The ick factor: Why Brand Values need to be more than just hot air.

Betty’s values

Not many things give me the ick quite like a founder waxing lyrical about their brand values. It often comes at a time when they find themselves in hot water around company culture or a business decision that has made everyone feel a bit yucky.

Quite often talking about their brand values is in lieu of any meaningful demonstration that their company’s decision-making and direction are driven by them. And/or because they have little to no understanding of their audience’s values or ethos.

A study from 2019 found that 77% of consumers purchase from brands they share values with. But these values need to feel genuinely meaningful.

Sometimes a disconnect can occur when lip service has been paid to brand development but no real exploration has been undertaken, resulting in arbitrary and ubiquitous choices - empowerment, authenticity, inclusivity - to name a few.

Before you get mad at me I want to clarify that there is nothing wrong with these words per se. They're chosen along with similar words because they are powerful and near-universal. In fact, Inclusivity is one of (my brand studio) Betty’s core values. In our case this specific value was the only word that truly describes an important driver in the business, and that's fine. It's a value that guides so much of what we do, we live by it, so why choose something else.

But deeper exploration teamed with creative thinking can lead to a more thoughtful, exciting, and connective set of of brand values.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with two clients in the last month to uncover their values - one client is a fairly young but already established brand, the other is a new brand who has an extremely distinctive mission.

The first client - an established brand - already had a strong set of values, however revisiting them has been useful. It’s been two years since we created them and the company has found its feet and evolved during that time. The old values felt like they could have been applied to any of the other organisations within their industry and didn’t encapsulate their specific brand mission that had developed more fully in the last two years.

With a greater understanding of their audience we delved deep and uncovered a set of values that authentically captured the reason that they do what they do. Their “Why”. They are exciting, inspiring, and unique.

The second client is a new brand that resides in an industry which is over-saturated and can sometimes feel a little unserious but the work they do is transformative for their clients. During our brand workshop we dedicated a great deal of time to their values digging in and challenging and then digging in again. Collaboratively we uncovered a gorgeous set of values that perfectly encapsulates their mission and desire, and connecting emotionally with their audience.

Getting specific and niche with your values can feel scary, but in fact it’s the opposite, it's liberating. It sets out your stall decisively. For both of these clients decision making - design choices, marketing, collaborations, staff hires, product development - will all be easier. Your brand values are a litmus test for every choice you make moving forward.

They should be revisited on a regular basis as businesses, people, and society evolve at a lightning pace. What was important to you and your audience 10 years ago may have (and arguably should have) changed as the world has changed around you.

Brand values are not just the preserve of larger businesses. It’s especially important that small businesses, Influencers, and solo business owners should all be clear on their brand values for the same reasons that larger businesses need to be - it connects you with your audience on an emotional level and according to the Harvard Business Review when customer’s connect emotionally with a brand “the pay off can be huge”.

But back to me.

“The shoemaker’s children go barefoot” is a proverb that makes me feel personally attacked. I’m sure you know but the gist is that the shoemaker is far too busy making shoes for others, leaving his children neglected.

When it comes to my own personal branding this is something I have been guilty of in the past. But Betty is special. She deserves better. It was important to me when creating the studio that I had brand values that aligned with my personal beliefs, the people I want to work with, and the people I want to collaborate with.

These are Betty’s values at present:

• Nonconformity

• Inclusivity

• Artistry

• Community

• Equity

They will be revisited frequently to ensure that we are honouring them, and may evolve as we evolve as a company but for now they feel just right for the direction we are travelling in.

Maybe you haven’t explored your own brand values and would like to dive in, if so then schedule a call with me, DM me, or fill out the contact form on the homepage.