Dang, I never realized that Shakespeare was a branding expert! – SCN Encourager

I should’ve studied harder back in high school.

I never realized that “To be? Or not to be?” was actually a branding differentiator!

 

I can’t believe I’m just finding out (40 years after high school!) that William Shakespeare was chock-full of neuro-marketing insights.

I’m so miffed I want to return my Cliffs Notes version of Macbeth and get my buck back.

It’s still in mint condition.

There’s no doubt about it.

I would’ve been a much more well rounded school communicator if I had only taken my studies of classic literature back in high school more seriously.

Now… if I find out that there were magnetic and powerful marketing messages in J.D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey – I’m taking my Cliff Notes version of that back to the store too!

But luckily, Robin Fisher Roffer (founder, Big Fish Marketing) has a simple 2017 version of a branding differentiator for us.

Sorry, Shakespeare.
Sorry, Cliffs Notes.

She says that when we pull our leadership teams together to discuss strategy and our mission, we shouldn’t create the typical “to do” and “not to do” lists.

Certainly, having clarity about what you “will do” and “won’t do” sharpens any strategy (since most don’t spell this out) but Fisher Roffer highly recommends this exercise.

She says you and your leadership team should clarify your brand (your organizational behaviors) by attaching various adjectives to HERE’S WHO WE ARE and HERE’S WHO WE ARE NOT.

That’s it.

Two columns basically with two corresponding lists of descriptive adjectives.

From this, you not only are able to effectively walk your talk… everyone knows how to better communicate it.

If you try this, make sure you brainstorm “descriptive adjectives.”

That’s the key.

I tried this exercise by listing dangling participles instead, and that was a disaster!

Like I said, I should’ve tried to be better student back in high school English.