate. Most folk don't bother to boil it down so
ReplyDeleteIMHO the what is less specific than it might be because the why isn't as clear as you would like.
How to fix this? Start from why and then work back, maybe?
Two thoughts: it's a little abstract - if I didn't already subscribe to communities of purpose theory I'd not be sure what you do; and the text below the picture tends to fall off the bottom of the page and be invisible. (Blame my old letterpress printing teacher for spotting that!)
ReplyDeletermm
Really love what lies at the heart of the agency - big advocate. I get what you do and why, that's clear, but how do you help brands adapt? Do you help brands create and communicate ideas of purpose to spark communities into action, bringing them together around the purpose? Also, do you need to talk about how a brand converts its intangible/traditional brand proposition into a meaningful and real idea - one with real purpose? Wrote about Jim Stengel's (ex-P&G GMO) new consultancy (purpose driven marketing) and John Grant's Brand Innovation Manifesto at Knitwareblog last week. Good luck
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/6p6wsz
Hi David, I would agree with Richard. Having spent most of my life in BD and Product Positioning, I have a subjective view from that perspective.
ReplyDeleteIt all depends on the target audience, if you are preaching to the choir, then the deck will be different from if you are talking to a CXO of a big brand.
I only care about answers to the following questions :
What is it?
So what?
Why?
Why should I care?
What if I don't bother?
IMHO Everything in a business proposition can be handled in the above. Then the only thing to add is "why are we different?".
Back to the audience. Even the choir will not know as much as the preacher, so some explicitness will be effective. If you are preaching to other preachers then the presentation is completely different as they already know the answers to the questions they will just want to know how you are different.
If you are targeting the big brands, it is my belief that the explicitness has to be very direct (as their knowledge will in the main be less), but also they have to see the pain of the new world they are in (i.e. Marketing is no longer how it used to be, engage with Social Media as part of your outreach or wither and die.
Oh yeah I forgot a question "Why do something now?"
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ReplyDeleteThanks all for some fabulously rich feedback - invaluable every piece.
ReplyDeleteSo good I feel bad getting in the way in case I interrupt the flow so, pretend like I wasn't here!
But just a quick response to kintwareblog, thanks for the kind words and yes, purpose means a lot round here (no irony intended).
It's core in my idea of Communities of Purpose
We help brands adapt in this way:
we believe listening to and responding to the network requires and drives cultural change within the brand itself.
It raises and answers questions about ownership and control which will make the brand/org better adapted to the networked world.
It functions as their safe passage to the future.
btw deleted my last comment - it was my own and same as this, just under the wrong id ;-)
Love the less is more.
ReplyDeleteOnly thought is if I'm from a more traditional online marketing environment would I understand what was my next step ...
How would I as a novice start to really understand this sector?
You're welcome, look forward to hearing more about your progress.
ReplyDeletenice- i steal this line from henry jenkins in this deck
ReplyDeletehttp://www.slideshare.net/farisyakob/converged-communications-new-ideas-of-influence-alternate-ending
the key is to bring people together and give them something to do.
hi faris. Yep. Henry is the man when it cones to participation.
ReplyDelete