Dress for the job you want

If you want to be a CEO, you don’t wear your workout clothes to the office. 

The same goes for your brand. Your brand represents what you want to be in the future, not just what you are today. When you present as a brand with big aspirations, the market starts to see you in that role. 

Fear of Overpromising 

Many of our clients, especially tech companies, hold ambitious visions. They are building towards something much bigger and more expansive than what they offer today. But when we push them towards owning an aspirational brand positioning, they sometimes push back. They fear overselling. 

This is an understandable concern. An inherent gulf exists between what a product or service can do today and the audacious, big vision of any growing company. Yet this is also where your brand can be your biggest asset. By connecting to a bigger story— and being forthright about where you stand on the path to get there—you begin to create something exciting, ownable, and new. This puts you on the path to standing out and attracting the attention, capital, and talent your company needs to achieve its goals. 

For example, we worked with Planet as they transitioned from a space hardware company to a global data platform. They had just launched their largest flock of satellites yet and were beginning to build what they hoped would be a robust developer community. We helped them craft a brand story centered around the accessible data ecosystem and the world-changing decisions their technology would eventually enable.

The brand outpaced the current reality, but served as an important goalpost. When the company went public 6 years later, the brand promise we developed was on the NYSE banner: “See Change, Change the World”. Their leadership understood the value of articulating the future you hope to bring about, even if you aren’t there yet.

Your Brand is Not Your Product

When your product is still on its way to becoming what it can be, your brand can light the way. Brand is where you tell the big stories. You can share this vision on your “About Us”, “Manifesto”, landing page, and in story streams. Your product might not “be there” yet, but it's your brand’s job to tell the audience where it’s going. 

So put away the sweatpants and sneakers. Step it up a notch. Dress for the job—and the brand—you want.

Photo credit: kseniia kosheleva