PSFK’s Good Brands Report 2009 highlights the fundamental ability by these companies to pursue their daily business commitments, be responsible, innovate, and be social while they retain Zen-like focus on what they’re about.
The report highlights several characteristics used to rate and rank the top 10 brands. Utility, experimentation, design, community and listening, to changing the model, going beyond the 30-second ad and prioritizing the environment all made the cut as desirable business traits and behaviors. Being helpful is the new black – utility is a call to operate as part of a system or context and understanding how to behave or your role and contribution within it.
Leading brands are very disciplined about knowing their values and communicating their value to customers in all channels and interactions by staying true to what they want to be and the role they want to have in people’s lives. For example, Google, the number one in the report, means accessibility and usefulness to many for whom the company’s tools are a way of life on the Web. Just think about Google Voice, Google Chrome, Google Wave, and Google Health – all services that come to you free of charge and have a negligible distribution cost for the company – and you will realize how much of your Web experience uses that brand as a platform.
Make your way through other companies on the list: Apple, Zipcar, Amazon, Virgin, and IKEA, and you will quickly see how being in contact with them or using their products means simpler and more enjoyable experiences through desirable products and remarkable service. Another common characteristic the top 10 good brands share is that they all have a very distinct personality. These are companies that dare be the best version of themselves and not a copy of some other company or brand.
PSFK summarize lessons for businesses on page 14.
What can You do to Become a Good Brand?
Learn to tell your company’s story with Zen-like focus. Develop an integrated communications program that sets your company apart. Locate your company’s online community, win their hearts, and earn results through digital media.
In future posts, we will examine practical examples and real-life scenarios that will show you:
- How to weld your brand to your business strategy
- How Zen-like communications focus will yield results for your business
- How to translate your company’s core values into referrals, connections, and customer community
This post was written by Valeria Maltoni. Was this helpful? If so, please feel free to follow my writing by subscribing to this site's full-text RSS feed. I also write at Conversation Agent. Want to connect elsewhere? Find me on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Contents © 2006-2010 Valeria Maltoni. All rights reserved.
