The Hero Brand explained in a few slides

1. HERO BRAND
in less words

2. The concept of hero brand was originally
designed to help marketers and creative
HERO BRAND people understand each other when they
use the word “branding”.

3. The idea is this.
DO something special The process of becoming a brand is simular to the process
of becoming a hero.
that To become a hero, first you need to DO something
special. Something that MEANS something to one or more
people.
MEANS something Like, you SAVE a baby from a burning house and that
MEANS a lot to the family.
special to people.
Or, you WIN a gold medal at the Olympics and that
MEANS a lot to you country.
Or, you walk in the park with elderly people in the
weekend and that means a lot to the local community.

4. Now, if people know you personally, it is easy to be
remembered as a hero. But if you’re unknown, it takes a
GAME little bit more.
NAME
Apart from doing something MEANINGFUL, you need to
have a NAME, you need to be easily RECOGNIZABLE,
and you need the RIGHT WORDS, so people can tell your
FAME
story to impress their friends.
These are four elements, essential to making it to
CLAIM collective memory:
Game, Name, Fame, Claim

5. GAME What you DO, and what it MEANS to people.
NAME For example
FAME Robin Hood:
“Free the English people from the bad prince John”
CLAIM

6. GAME Make sure your name is not in conflict with your game.
NAME “Robin Hood” sounds nice.
FAME
Hood means protection, cover, like in neighborhood.
CLAIM

7. GAME Make sure you can be recognized from far away.
NAME
Look, smell, sound or feel different.
FAME Robin Hood can be drawn by a child.
CLAIM
Hood with feather.

8. GAME Find the right words for your act of heroism.
NAME Remember Robin Hood’s?
FAME “Steel from the rich, give to the poor.”
CLAIM Brilliant.

9. Here’s a more contemporary example:
GAME Free American people from the old
establishment’s rules
NAME OBAMA
FAME Different skin color.
(and it sure helps to be the most attractive male
human being ever in the Whitehouse)
CLAIM Change
Simple program. Fits on a beer coaster. Famous for ever.

10. DOES IT WORK FOR
Try it out.
BRANDS?

11. GAME Give people an advantage in life through
technological progress
NAME AUDI
FAME
CLAIM Vorsprung durch Technik

12. GAME Let people give the unforgettable
NAME BONGO
FAME
CLAIM You are what you give

13. GAME Give people a sense of being on top of the world
NAME Carlsberg
FAME iconic green bottle
CLAIM Probably the best beer in the world

14. GAME Feeling pure in a polluted world
NAME SPA
FAME
CLAIM The purifying water

15. GAME Uncharge natural male drift from guilt
NAME Ché
FAME
CLAIM Keep on dreaming of a better world

16. GAME Liberate machinery from bounderies
NAME Komatsu
FAME huge yellow machines
CLAIM Call the experts

17. GAME Glorify the use of public transport
NAME De Lijn
FAME white & yellow buses
CLAIM There’s a lot of pros to group transport

18. GAME Give people the control back over their travel time
NAME Touring Mobilis
FAME radio traffic announcement
CLAIM Smart on the road

19. GAME Express people’s sweet- & tenderness
NAME Lotus
FAME
CLAIM With love inside

20. You can try it out yourself on many brands you know. And
you’ll see, the harder it is to put clear short answers, the
easier it is to forget the brand, and the brand’s story. You
can easily identify where the weak spots are, when you
handle a brand.
HERO BRANDS Are you really doing something special?
And does it really mean something to the lot?
checker Is your name in line with the special thing you do?
Are you easy to recognize, and do you look, smell, feel,
sound different from your competitors?
Did you find the right words for your story?

21. About this story thing, one last word: true heroes never
say of themselves that they are the best.
In advertising this translates as: It is not about the story
you tell to people, it is about the story you give them to tell
each other.

22. Hero Brand looks like just another way to describe
brands, and it is. But it does one wonderful new thing. It
makes marketers think and talk about their brand in words
that inspire and motivate talented creative people.
The book is 176 pages, illustrated with helpful examples
and tips how to make it work through all communication
efforts, from graphic identity to messaging to all audience
on and off line. And my wife says it is fun to read.

23. Have a look at
www.heldenmerk.be
and ask Guillaume about Hero Brand.