JULY 2018 GERMINATION.CA 45 SEED HEALTH & TESTING WHAT THE ROYAL WEDDING TEACHES ABOUT BUSINESS Sarah Foster President and Senior Seed Analyst, 20/20 Seed Labs @Sarah2020labs • sarah@2020seedlabs.ca • 2020seedlabs.ca LIKE MANY I was keenly interested in the recent wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle. If you’ve read my last few columns on Germination.ca, you’ll know I’m fasci- nated by the concept of branding. The Royal Wedding had some great things to teach about the topic of building a successful brand. 1. Pay homage to the old, but don’t forget the new. The Royal Family represents history — 952 years of it. The wedding was a great mix of time-honoured tradition and progressive change. It was held in an old church, as expected, but the couple waited until they had reached the steps to the chapel’s entrance to have their first kiss as newlyweds — a nice touch that made it feel new and different. This is a huge business and branding lesson. Yes, tradition is important. Your customers need to know that they can rely on you to provide the service they expect — but they also want you to be flexible and to try new things. 2. Don’t be afraid to be unique. Meghan Markle is the first American to marry into the Royal Family. The Royal Family has embraced this, and it showed at the wedding. Giving a powerful address was an American bishop. A gospel choir sang “Lean On Me”, a song written by an American, as the couple left the church. Your business should be just as open to change and shouldn’t be afraid to show it. Flaunt what makes you different — don’t keep it in the background. Instead, put it up front for all to see! 3. Give out free swag. Harry and Meghan invited 2,500 members of the public to watch the ceremony from the grounds of Windsor Castle. Included were people selected for their service to the community. Not only that, they were provided with goody bags. People love goody bags! If you don’t generally make up pens, or shirts, or hats, or other var- ious goodies with your logo on them, you should consider it. There’s no better form of advertising than to have someone see your logo every time they look at the pen in their hand, or when they put on a t-shirt with your brand on it. I look forward to seeing what else Harry and Meghan do to put a new face on the monarchy. They’re a great example for us all on our journey to refresh and renew our brands. STORAGE & HANDLING DOES ANYONE REALLY LIKE YOUR BRAND? Glenn Friesen Senior Vice-President, Meridian Manufacturing @GfriesenGlenn • gfriesen@meridianmfg.com • meridianmfg.com WE ALL HAVE a favourite brand. Why do we love the brands we do? Our initial answer might be “because that brand tastes better,” or “those clothes looks the nicest,” or “those shoes are more comfortable than the others.” But are any of those things true? Brand loyalty is as much about psychology as it is about objective factors like quality. Much has been written about the psychology of branding, and it yields some fascinating insights. Two university researchers — Jennifer Escalas of Vanderbilt University in Nashville and James Bettman of Duke University in North Carolina — found that people purchase certain brands as a way of creating their personal identity. The greatest incidence of this was seen in people who had found a brand that they felt most reflected their own values, such as “conservative”, “athletic” and “hip”. Companies that understand the psychological factor that goes into branding tend to be the most successful, research shows. When a business understands why their customers purchase their brand, they can create and promote products in ways that ensure those customers keep buying the brand. This, of course, creates a big challenge for busi- nesses. First, you need to understand your business — both its strengths and its weaknesses. This is especially critical for businesses that produce a whole suite of products. Who’s buying those various products, and why? Are you giving them what they want on both an objective and emotional level? Yes, it’s great to be known for quality, but even the best-made product won’t sell if your brand isn’t attrac- tive to people on an emotional level. No one has ever said, “I don’t like their brand, but that company makes such a high-quality product that I always buy it regard- less.” If you make a quality product but the competition is besting you, it’s because your brand isn’t attractive to people. You need to find out why, and then fix the disconnect.