I see you. You see me.
That’s the basic premise for human connection, right? Acknowledgement, understanding, confirmation and ultimately some form of relationship to one another. This is also the premise for building the opportunity for brand relationships. We, at Gate, always attempt to strip the layers of pretense and posture away from a brand to find its core essence – its basic truth. Good customer research and internal focus groups can do that. Direct questions to the founder or CEO can reveal a lot, too. Finding the heartbeat of the why is critical. Why do you do what you do? Why are we talking?
I see you. You see me.
Four months ago, many in our industry would have equated that phrase as merely the residue of successful branding. That’s the goal, right? To enable a brand to be embraced by the many. While on the other side of the glass, our goal is to convince the individual that a brand gets him/her/them with the promise to enhance his/her/their life in some way. It’s the moment of brand connection, the spaces between brand adoption and the propulsion of brand evangelism that makes the case for ultimate success. When others start speaking for you, that’s the trust that is demanded and rewarded by the consumer audience.
I see you. You see me.
But once in few generations, does an outside force act upon humanity in the same manner that we as brand builders do with all of our clients. This force also strips away pretense and posture. It humbles us and gets us down to our why. Why are we doing this? Why are we talking?
STOP.
I see you. You see me.
In the very midst of today’s ultimate challenge, It truly is about seeing each other for who we are. Pretense is all but vanished in a locked down world where an invisible threat is telling us to STOP. Forcing us to STOP.
Universe says,
STOP.
And we do.
We take shelter.
We take stock.
We think about what we are doing.
We measure our next steps.
And then…
We decide to move forward, but now our conversations are conducted from a position of vulnerability. When we connect via our technology, be it Skype, Google Hangouts, WebEx or Zoom. We are speaking from a position of humble authenticity, not from the inflated braggadocio of board rooms, war rooms or slick designed marketing labs. It’s from our living rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms. In a time when our phones, tablets and PCs were distractions from the very things we love, they are now our sole connections to it. And we help to add a little levity to the notion that we as a people have been knocked down a peg or two. Yes, we still have our shirts, ties and makeup to look somewhat presentable on our video conferences, but we are also in our pajama bottoms, jeans and underwear. At least, we hope so.
I see you. You see me.
This very phenomenon is exactly the goal of good branding, strategy and execution. No, not the pandemic itself, but the after effects of such a thing produces the very relationships with people that we try to create with goods and services. We strip away the pretense to get to the core values, the moments of truth and the authentic nature of why that brand is here. We attempt to create a relationship that comes from a position of honesty, equality and vulnerability. I believe one should always present their most honest self to others, always a peg lower than you think it is, always in service of others. I mean, what other definition is there of a good or service?
When we as people talk to each other now, there is more ease in the way we do it because of this shared experience and connection through the pandemic happening around us. We have become what we hope to instill in every brand – authentic – and we say “I am here with you. You can trust me. I am here to help.”
I see you. You see me.