If your brand walked into a party ...

Sounds like the start of a joke but I also believe that it’s a valuable way look at your brand and how you connect and come across to your audience.

Parties are a place for people to mix and meet; where interactions are often introductory and topline but can also be the starting point for lifelong friendships and relationships.  They are places for old friends to get together and catch up, and people to relax and have fun for a couple of hours.  And personality types often are very apparent at parties:

·         SHY: they stand off to the sides and talk to the people they know and are comfortable with or look at the books on the shelves

·         LIFE OF THE PARTY: everyone is their friend and laughter and loud are the name of the game.  They can make the party fun, but they can also overwhelm the party and it’s guests depending on the crowd and the mood.

·         THE BORE: these are the people that talk about themselves.  It may be their kids, their jobs, their problems – and it may start off talking about you but they’ll find a way to shift the conversation back to them.

·         THE PERFECT GUEST: they are helpful to the host, gracious to the guests, interested in what people have to say but also contribute to the discussion. 

Now, think about your brand.  Which one are you?  Do you spend most of your time and effort talking to your current customers content with what you have? Do you throw your message out everywhere hoping someone will notice but overwhelm (and overspend) in the process? Is your messaging all about yourself and how wonderful you are?  Or do you listen to your audience, complement them and help them to make their experience as good as it can be?

As marketers, we often overcomplicate the concept of what a brand is and how it should behave.  When really, we need to bring it back to the basics and ask ourselves how we want our customers and future customers to see us and would we want to talk to our brand at a party?

The answer may differ based on what you’re trying to achieve, but get it right and you won’t just be a guest, you’ll be hosting your own party to celebrate.