Stop Being a Business and Start Being a Brand

By: Julie M Gile, Julie M Gile Photography

Are you just a business or are you a brand? That’s not a trick question. There are hundreds of incredible businesses in the Greater Green Bay area, yet not every one of them is truly a brand. The difference between a business and a brand comes down to storytelling. Companies telling authentic stories in their sales and marketing efforts have crossed the threshold from business to brand. But businesses relying on generic messaging (such as stock imagery) are missing a huge opportunity to connect with their audiences and create an organization built to last.

Let’s get personal

Why did your company get started? What are your roots? Perhaps it’s been built over generations, or a life-changing moment planted the seeds for the business to grow.

Here’s my story:

I first realized the power of photography when my mom was dying of cancer. I was pregnant at the time and knew she would never meet my son. I picked up the camera to make sure I never forgot her. And I haven’t put it down since, six years later. This experience profoundly changed the value and depth of visual storytelling for me.

A business keeps invisible walls up. A brand gets personal with its audience.

Telling stories like this is an important part of connecting and engaging with your audience. But I want to challenge you to shift your marketing even deeper.

What’s your why?

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy WHY you do it.”- Simon Sinek

Your audience wants to know: “What’s in it for me and why should I pay attention?” We all crave authenticity and real, human-tohuman connection in an increasingly detached world. That’s why a brilliant brand story answers your audience’s “why me” and drowns out the noise. The more effectively you answer this question, the more successfully your brand will convert customers. This can be accomplished through copywriting and great verbal/written communication. Yet photos tell stories the way a perfectly crafted sentence never will. Dynamite visuals are the best way to communicate the “why” behind your brand.

Becoming a brand means scrapping bland stock imagery and engaging your audience in real authenticity. Doing so will show the purpose behind what you do, and people will notice. For example, Apple’s business is selling computers, and they have plenty of competition. Yet Apple has also created a brand and effectively canceled out the competition. Apple’s brand represents the freedom its products give you: • More portability to work anywhere you want • Faster processing to save you time • Less desk space required so you have more space for life By perfectly answering its audience’s “why,” Apple has built an incredibly loyal audience and minimized any noise from competition. Apple’s business is selling computers and their brand gives you freedom. Nike’s business is selling shoes and their brand gives the power to live an active lifestyle. Folger’s business is selling coffee and their brand teaches you to savor every moment.

Connecting your audience with the “why” behind your brand makes you relevant and much bigger than just a pair of shoes, a cup of coffee, or a computer.

Start your transformation from business to brand

My business is photography, and my brand is connecting your why to your audience. When you nail down your “why”, you breathe new life into your business and turn it into a brand.

Here’s where to start: Ask yourself, what problem do you solve? Then, dig deeper. How do you solve this problem better than anyone else out there?

No business has a “why” quite like yours, so once you get crystal clear about the purpose you wish to achieve, showing how your product or service will achieve this becomes easy. I can’t wait to see more Green Bay businesses transform into true, long-lasting brands.

Tell real stories and the right audience will find you.

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Tell Your Story in Seven Words or Less

By: Blayne Belter, Lamar

A billboard is like a first date, the more you ramble on about yourself, the less interesting you become. - Author Unknown

From cavemen doodling with clay on stone walls to 1902 when Charles Lamar lost a bet and started a billboard company, there have been many stories told, ideas shared and BIG SALES displayed outdoors. It seems easy. Not a whole lot to a billboard. Right? Summing up a lifetime of work in a rectangle is not so simple. We advise our customers when coming to us for the first time - seven words or less of copy. How do you tell a story in seven words or less when historically, most stories are told with... words? It certainly can make for a short story, but it doesn’t have to.

Seven words is a target more than a rule. A billboard offers our clients the opportunity to be larger than life. It is understandable to want to use that space to tell every traveler everything about their past, present and future. Believe it or not we can still do that in seven words and a dash of unicorn magic sprinkled on.

A picture is worth 1,000 words

It is a simple thought we have all heard, but never more true than in outdoor advertising. Choosing engaging, creative, fun, funny, emotional, weird, gorgeous visuals are the main keys to the success of a design. The image is what makes them look. When I meet with customers I always relay three main points from my perspective.

1. Readability takes from aesthetic and aesthetic takes from readability. The bigger and more beautiful the artwork, the more likely the design will be difficult to read from distance.

The more legible and in your face the wording is, the less attractive the design can be. Striking the balance is what my goal is.

2. Make it personal. The less canned the creative and the more it speaks directly to who our customer is, all the better.

3. Make it memorable. Three years after your billboard comes down, you still want people saying, “HEY, you’re the guy from that billboard!”

Endless creative possibilities

Through our digital platform there are opportunities to run as many designs as you like. Pivot your message, say something immediate that just came up, or even stop saying something suddenly and end that story to start a new one. Countdown to an event, show a sports score, relay the weather or time to drivers. Digital displays allow room to try things. Ideas, colors, fonts, pictures, contrast, what message looks good at night vs. what looks good in daylight. If it is not working, it comes down and we make it better. This can happen in 10 minutes. That makes story time interesting and relevant minute to minute. Our in-town poster billboard program allows for multiple designs in different areas of our cities we serve. On one side of town you could be telling everyone about your 99¢ loaf of bread and on the other, that coffee is freshly roasted and available.

Finally our highway bulletins need to say something big and memorable to grab eyes that are going by at 70mph. Bold contrast, large quick messages, great color choices that work with the context of the location, or extension and lighting embellishments. These are the splash to the story. The headline to who the customer is.

Tell your story with a billboard, or maybe 10. Make a long story short. Be interesting. If a caveman could, anyone can.