Building Brands for Every Altitude

There’s a famous anecdote about three stone masons. Though its origins are fuzzy, at best, it’s a beautiful lesson in the power of perspective. Each version goes something like this: a stranger wandering along a road encounters a trio of workers.

He asks the first, “What are you doing?” The worker responds, “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m laying bricks.” He asks the second, who responds, “I'm building a wall.” And finally the third, “I’m building a cathedral to bring people closer to God."

Three people with the same job, but contrasting perspectives. And a vastly different understanding of their purpose. In this way, it’s the perfect metaphor for the power of purpose — and the fundamental value of big picture thinking. Something which can be hard to maintain in the fast-moving world of retail.

Under Construction

When it comes to standing out at the shelf, most of us learned early on about the (now) infamous 10/5/2 rule. But for us, we think in terms of 10/5/2/30K.

As brand experts, our job — no secret here — is to build brands. Often (and especially in the world of CPG), that generates a focus on selling products. After all, that’s how you move the needle. The design of a product and its packaging is important. But packaging isn’t a destination; if you’re still thinking of it that way, you’re missing out. Rather, it’s a portal to a much bigger, richer world — for businesses, for consumers, and even for retailers.

Here’s what we mean:

• 10-foot-view: At 10 feet away, your product and packaging needs to stand out on the shelf to draw eyes in. Color and shape spark interest, of course. Visual cues act as shortcuts to capture attention.
• 5-foot-view: At five feet away, your brand must be clear and easy to identify. Spottable, if that’s a word. Once someone has stopped in front of a shelf, you’ve got their attention! They’ve officially located the section and brand block(s) they’re seeking to browse. Now is the time to seal the deal. If you’re not differentiated or your visuals aren’t effective, you’re going to lose.
• 2-foot-view: At two feet away, everything comes together, and you deliver — your message, your look and feel, your promise. The personality of your brand. The reason to believe.

This thinking is a staple of marketing playbooks for a reason. Why? Because it gets the job done. But to think of a brand solely through this lens is dangerous. Packaging is (typically) static. This means there are limited storytelling opportunities unless you think of packaging as a portal, literally, by leveraging technology like augmented reality, or figuratively, by leveraging design-thinking tools such as journey mapping.

And as a brand, you need to find ways to connect with customers on a deeper level in order to build a relationship. And that relationship doesn’t usually begin 10 feet away.

The View From Above

Now it’s time to go higher.

The 30,000-foot view describes the big-picture, strategic viewpoint, looking at the overall aims and goals rather than the specific details. It focuses on the customer journey as a whole — start to finish. Understanding how your brand is experienced across every touchpoint, from in-the-home to out-of-home, from social to web, from partnerships to sponsorships, and of course, point of sale.

It’s about understanding how your brand connects with people within the context of wider culture and, more importantly, how you can harness this connection to forge organic communities which orbit your brand.  This can be challenging for large organizations with varying layers and silos. Some brands are great at seeing the 30,000-foot view — and are hopeless at 10 feet. Some brands have totally different teams handling the 30K vs. the 10/5/2 and struggle to overcome this obstacle. But if it’s not overcome, an organizational obstacle can snowball into a business obstacle.

Because from a consumer’s perspective, these things can’t and don’t exist in isolation. One view informs the other. Understanding how you appear from 30,000 feet to up close is an essential ingredient in inspiring repurchases and fostering lasting relationships built atop deeper affinity and engagement. Neglecting any of these elements can lead to the loss of sales, loyalists and prospects.

Products in Perspective

The recipe for success in-store is simple. Intrigue. Distinguish. Convince. End up in the basket. And then keep getting back there. And if simple recipes were easy to make exceptionally well, there wouldn’t be a "Top Chef."

But you can’t lose sight of the big picture. The wider purpose of what you're doing, and for whom. Consumers don’t (just) buy products; they buy (into) brands.

We aren’t just laying bricks. We aren’t simply building a wall. We’re building a cathedral.

Evan Gettinger is principal at CBX, a company that creates brand experiences designed for cultural and commercial impact.