As a brand strategist, I know why the ‘why’ matters but I often think back to my early career days, which started at a major advertising agency in the 70’s when ‘hooking’ consumers was far simpler than it is today.
At that time the concept of brand strategy was very new with Michael Peters & Partners, founded in 1970, recognised as the vanguard for this new discipline.
Coincidentally, this coincided with social perspective coming into view, but it wasn’t until later in the ’70s and particularly in the ’80s – the ‘me’ decade, when everything, including brands, became bigger and better.
And beyond the external value (the social measurement of choice), there’s a myriad of assets around internal, intrinsic motivational attributes that brands went on to leverage.
However, advertising agencies remained as the go-to resource as ‘brand guardians’ for some time to come, and many of them had internal design studios that would implement the ‘ad brand’ across products, print materials and packaging under the guise of ‘below the line’.
In parallel, advertising was only really accessible to the largest corporates who could commission the costly, mainstream mediums of press, posters, television, radio and outdoor to promote their brand.
The principle of advertising in those halcyon days was pretty simple – present the same message over and over again to a large audience and some of it will stick.
At that time, audience research was rudimentary at best (beyond some metrics for television and radio viewing/listening figures) and ROI in general was immeasurable.
Some years previously in the early 1900’s John Wanamaker who was a very successful U.S. retailer and considered by some to be the ‘pioneer of marketing’ had grown his business to 16 stores and these were to eventually become part of Macy’s.
He is credited with coining the phrase ‘half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half’.
In the 70’s, this was still very much the case, but twenty years on, the accelerating proliferation of new FMCG brands beyond the multi-national conglomerates and the surge in the build of shopping malls, out-of-town retail parks and vast retailer stores saw an increase in shelf space which retailers filled with the plethora of new FMCG brands coming to market – the majority of which launched without the financial resource to promote themselves through traditional media channels.
It was also the very early days for the web and social media was a few years away into the future.
So how did these pioneering brands differentiate and promote themselves and establish a strong and enduring relationship with consumers? Particularly as in the main, they were solely relying on their packaging to tell ‘the whole story’ and achieve sales traction.
This was something that fascinated me, and in the early 90’s, I made the transition from a career in advertising to design before going on to found my own food and drink-centric brand agency in 1999.
I had always been an avid reader and with the increasing power of online search, I read a lot – and learned a lot.
I developed a real understanding of brand theory that led me to focus on the ‘psychology of the purchase’ and the tools that brands can use to secure that all-important purchase in hyper-competitive markets.
I recalled what I had learnt in my advertising days: communicate what the product is and do this in an engaging way – and realised that this could no longer work with consumers becoming exposed to ever-increasing choice.
And I learned that 21st-century brands had to attract first to enable them to start a dialogue and then communicate ‘the what’.
This attraction has subsequently become known as ‘the why’ and I believe it is the single, most important attribute of any brand and a principle that I have applied in developing a myriad of successful strategies for my clients.
The “why” often refers to the brand’s purpose or the reason for its existence beyond just making a profit. It is rooted in the brand’s core values and beliefs, and it goes beyond the features and benefits of the products or services it offers.
Some ten years later, having become an avid practitioner of this theory I stumbled upon a TED talk by Simon Sinek. You can see it here.
His concept ‘Start with Why’ underscores the idea that influential and successful brands communicate their purpose and inspire engagement by clearly articulating why they do what they do before moving on to how and what they do.
It has since gained massive popularity in the business world, emphasising the critical importance of identifying and communicating the purpose or cause that inspires a brand.
This approach involves conveying a narrative that goes beyond features and functionalities, touching on the emotional and societal impact of the brand.
Identifying and communicating the ‘why’ is crucial for brands, and it allows the articulation of differentiating and compelling purpose, which fosters a sense of loyalty and resonance amongst their target audience.
The why’ encapsulates the fundamental reason behind a brand’s existence and its unique value proposition. It transcends the mere transactional aspects of products or services, delving into the deeper motivations and principles that drive the brand and forges authentic connections with consumers.
Hence it enables a brand to connect with its audience on a deeper, emotional level – the key lever for standing out from competitors and crucial if a brand is to develop a long-term place in a consumer’s shopping basket.