Inc. Magazine recently ran an article on Partners & Spade, the brand agency built by Andy Spade, husband to fashion designer Kate Spade. It describes how Kate and Andy carefully built the Kate Spade brand. One sentence stood out:
“From the beginning, the partners focused on developing Kate Spade’s identity — a complete brand instead of an ad campaign.”
Identity and “complete” brand — that’s what you need to develop. Too many entrepreneurs misinterpret this as “let’s spend endless cycles on our name and logo”… That’s just a tiny fraction of your identity and brand. Much more important are the answers to the existential questions. Who are we? And who do we want to become? What do we stand for? And what don’t we stand for? How do we show up in the world?
The best companies in the world have a clearly defined identity. They stand for something. One thing. And often polarize in the process.
That’s who you need to be. Be known for something. Have an opinion. And have your identity shine through everything you do.