Enabling Evolution in your brand.
- Shea Beck
- Sep 27
- 6 min read
Things must evolve, such is life. The very nature of things is that they are dynamic and that they shift and change during their time under our guardianship. Allowing people, ideologies or structures to stagnate is a threatening stance for any organisation. It calls into memory a quote from Rear Admiral Dr. Grace Hopper (an outstanding pioneer in computer programming):
“The most dangerous phrase in the English language is ‘we have always done it this way’.”
The above is true for a great many things in life and at its core warns of a complacency towards innovation. For things to evolve and move onward, to improve, they must change. Furthering resistance to change only serves to limit the potential of something, branding is a great case for this idea as ‘doing what we’ve always done’ is equivalent to never bothering to improve and in a larger sense only stands to invite failure. Evolution is, in a word: essential to development.
Message In A Bottle: Coca-Cola Red
To the above, keen branding minds will no doubt posit the following;
”But Coca-Cola never changed their red, so why should I bother changing what I have if it works?”
Yes, Coca-Cola never changed their red but they did plenty of other more pressing things in order to effect their position on the global stage over 139 years. Namely, Coca Cola;
Changed their bottle shapes to better suit their logistics and recognition.
Invested into market research to assist their sales and scale properly into new markets.
Developed new products, formulas and drinks to offer more to their audience.
Leveraged advertising and welcomed fresh blood as the world shifted from print to film and then television.
Understood why the red had the impact it did and why the emotional impact and the ‘promise’ of their branding was so critical to its success from its origins in 1886.
Coca-Cola is still red but it is also still evolving, it has never stopped. Bear in mind that there are teachings within any company, organisation or conglomerate that can serve as warnings for what not to do; just because the red works for them doesn’t mean that Coca-Cola Life ended up a raging success. There is as much here to learn about business as there is branding.
Starting where you are
There’s a common misconception with branding that dictates someone having to be at a certain level or to have run something for a certain period of time before embracing development, this expectation limits opportunity and is unhelpful to small business and sole-traders. The fact of the matter is that innovation can happen at any point; the awareness of when to strike and how to implement change is key. Starting where you are, understanding what you’re not doing already and what you ‘could be doing’ is key to the success of brand evolution.
From past experience, consulting with department heads and individuals tends to follows the same path regardless of the resources available. Evolution often leads with a core problem that needs addressing, this may involve;
A lull in interest for the brand.
Outdated resources or feeling ‘out of touch’.
The requirement to approach new markets.
General stagnation, F.O.M.O.
Issues with team culture or processes.
The above can be dealt with at any stage of an identity’s development, it’s crucial that the team in response to the issue has a concrete understanding of the cause and, in addition, sensible solutions to the problem.
There may be a tendency to look at issues as ‘short-term’ problems that need to be fixed as quickly as possible but this often leads to lacklustre planning that doesn’t fully encompass a strategy that sets a brand up for success. Take our Coca-Cola example from before; if you were dealing with the changing face of advertising from magazine adverts to Television, you wouldn’t shy away from the opportunity for fear of missing out on this new market. Correct research would have to be undertaken to ensure that the message you were sending out was correct and in alignment with the new platform for your brand, else you’d just be shouting into the void and the new TV advert would be largely ineffective. The evolution is as follows: moving into a new advertising platform and not getting left behind when your competitors take this opportunity, thus growing your influence.
Cultivating the right conditions for evolution in your brand.
A major cause of a brand’s evolution being stifled is poor managerial strategy; any egotism surrounding a project is likely to kill organic development dead in its tracks.
Middle Management often gets a bad rap and it’s largely due to an inbuilt culture of expecting too much of an individual that bridges teams. Management and group leaders of this level are frequently hampered by impossible deadlines and stress from further up in the chain, whilst also being stretched thinly across multiple teams that they are in charge of. In development this is far from ideal. Development requires an open door and clear communication. The majority of goals will be uncharted territory for an identity and it’s difficult to define the metric of success ahead of time.
Having a project manager that pulls their ego into the process will only limit and constrain the potential of the team around them. You cannot expect a team to produce anything fresh or fruitful when they have a hierarchy breathing down their neck and demanding results.
To combat this in a brand project I always recommend doing light research, setting expectations for everyone involved from the start. This grounds the ego of the manager that may want to put their stamp over everything and careen the project into a new direction halfway through. Sometimes ideas get canned further up the chain and everything takes a step back but the majority of new campaigns and ideas can be brought through to fruition by planning in advance.
As for individuals; the buck stops with you when you’re in charge of a personal brand or smaller scale business so the strategical decisions hold more weight. Never let your own ego or assumptions get in the way of a positive direction.
Evolution Has Always Carried Risk
Evolution comes at the cost of risk. It forces you to be the individual that trailblazes, it sets you apart from the status quo and shines a spotlight over your new ideas. It invites critique from new crowds that may not be willing or receptive to your message and it’s for this reason that people sit on ideas for weeks, months and years.
The truth of writing this blog is that before it has the opportunity to gain any traction or viewers I sit in a darkened room with a computer keyboard, idly tapping away at keys and doing my utmost to convey the sum of my knowledge into paragraphs that are written in my voice. There are no proof-readers or great leagues of editors that can prop me up and mark it with red pen, it’s just me with my keyboard and my cup of tea. It makes me anxious to think of all of the potential energy I could be pouring into something that no-one will have ever read or appreciated in way that matters; yet, that is cost of putting myself in the spotlight, the cost of playing the game in a world that is full of digital content. I have to trust that, in sharing my story, the risk will be worth the reward of reaching the right audience.
Evolution of my personal identity relies on an inherent necessity to be vulnerable and to put myself out into the world. This commitment to vulnerability it goes hand in hand with the requirement of my being resilient when the view count remains low.
Think Big. Save Time.
More of a standard than a piece of advice, thinking big can engage the imagination and unlock new avenues for an idea, especially when supported by a group that values innovation. ‘Thinking Big’ could be modelling a course of action after a large competitor / inspirational brand that has had success in your industry, therefore avoiding common pitfalls or expediting your planning phase. Throughout my consultations I like to exhaust options with my client based around their aspirations, making a larger, scalable plan that helps them to visualise waypoints in their evolution, for example: investing in vehicle signage as this levels up their advertising on the road and enables a new visual touchpoint.
The Best Time to Begin Was Yesterday.
Evolution is happened upon by consistent effort, it occurs as a result of wanting the best for the identity. Embracing change is tricky but the alternative is to stand still and wait for nothing spectacular at all to occur. As soon as you stand still, you stagnate and therein lies the danger. The principle of a brand identity’s evolution is to look at the current stage and level up to the next one as opposed to extending one’s influence or control over the pre-existing conditions.
Need help with evolution in your brand?
If you’re unsure about your next expedition into pastures new, I offer 1:1 consultations to help you explore how to plan ahead for the next steps of your branding journey. Email me (hello@sheabeck.co.uk) or visit my branding services page to learn more.
Comments