The secret ingredient to building a love brand

Have you ever noticed that the brands we really feel a connection with are the ones that tell stories? They create a sense of belonging to something that we believe in and want to be a part of.

These brands become love brands because they make us feel part of something that is bigger than the brand itself.

 And that something is the brand’s purpose.

A brand purpose is its reason for existing: the change it seeks to make, the impact it wants to have in the world. It informs the brand’s values and beliefs, how it acts, communicates and innovates.

Yet somehow it seems to be the missing ingredient for many brands today!

We get so focused on the product benefits, how to differentiate from the competition, how to push sales and promote the brand, that we forget why the brand exists in the first place.

More than a label

A love brand may seem like an elusive label as love is an emotion that cannot be controlled.

There is nothing rational about love. Love is not about the best features, the lowest price or the widest distribution.

It is about something much more meaningful. An emotional bond that transcends any of the benefits that your brand has to offer. 

Just think about a brand like Harley Davidson. It is not about the motorbike itself. It is about an identity, belonging to a like-minded community, a shared lifestyle and set of beliefs.

These all stem from the brand’s purpose which is to discover adventure, find freedom for the soul and live the Harley-Davidson lifestyle.

Now think about the qualities that you share when you love someone:

Trust

Respect

Admiration

Values

Loyalty

On the other hand, if someone lies, cheats or shares none of your values or beliefs, you will move on.

Love and brands

So what does this mean for your brand?

If you want to become a love brand, you must first be anchored in an authentic purpose and live up to that purpose by acting like someone who is worthy of love.

You must be honest. You must demonstrate integrity and respect for all your stakeholders. And you must "walk the talk".

These are the ingredients you need to start a love story.

But for the relationship to thrive and last the long-haul it also needs to be nurtured.

How to build love in a world that lies?

The issue is that marketing today is no longer trustworthy.

Brands cheat by twisting and exaggerating their claims. They pay influencers to promote their products and cut their prices to undermine the competition. They create redundancy with product updates.

More benefits, more features, more consumption.

In a world that lies, the fear of greenwashing is real.

In order build a love brand in today’s world, we must disrupt what marketing has become.

We must reinvent the rules of the game. Brands must have a purpose that is:

Big: instead of competing for market share, they lead the way for others to follow.

Bold: instead of accepting the norms, they challenge the status quo.

Brave: instead of diluting to fit in, they take a stand for what they believe.

Beloved: instead of targeting mass audiences, they rally communities that share their values and beliefs.

It is by taking a stand, finding those who believe in that stand and helping them to make a difference in the world, that your brand will become a love brand.

Brands like Patagonia, Nike or Apple, in its early Steve Jobs days, have excelled at building a sense of purpose and belonging to something bigger than the brand.

The Recap

To build a love brand in today’s volatile world, the most important ingredient is an authentic purpose.

When your brand lives up to its purpose through all its actions, it will rally a tribe that believes in its mission. Love brands no longer have clients, they have fans! Fans that talk about the brand and further its purpose.

This is how you start a movement that influences our consumption habits and evolves the culture.

This is how you become a love brand that cannot be ignored.

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