They say curiosity killed the cat…well, I don’t say that at all!  I believe that curiosity provides clarity, inspires innovation and basically gets your creative juices flowing and more ideas sparking.

When you apply curiosity to the world of branding, I’m talking about taking a deeper dive into the brands you already love, follow, and buy from.  This curiosity helps you to further understand your own brand by examining what you truly love about another brand.

Before we dive into an exercise that’s all about the brands you love, I would recommend you start by looking at brands that annoy or irritate you.  Sounds a little funny, right?  Stick with me for a sec - do you know how you end up figuring out exactly what you want by first knowing what you DON’T want?

Go with me on this one…think about it in terms of dating.  You went for the hot guy, but as soon as you were out on a date you realized he literally couldn’t keep up a good conversation with you and didn’t get your jokes.  Total turn-off, right?  Now you have more clarity about what really matters to you in attracting a partner…looks aren’t all that matter; he needs to be on your level smart, able to communicate, and you actually want a fun & funny guy.  You know all that from one bad date!

Same goes for your brand!  If you’re in a season where you’re looking for more brand clarity, why don’t you start by looking at some brands you don’t like and write down exactly what puts you off, or makes you not want to buy from them?  Are their brand colors too bright?  Is it because they’re promising balance and you don’t believe balance is truly attainable?  Maybe a brand feels too sales-y and not genuine.  What is it you don’t like?

Then, flip those negatives around to a positive and make a list of things you feel ARE important for your brand to portray to your audience.  Do you need peaceful, subtle, sophisticated brand colors because of the experience you want to give your customers?  And perhaps you take another look at your messaging and ask yourself, am I over-promising?  Am I using words that my audience would use themselves?

There are so many ways to get brand clarity, but a simple look across brands you don’t like, and brands you absolutely love, can be a great starting point.

If you’re still with me, let’s do the opposite branding exercise.  Get curious about the brands you love.  You may not even realize which brands you’ve had in your life for a long time because they’re so ingrained in your lifestyle.  It could be a certain perfume, a one-of-a-kind candle you always buy, Anthropologie or Magnolia, even Target! 

Here’s what you do - make a quick list of your top 10 favorite brands and mix it up a little bit.  Don’t just stick to big huge brands like Target or Disney.  Think about online entrepreneurs or expert thought leaders you follow.  My best recommendation is to find people you already love and follow that offer something different than you do or are in an entirely different industry.

Next to each of the brands you listed, go back and write down WHY you love that brand.  Think about:

…how that brand makes you feel

…what value you get from interacting with that brand 

…what kind of experience it provides

If you recommend any of those brands you love to other people, put a star next to it and really examine the why behind those ones. 

Once you figure out what definitely don’t want in a brand, and have really looked at why you love the brands you love…flip your focus to your own brand.

Ask yourself what you can tweak or change to elevate your brand to the level of the brands you love.  The amazing thing is…we have this thing called email and social media - you can literally test out new things with your audience and ask them their opinion to see what they like & want from you.

Let me know if you decide to go down the rabbit hole of curiosity for your brand in order to discover more clarity for your own.  It’s something I like to do on a regular basis!

Pin for Later