You’re driving along the highway. It’s hot, and there are puddles of mirage on the tarmac. Traffic slows. And your trip just got longer signalled by the orange warning signs in the shoulder.
Then you see her.
First the safety flagging, then the overalls and hard helmet. And then, her theodolite.
You know . . . theodolite? No? Ok, it’s what surveyors use to measure the horizontal and vertical angles between points. They combine the angle data with distances from a chain or tape measure, and this allows them to triangulate the location of any point using trigonometry.
Ohhh, theodolite. Right. And we see them regularly on highways and byways. Now don’t you wish you’d tried harder in trigonometry?
Most notably, you see that the surveyor’s theodolite is on a grey tripod. It’s a pretty cool tripod, if we’re honest. The important thing is that the tripod holds it steady and straight. No tripod, no balance or stability, and no accurate measurement. Nor data. Nor results.
Remember the tripod.
Your brand stands on three legs. You need to tend to each one, and keep them in alignment.
Wait. What? I thought my brand was my logo. Well, that’s one tangent. But it’s so very much a whole lot more than that.
Incidentally, this is why I really don’t like the term “brand”. Really never have, anywhere outside my uncle’s ranch in the Qu’appelle Valley. It is often misleading and limiting, or even precious, because it’s bantered around like special sauce and rarely seen for what I it is. And it can be practical and powerful, and very accessible, if understood.
So for example, if I’m doing a logo, it’s part of a “visual identity” which is simply one part of another part of another part of my client’s brand. I never want them confused. I want them empowered and motivated. Their audiences will thank them for this.
Branding is actually big and comprehensive. But let’s not let that intimidate us. Heck, we know what a theodolite is. Our brand can actually become much more useful to us and more impactful in our corporate relationships if we understand it better.
So, here’s one way to think about your brand. What you do with this information is for another day’s discussion.
Your brand, like everyone’s favourite surveyor’s instrument, stands on a tripod. Its three legs are:
- Brand Offering
- Brand Experience
- Brand Communication
Brand Offering is what you do, what you create, what you offer, what you manage, what you do or sell to help or serve or make the world better.
Brand Experience is people's interactions with you, how it goes, what it's like, how it's felt, what you're like to deal with, how processes are executed, and how effective you are.
Brand Communication is what you say, show and express, the stories you tell, how you listen, how you inform, and how connections are enhanced.
Now do you see how comprehensive this is? It's also mightily powerful. Your aim is to tend to all three, and to keep them in alignment.
