Consumers must believe.
Some things cannot be measured but all things are quantifiable. Not what you do but why you do it — Brand purpose, business purpose — among the many ongoing debates on the internet, this is one of those circular, and in many ways, nonsensical ones.
When Con Edison revamped their corporate image, I thought it was quite nice. A power company is not an easy one to define a brand position.
The branding has been around for a while, but the company has been around for much longer. A simple proposition from Con Edison that speaks of trust, reliance, and dependability. One can assume they have a good legacy and are able to leverage it.
Simon Sinek essentially says it’s more important why you do it not what you do. That statement has been debated several times over, but as usual, the debate is a disconnect and a lack of context. I do not believe Simon was saying you don’t need a quality service or product, it’s simply stating that the importance behind the why fuels the what.
As I said, a power company can easily be one of the most hated companies, so you do not develop marketing around trying to be friends with the consumer…you develop marketing about what you do, the importance of it, and why you exist. You need to reassure the consumer that you’re reliable by being reliable.
Con Edison is “On it.” a simple position developed with a new corporate image by Arnell Group (a creative agency that offered strategic brand planning, product and logo design, and so forth — adbrands.net) who also created the Con Ed logo.
View more ads for Con Edison Here
A utility company needs a specific type of brand positioning, but like any brand, it must be consumer-focused. A utility company will most likely not be viewed or feel like a friendly brand, but that can’t happen without honest marketing and brand communication.
A company’s primary purpose other than its human mission is to have a vision of the future. What will it become? Its focus must be on business, and that has two functions, innovation and marketing. Or as Peter Drucker said, “Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two — and only two — basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. Marketing is the distinguishing, unique function of the business.”
Your brand is not the business.
The brand is many things, but let’s say that a brand is a belief system, a philosophy and that philosophy needs to be expressed through branding. A brand purpose is linked to the business vision but it's the ambassador, it speaks and assures the consumer but is supported by paramount business management and innovation.
