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When Google bought expensive billboards advertising the complex computer riddle, 'first 10-digit prime found in consecutive digits of e', it wasn't selling Google to customers.
It was talking directly to its future human capital in a discreet, secretive, in-the-club way that did more to build its brand than any over claiming consumer advertising could have achieved.
The idea was that anyone who could decipher this riddle, which continued on through their web site, was the sort of person they wanted working for them. It was an ad for new staff that was actually an ad for the brand at the same time.
Welcome to the new world of brand.
The world that has pretty blonde Virgin flight attendants thank everyone for flying and, without any pause for effect, mildly mention that it has been our pleasure to fly with them and if anyone's traveling with infants, could they please take them with them as they depart.
For the 30% that may have heard it, it was gold. And that's all it takes to spread great brands.
Consumers are more likely to choose a brand based on the passionate delivery of an employee than they are based on any ad they see. Great staff passion and love for their place of work is infectious. And it has direct results to the bottom line.
The point is, as we enter the second decade of this brave new millennium, great brands are now decided on how great their people are.
It's that simple. And it's that important. In an ever-changing world of a new job every couple of years, it seems we're all on the look out for a great place to work, where we can be who we want to be. Thus, the barbeque chatter or dinner party dialogue is crucial in forming opinions about the brands we love. And most importantly, a new friend at a bar who raves about where they work is indeed the best ad that business could ever hope for.
Good-bye to old rules
Business must face the fact that the days of buying market share through over written ad campaigns and crass sales tactics is over.
The most pressing global challenge facing business in 2010 is to redefine the ill-informed perception of branding.
As a pure branding agency we are leading the assault to have management teams understand that to lift their brand and achieve greater profit, they must first look to the beliefs that bind their people.
This doesn't mean we are a 'people & culture' company or trainers. We still see our role as brand builders. It's just that for too long brand has been seized by marketing and advertising departments and kept as their personal plaything, while the entire reason for a business existing goes unchecked.
Brand is not about logo, livery and ad campaigns. For over half of my 20 years running creative agencies, we played that game. And by and large it is bloody hard work.
You set about creating the breakthrough ad idea or promotion which excites customers to visit the retail outlet only to be met with indifference or hostility from the poor old part timer who is simply hating the fact that they were last to know.
We launched million dollar ads without having the very people expected to deliver on the brand promise know anything about it, let alone have it align with their experience or belief.
The lesson for me in all this was to reverse the process and start with a central idea or belief that first unites the internal brand, before exciting the external market.
I called this BE Branding and I'm happy to say some of the most loved Australian brands are now driven by this simple philosophy.
Boost Juice, Westpac, T2, Medibank Private, Mitsubishi, Elwood fashion, Sportsgirl, Pedders, Amcor, Fernwood, Modelco, Secrets, to name just a few.
At the end of the day, these companies and a growing elite of others from around the world, are understanding that brand is about a complex and unfakable set of touch points that make me, as a consumer, want to be part of that business.
Living the brand
It leads to big communication ideas, but based on a fundamental belief rather than a short term opportunistic sales approach. It also leads to all the decisions being made through one filter. All people in the brand live the brand. Distribution, retail property, manufacturing, HR, promotions, you name it and they all must work from a central belief of why the business exists. It means our work is wide and varied - but always ideas based.
Ultimately, when a brand really works, a consumer is happy to wear it, drive it, show it, or talk about it as a badge of honour. In other words, the choice they make enhances who they are.
The Ecko white rhino that says 'I believe in free speech'; the simple Nike swoosh that says 'I just do it'; the white dove that says 'I agree society's perception of beauty is distorted'.
The great brands emerging and dominating are great at having their people belong to a well articulated and widely embraced belief. And when we come across these passionate employees, we want in too.
I was visiting The Body Shop recently, one of the pioneer BE brands, and was roaming for a gift when the young girl effortlessly engaged me in something she felt passionate about. It was international child sex slavery, which hit me hard and fast. She also gave me something easy to do about it. I bought the hand cream and felt better for it.
Beliefs have ruled The Body Shop and this is a brand based on the passion of its people and its Australian founder, Graeme Wise, is the sort of leader that's crucial to a successful new age business. He wears his heart on his sleeve and commits most of his money to training, educating and inspiring his people. It's a tribe, not a business.
This is a fine example of the BE Branding revolution sweeping boardrooms and adding value to bottom lines.
Three key words
The simple notion is based on three simple BE words.
It begins with the idea that businesses that define what they stand for and what they can BE for their customers (Belief) enable both their staff and eventually their customers to emotively connect and feel part of the effort (belonging). From that point a new order of behaviour follows where staff and customers are loyal beyond price and product.
It's why there's a waiting list for the next Harley Davidson motorcycle before anyone's even ridden it. Harley is a BE brand, based on the power of its human capital to live, breathe and BE Harley. It's also the reason Harley refuses to sent its manufacturing off shore. Its people count.
Then there's the Apple empire. Its advertising impact is minimal, compared to the effect it has through the way it behaves. From retail passion to rock god status surrounding Steve Jobs, Apple is a belief brand.
It stands for something and its devoted customers feel they belong to the brand.
All you have to do is watch the comings and goings of an Apple retail store as devotees play with the new toys and discover new things they can share and do. It's another tribe.
But it doesn't have to be the size of Apple, nor a sexy industry like design. It can be a legal firm where every partner shares the same belief of what they're trying to BE for clients. One such law firm I worked with decided they were 'fighters'. They believe in the fight to the end for the customer. That's pretty powerful stuff that rallies staff and excites clients. It can be a chain of cafes that show what they think is important to stand for and in one case they mustered around the belief of connection, which meant every staff member started every day trying to help every table enjoy the moment and have a real connection.
Creating a great brand should be the primary focus for every business, big or small, as it is the foundation stone to the way any business is identified.
The Gen Why change
The reason this revolution has begun and the reason it won't go away is the growing army of under-30s who are demanding more than their Baby Boomer parents.
They don't see their lot in life to work hard, provide and don't question too much.
They see their role to right wrongs, to explore options and to reject old ideas that hem them in or make them feel worthless.
This is a shift in society that has come about through a new generation but is being embraced by all generations.
Work time must mean something. And companies that still believe that annual rah-rahs where a financial number is used to inspire the troops will fast disappear.
These days, employees want to be inspired with a sense of the cause, the mission and the belief. They demand to know where they're going and most importantly, why.
They also reject over-worked mission statements and unreal corporate speak. They love the genuine article and leaders who work from a clear moral compass. They're happy to give everything to something that means everything to them. So they need to know the why.
In my 21 years of advising brands, this remains the most missed part of the equation; why.
Why does a company believe that what it's doing is important? Why should its people feel passionate to work hard?
These questions have been largely left unanswered, as incentives and competition have been used to get staff going. However, every piece of research conducted on employee satisfaction rates money and incentives down the list well under purpose and meaning.
We want what we do to count.
Personal branding: The next boom
Another huge influencing factor on this Belief trend is the rise in personal branding.
Since the 1990s and the information explosion we have become savvy to the ways of branding and by natural flow on, we have learnt how to brand ourselves.
Kids are naturals at this. They quickly create their own brand with music, clothes, sport and the ever growing social networking world.
They effortlessly form tribes and choose other brands that fit with them.
This is what Rolf Jenson talked of when he wrote the Dream Society and suggested the new age is about the storytellers who can create brands that in turn add to the power of personal brands.
The new 'Brand' world is about substance and belief as employees everywhere ask themselves and their employees more probing questions about what they want to do with their 50 hrs a week.
The trend is sweeping through multi-nationals with scary speed as the new workforce of under 30s are demanding the business they work for does more than merely sell stuff - they want to stand for something.
They want to go to the pub or meeting with friends and family proud of what they do and buoyed by the response in others to the place they work.
Plus, all around us, there are examples of great personal brands. Indeed, it was the entertainers who really taught business about brand. Artists who remain uncompromised and stand for what they believe in enjoy massive loyalty and strong tribal belonging.
It's always been that way. And now this innate desire in humans to know purpose and direction is set to become the next big industry.
Human brands will dominate thinking and once understood, will help business motivate staff.
How to rally your human brand
This is all well in theory but how does a business create its human brand power.
Simple.
Step back from trying to 'market' your business, to take a good hard look at what it is you believe in. In other words, in your category, what are the fears, desires and frustrations driving customers to the sort of things you offer or do.
If you see it from the customer's point of view, you can begin to explore what you and your team believe you can BE to fulfil those desires and alleviate the fears and frustrations.
This work is best done collaboratively, with your trusted team, so that you can decide on a belief that will clarify why you do what you do.
This is exactly the approach we take to give businesses their competitive edge and provide a human platform from which all decisions can be filtered through.
This belief forms the basis for all communication, first internally, then externally.
And for goodness sake, COMMUNICATE!
Too often internal talkfests end up in a bunch of clever words that are then relegated to the top drawer or are in the meeting minutes.
Great businesses live the belief. It's up for all to see. It has effect on all decisions and it can be tracked through all those touchpoints.
A belief statement, ie what you believe you can be for your customers, is the new mission, vision and values all mixed up in one. It should cue a company's style, tone and character. It should excite and scare with its lofty ideals. It should inspire all who work there to strive to live it.
Internally the key is inclusion. The staff, the greatest resource any business has, should be the owners of the brand. And that's the bottom line. A brand is a collective of people with a common DNA and identification.
Like a football club, you should know when the supporters arrive by the colours they wear, the song they sing and in many cases, the way they enter a room.
That's the challenge in business right now; for customers to know a business by what it stands for, not merely what it sells.
About the author
Simon Hammond is the founder of Bastion Brands and author of 'CEO of Earth', available through Wiley Australia