The Mirror and the Lens

We in the marketing game love to talk about processes, tools, trends, methodologies and such, but when it comes to branding I think the most important tools at our disposal are the mirror and the lens. A brand is more than the sum of its marks; it is an expression of the company, a promise to the customers, and a signpost for expectation and accountability.

To brand effectively requires introspection – a good, long, hard, look in the mirror. It is essential to understand what you look like, to know how you are perceived from the outside. You need to examine your best face and your worst hair day to know where to apply your energies and to know how you can best service the brand you’ve created. The mirror help us see ourselves, take in our own gestalt, but we need to be open to what we see when we take a look.

Once we’ve begun to see ourselves, the lens is how we focus down on trouble spots.  Examining detail, tweaking and adjusting under the microscope.  Bending our vision to see as clearly as possible the impact our corporate work flows are having on our outputs and acceptance.

The process is not linear, but a pendulum swinging back and forth between the holistic and the detailed, the gestalt and the minutiae. This motion between mirror and lens bringing context to both views and thereby creating a deep and permeating brand awareness.