Slides from my keynote address at the 2013 Insight One20 event in Los Angeles. This material supplements my voice over about the most impactful ways to build a lasting brand that inspires customers. At its foundation is the insight that a real brand is more than a name or a logo, it's a promise. That promise sets an expectation which the brand must meet or exceed in every brand experience. Drawing on material published in my book Brand Real, I illustrate: 1/ The importance of developing trade-offs in your brand platform. You can't be everything to everyone. The best brands pick the value they can deliver exceptionally well in every experience, often at the expense of other features and benefits. 2/ The six core themes that tend to underly every brand promise and how to differentiate between them. Your brand should revolve around one of these themes. 3/ Why credibility is an important gateway for deeper levels of brand attachment and preference. I also touch on what credibility really means -- it's a combination of trustworthiness and demonstrable expertise. 4/ How identity and creative should be tied to real, noticeable benefits in the core brand experience. I show the difference between changing a logo for the sake of being nice to look at, and changing a logo to signal a change in the core experience. 5/ Defining what brand experience really is -- how it relates to what we think, feel and do when a brand is present. 6/ How narrative and story are the language of brand experience, and how important it is to make the story come alive in the consumer's imagination. We are born with the capacity to understand everything through the lens of narrative. Your job with your brand is to activate the right narrative in the audience's head. 7/ How the experiences and stories that tap the consumer's important values create strong attachment to brands, and why attachment is the best way to measure the strength of your brand's power with your target audience. 8/ And, ultimately, how important it is to engage your employees and make them attached if you want to have a consistently strong brand experience with your customers.

1. 16 March 2013
Reality
Check
presented at
Insight One20
@lvincent
#BrandReal
THE BRAND STUDIO

2. 2
@lvincent

3. “The most negative
brand in America.”
Representative George Miller
(D) California
3@lvincent

4. “The most negative
brand in America.”
4@lvincent

5. “The law … became closely associated
with President George W. Bush,
and as his popularity slid, the law, and its
name, came under attack and ridicule.”
5@lvincent

6. Law of Contagion
“…a folk belief which
suggests that once two
people and/or objects have
been in contact, a magical
link persists between them
until a formal exorcism or
other act of banishing
breaks the bond.”
@lvincent

7. @lvincent

8. “Let’s Rebrand”
MARPMental Asset Recovery Program
REDOResourcing Educational Development Outcomes
AACAAAAll American Children Are Above Average
NEW TESTNot Even We Think Educational Standards Teach
GOODERGeneral Oversight Of Domestic Education Reforms
8@lvincent

9. Why I wrote Brand Real
9@lvincent

10. Why I wrote Brand Real
Too much emphasis
on brand identity;
Not enough emphasis
on brand behavior.
9@lvincent

11. Beyond Petroleum Woo hoo!
Award-winning brand identities
10@lvincent

12. @lvincent

13. What we value when we have to choose…
12
92%Consistently exceeds
expectations
87%Brand does
what it claims
39%
Consistently great
customer service
Feel a relationship
with the brand
The brand has a
good reputation
The brand shares
my values
The brand has a
good image
78%
78%
77%
71%
67%
@lvincent

14. What we value when we have to choose…
12
92%Consistently exceeds
expectations
87%Brand does
what it claims
39%
Consistently great
customer service
Feel a relationship
with the brand
The brand has a
good reputation
The brand shares
my values
The brand has a
good image
78%
78%
77%
71%
67%
11%
17%
23%
23%
25%
26%
27%
Always has the
best price
Everybody uses it
It isn’t for everybody
Brand has the
best logo
People I admire use
the brand
Brand is willing to
be controversial
I like the brand’s
design
@lvincent

15. What brand really means
BEHAVIOR IDENTITY+
13@lvincent

16. What brand really means
BEHAVIOR IDENTITY+
Actions Trade-Offs
13@lvincent

17. Choosing why you matter
Ease-of-Use
Brand is simple
and easy to use
1 Price
Brand is the
lowest price
2 Cust. Service
Brand has great,
friendly customer
service
3 Design
Brand has the
best design
4 Availability
Brand is available
in the most
places
5
14
Competitor A
1 2 3 4 5
Available everywhere with a lot of
customer service
Competitor B
The service brand
1 2 3 4 5
Competitor C
The brand everyone talks about
because it is consistently the coolest
1 2 3 4 5
Competitor D
1 2 3 4 5
The cheapest option and one of
the easiest to get
@lvincent

18. Trade-offs matter
3.1
3.0
2.9
3.03.1
15
Competitor A
1 2 3 4 5
Available everywhere with a lot of
customer service
Competitor B
The service brand
1 2 3 4 5
Competitor C
The brand everyone talks about
because it is consistently the coolest
1 2 3 4 5
Competitor D
1 2 3 4 5
The cheapest option and one of
the easiest to get
Ease-of-Use
Brand is simple
and easy to use
1 Price
Brand is the
lowest price
2 Cust. Service
Brand has great,
friendly customer
service
3 Design
Brand has the
best design
4 Availability
Brand is available
in the most
places
5
@lvincent

19. 16

20. Expectations
Experiences
Brand Value =
17@lvincent

21. A BRAND IS A
PROMISE
18
@lvincent

22. 19
What is a brand promise?
An effective promise…
• Distinguishes a brand from competition
• Sets an expectation in the audience’s mind
• Guides decisions the brand team must make
@lvincent

23. Six types of brand promises
20
ACCESS
@lvincent

24. Six types of brand promises
20
ACCESS FEATURES
@lvincent

25. Six types of brand promises
20
ACCESS FEATURES APPROACH
@lvincent

26. Six types of brand promises
20
ACCESS FEATURES APPROACH
PERSONALITY
@lvincent

27. Six types of brand promises
20
ACCESS FEATURES APPROACH
PERSONALITY CAUSE
@lvincent

28. Six types of brand promises
20
ACCESS FEATURES APPROACH
PERSONALITY LIFESTYLECAUSE
@lvincent

29. 21@lvincent

30. “Contrary to the
nature of our brand.”
21@lvincent

31. 22
Brands that stick
to a promise make
tough choices that
earn our trust
@lvincent

32. The trade-offs lead to credibility
23
Awareness Familiarity Credibility Favorability Attachment
• Recognition
• Recall
• Knowledge
• Understanding
• Differentiation
• Trustworthiness
• Expertise
• Popularity
• Positive
attitudes &
opinions
• Likeability
• ID Affiliation
• Love
• Loyalty
• Evangelism
High frequency High leverage
@lvincent

33. The trade-offs lead to credibility
23
Awareness Familiarity Credibility Favorability Attachment
• Recognition
• Recall
• Knowledge
• Understanding
• Differentiation
• Trustworthiness
• Expertise
• Popularity
• Positive
attitudes &
opinions
• Likeability
• ID Affiliation
• Love
• Loyalty
• Evangelism
High frequency High leverage
@lvincent

34. Brand Credibility
24
Structural relationships between brand credibility, perceived
quality, perceived risk, and information costs saved
Brand Credibility
Trust-
worthiness Expertise
Perceived
quality
Perceived
risk
Information
costs saved
@lvincent

35. Skeptical
Audiences
25@lvincent

36. 26
Persuasion knowledge
PERSUASION KNOWLEDGE
TOPIC KNOWLEDGE
How much the consumer
knows about what they’re
being sold.
SELLER KNOWLEDGE
What the consumer knows
about the seller—what kind
of relationship.
What the consumer senses
about the seller’s motives
and sales tactics.
@lvincent

37. 26
Persuasion knowledge
PERSUASION KNOWLEDGE
TOPIC KNOWLEDGE
How much the consumer
knows about what they’re
being sold.
SELLER KNOWLEDGE
What the consumer knows
about the seller—what kind
of relationship.
What the consumer senses
about the seller’s motives
and sales tactics.
@lvincent

38. What brand really means
BEHAVIOR IDENTITY+
27@lvincent

39. What brand really means
BEHAVIOR IDENTITY+
Internal Character
External
Presentation
27@lvincent

40. “It’s just a faster-looking steed”
George Saridakis
Design Manager,
2010 Mustang
@lvincent

41. Before After
29@lvincent

42. “ We wanted to give the Mustang pony a more realistic
feel. We lifted the head to make the pony more proud,
tipped the neck into the wind to give it a feeling of
greater speed and better balance.”
Douglas Gaffika
Chief Designer,
2010 Mustang
@lvincent

43. Source: brandnew.com
@lvincent

44. @lvincent

45. @lvincent

46. Expectations
Experiences
Brand Value =
34@lvincent

47. 35
Good brand experiences…
• Reduce skepticism
• Appeal to objectivity
• Make us consider all reasons
we should like a brand
• Convert us into defenders
and evangelists
@lvincent

48. @lvincent

49. @lvincent

50. Brand experience guides what we…
38
THINK FEEL DO
@lvincent

51. Think different
39@lvincent

52. Brand experience adheres
to the laws of storytelling
@lvincent

53. The logic of storytelling
41
CAUSE EFFECT
@lvincent

54. The logic of storytelling
41
CAUSE EFFECT
Situation
Ordinary Life
Complication
Disruption that raises a
question the story must answer
Climax
Opposing forces in the
story come to a head
Resolution
Everything is resolved;
no loose ends
(unless you want a sequel)
@lvincent

55. Anticipation vs. expectations
42
“I can’t wait
to see what
happens
next!”
@lvincent

56. Anticipation vs. expectations
42
“I can’t wait
to see what
happens
next!”
“I knew that
was going
to happen!”
@lvincent

57. Wheel of slogan
43@lvincent

58. Wheel of slogan
44
J S O I
@lvincent

59. Wheel of slogan
45
J S O IU T D T
@lvincent

60. 46
( ? )
M I N E T H E G A P
@lvincent

61. UNNECESSARILY
CENSORED
@lvincent

62. @lvincent

63. Three stories every brand should address
Self Identity
The literal, observable, historic
and reported story of the brand—
the one most concretely linked to
the brand’s reputation.
49@lvincent

64. Three stories every brand should address
Self Identity
The literal, observable, historic
and reported story of the brand—
the one most concretely linked to
the brand’s reputation.
Category Identity
The story implied by association
with the enclosing category.
Categories are the first cognitive
anchor for understanding what a
brand is about.
49@lvincent

65. 50
@lvincent

66. Three stories every brand should address
Self Identity Category Identity Stakeholder Identity
The story associated with stakeholder
identities (customers, employees,
etc.).
51
The literal, observable, historic
and reported story of the brand—
the one most concretely linked to
the brand’s reputation.
The story implied by association
with the enclosing category.
Categories are the first cognitive
anchor for understanding what a
brand is about.
@lvincent

67. 52@lvincent

68. @lvincent

69. 54
BRAND ATTACHMENT
ATTACHED BRAND
Ignored Brand Respected Brand
FavorableUnfavorable
HighRelevanceLowRelevance
The
opposite
of me
I never
think
about it
Nice,
but not
for me
A lot
like me
Averse Brand
@lvincent

70. 54
BRAND ATTACHMENT
WHEN BRAND MEANS SOMETHING
A LOT LIKE ME
SEPARATION ANXIETY
Consumer willing to do
without something else to
keep the brand in their life
MUST-CARRY
Consumer is happiest
when brand is close
BRAND-SELF DISPLAY
Consumer badges and
evangelizes the brand
ATTACHED BRAND
Ignored Brand Respected Brand
FavorableUnfavorable
HighRelevanceLowRelevance
The
opposite
of me
I never
think
about it
Nice,
but not
for me
A lot
like me
Averse Brand
@lvincent

71. 55@lvincent

72. 56@lvincent

73. “I make it a point to
buy brands from
companies whose values
are similar to my own.”
— Young & Rubicam, 2010
71% of US consumers agree:
@lvincent

74. @lvincent

75. Brand Aversion Brand Attachment

76. Customers must
recognize that
you stand for
something.
Howard Shultz, CEO Starbucks
60@lvincent

77. THINK INSIDE OUT
PROMISE
Brand starts here
for employees
PROMISES GUIDE
BEHAVIOR
The values associated with
your brand promise
influence the behavior that
customers experience

78. VALUES
EXPERIENCE
Brand starts here
for customers
Creative expression
of the brand
Rules that guide
behavior
THINK INSIDE OUT
PROMISE
Brand starts here
for employees
PROMISES GUIDE
BEHAVIOR
The values associated with
your brand promise
influence the behavior that
customers experience

79. WHOLE FOODS
Read a Disgruntled
Whole Foods Employee’s
Epic Resignation Letter
Late Friday afternoon, an employee of the
Whole Foods Market in Toronto sent this
epic resignation letter to the entire company.
It's an alternatingly amusing, enlightening,
and occasionally infuriating read—but a good
read, nonetheless.
The letter begins with a point-by-point
evisceration of the grocery chain's carefully
calibrated image as an earth-and-body-
friendly, organic foods paradise. Likening the
chain to "a faux hippy Wal-Mart," our
disgruntled bulk foods buyer accuses the
JUL 24, 2011 10:29 PMBY SETH ABRAMOVITCH
695,507 480Share
GET OUR TOP STORIES
TOP STORIES
Like 16k
Enlarge This Image
Victor Kerlow
Related
Times Topic: Goldman Sachs
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs
By GREG SMITH
Published: March 14, 2012 372 Comments
TODAY is my last day at Goldman Sachs. After almost 12 years at the
firm — first as a summer intern while at Stanford, then in New York
for 10 years, and now in London — I believe I have worked here long
enough to understand the trajectory of its culture, its people and its
identity. And I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic
and destructive as I have ever seen it.
To put the problem in the simplest
terms, the interests of the client
continue to be sidelined in the way the
firm operates and thinks about making
money. Goldman Sachs is one of the
world’s largest and most important
investment banks and it is too integral
to global finance to continue to act this
way. The firm has veered so far from the place I joined right
out of college that I can no longer in good conscience say
that I identify with what it stands for.
It might sound surprising to a skeptical public, but culture
was always a vital part of Goldman Sachs’s success. It
revolved around teamwork, integrity, a spirit of humility,
and always doing right by our clients. The culture was the
WORLD U.S. N.Y. / REGION BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY SCIENCE HEALTH SPORTS OPINION ARTS
RECOMMEND
TWITTER
LINKEDIN
COMMENTS (372)
E-MAIL
PRINT
REPRINTS
SHARE
62

80. 4 reasons why brand experiences fail:
The team inside…
63@lvincent

81. 4 reasons why brand experiences fail:
The team inside…
•Don’t know
63@lvincent

82. 4 reasons why brand experiences fail:
The team inside…
•Don’t know
•Don’t believe
63@lvincent

83. 4 reasons why brand experiences fail:
The team inside…
•Don’t know
•Don’t believe
•Don’t care
63@lvincent

84. 4 reasons why brand experiences fail:
The team inside…
•Don’t know
•Don’t believe
•Don’t care
•Don’t have tools/resources to execute
63@lvincent

85. @lvincent

86. @lvincent #BrandReal