What and Who Does Our Brand Represent
When a friend shared with me about the difficulties they were having with their builder and his lack of integrity, I started thinking about how he was destroying his “brand”. My friends found others had also been “robbed” by this individual. Now legal action against him is underway.
Branding — not the marking-your-cattle-with-a-hot-iron kind of branding. But the modern, business-world kind of branding: Using strategic words and imagery to convey a specific message to observers. I researched and found that the first company to enact today’s ideas of brand building through strategic plans and communications was Procter & Gamble. I read that Harley Proctor’s inspiration in naming ‘Ivory Soap’ came from this scripture: “Myrrh, aloes, and cassia perfume your robes. In ivory palaces the music of strings entertains you.” (Psalm 45.8)
As a very devout and shrewd businessman, it was obvious that Proctor took God as the ultimate endorsement, while his marketing strategy was completely down-to-earth. Ivory Soap’s ‘99 and 44/100 per cent pure’ was his promise and ‘floats in water’ was his reason to believe because ‘only what is so pure’ is lighter than water.
Then there’s Chick-Fil-A and Founder, Truett Cathy, (now deceased) who declared his “brand” and the secret of his success was the company’s high quality of people and their attention to customer service. How do they attract such people? Truett said it all goes back to Chick-fil-A being closed on Sundays. Truett believed everyone should have a day off a week – for church, rest, or to enjoy family. Their record-setting drive-thru is so fast and accurate because their focus is all you and your order. It’s part of their commitment to offer their customers the best experience possible!
What about OUR brand? Is there a God-factor included in ours? We have a brand — even if we think we don’t. Our brand, as others see it, is our reputation. It is all the things the people know about us all rolled up into a single opinion. Everything we do and everything we say, all add up to tell the world who we are, what our core beliefs are and WHO we represent.
Our actions and words should be chosen wisely. Shouldn’t we bring God’s brand back by showing the world the most powerful brand-testimony they’ve ever seen is Christians who love and want to serve others, as Christ has loved and served us?
Jesus’ brand was: “He went about doing good and healing everyone.” Acts 10:38.
Is our brand, and the way we live, good advertising for God, too? We represent Jesus in the world. We are faces of Christianity. Shouldn’t we be living our lives in a way that exhibits the fruit of His Spirit (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control)? And shouldn’t OUR billboards and brands be lit up with His light?
I’m a firm believer that it is our life’s work to tweak our personal brand until it is the very brand of God, so that when others look to us, they see the God we represent and want to serve Him as well.
If we live out loud in His light and spotlighting Him, then just maybe folks will want to buy our message and be drawn to His LIGHT because of what they see in our brand! We’ll even make Him more famous with OUR light!
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16.