Branding lessons learnt from religion (Part 4)

Growing up in an African community, some of the stories that stuck with us were those told by the elderly in the twilight at the warmth of the fire we surrounded as kids. I do not assume that we would still remember the lessons passed to us if they were told in a random way, it is from that factor that we are going to look at how we can learn from arguably the best teacher to have ever lived, Jesus Christ.

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‘Jesus Christ recognised this desire of man to know his standing with God and He proclaimed not only the power, but the Fatherhood of God.’ To achieve that he knew that he had to be a teacher, brand teaching becomes the glue, the barometer and the tool that assists brand managers in navigating their respective brands towards the desired goal.

To attain the objectives, the teachings had to have consistency, virtue and originality. These are facts needed if a brand wants to lure the consumers of today, particularly because the consumer of today has taken the ‘what’s in it for me and the society I live in’ more seriously than ever.

Jesus repeatedly taught about love, the relationship between God and man, man and God, and man with man. The denominator of this is that the teachings always had Man at heart, perhaps what we call customer-centric today.

In Dale Carnegie’s book that was first published in 1951 titled ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People', he talks about the saying ‘bait the hook to suit the fish.’ In this, Carnegie writes about his love for strawberries and cream and also his love for fishing, but despite the love for strawberries, he could not use his strawberries to catch fish. He instead had to use a worm that the fish loved, Jesus in spite of having mentioned about the holy trinity, was still able to communicate the value proposition to his audience.

It becomes pointless for an alcoholic spirit brand to always position themselves as the best beverage on the market, for the best beverage on the market would be the brand that teaches its consumers how to make cocktails, or the best bread brand would be the one that offers its consumers sandwich recipes. This inspires the audience to pass on the message knowingly or unknowingly, hence brand evangelism.

The aforementioned creates a sense of connection between the consumer and the brand, whilst remaining persuasive. If Jesus consciously lived to serve and not to be served, then so should your brand.

In today’s age, there is so much information overload that what people see or read about may be forgotten about in merely minutes. In brand storytelling, you do not only capture the attention now but also leave your consumers in anticipation of what’s next.

The digital age has accorded insurance companies to phone its consumers and alert them if they are driving in ‘high crime areas,’ I look forward to receive an sms reminding me to switch off my bundles before I go to sleep.