Recently I heard Lisa Gevelber, Director of Marketing for Americas at Google, speak at a conference on how the digital landscape is evolving. The Google brand - in all its derivatives - is, I think, a good example of an idea coming from somewhere unexpected and then being turned into a ragingly successful brand through an opportune combination of stakeholder ingenuity, motivation and good fortune.
In Google's case, it has the good fortune of having many ingenious stakeholders both internal and external to the organization who value it highly and drive hard to make it grow. Google knows that and leverages its stakeholders - recognizing and capitalizing on their 'humanity' - to grow the brand. Here are Google's 'five marketing principles' which it follows, each of them I believe, reflecting the truth that brands are grown through people:
1. Focus on one real user... imagine/know the person you're connecting with
2. Ideas come from everywhere... in Google's case, all of humanity is a source
3. Float all boats... enable/encourage people to find value and share it with others
4. Take risks and say yes... get people close to the brand; encourage/enable participation
5. Make it matter... contribute meaningfully and substantially to humanity and its community
I love the way Lisa summed up the essence of Google's branding efforts: a virtuous circle of 'users > magic > users > magic.'
There's success in the simple (and unfortunately rare) concept of striving to make a brand 'magical' for - and by - the people who hold stakes in it.
Wednesday 6 July 2011
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