The Journey to Building a Brand

The journey to building a brand always starts at the same place—with a dream. A dream to launch a business, introduce a new product, create something memorable, and perhaps even make a difference in the world along the way.

A brand is not one singular thing, and it’s certainly not created in a vacuum.

Tactics in launching your brand and telling your story to the world may have changed, and will continue to do so. But the journey to building a brand that is compelling, relatable, and authentic remains the same.

Building a brand starts with a deep dive into who the brand is, what you want your brand to stand for, and how you take up space in the world.

Think of your brand as a person—someone who has just moved into the neighbourhood with no connection to those around them. Describing and defining who this person is, what they sound like, what makes them uniquely who they are, is what we call building a brand character. Brands are not always individuals, but every single brand should have defined attributes that people can understand and relate to. It is those characteristics that help a branding team create a visual identity and voice that fits your brand story.

“Too often people want to skip ahead, into the tactical stuff, before they do the deep dive into understanding themselves, the market and the audience,” said Kim McConnell, former CEO of AdFarm, and a recent speaker at the Canadian Bison Conference. “You’re never going to have enough money, enough time or enough people to do everything. So, it’s important to know how to best position your brand, shape it and grow it so that it will be the most appealing to the audience you’re trying to attract.”

“Only one competitor can be the cheapest—the others have to use branding. The stronger the brand, the greater the profit margin.”

^{Marty Neumeier, The Brand Gap}

So, what exactly is a brand story?

Branding as a term didn’t originate with marketers. It began with ranchers who would mark their animals with a logo unique to the ranch. If the animal wandered off, it could be returned to its rightful owner. The concept of branding has certainly come a long way since then.

Today, a brand story is more than a logo, a colour scheme, or a promise. Like the characters and chapters in a book, a brand story brings together ALL the elements that tell your story, and connect you to your audience in a compelling and memorable way. But while a book has a beginning and an end, a brand story is a living thing that grows and evolves, while staying true to its own character, values and voice. The bison story is rich in history, heroes and dreamers. And it’s one that’s just beginning to be told. 

The Farmer

Whether they realize it or not, the farmer is a brand. They may not have the opportunity for direct connection and engagement with the end consumer of their products. But without a doubt, the consumer wants to know who this person is. And as the gap between farmer and consumer widens, this has become even more important.

The ones working the land and raising the animals are the introduction to the story, and the most important. We all know that if we aren’t connecting to a book in the first chapter, we lose interest and move on. The farmer/rancher is the first connection to the brand; consumers want to know who that person is, what they stand for, and how they are caring for their animals and the environment.

“Certifications, traceability, transparency of best practices are ways that our bison producers can connect with the end consumer. Using whatever tools we can, we’re introducing our customers to the farming families who are raising our animals with the same values we embrace as a brand.”

^{Kelly Long, CEO & Partner, Noble Premium Bison}

The Bison

The majestic eagle, the witty gecko, the noble bison—all reflect brands that have been created with defined human characteristics that we’re meant to relate to. In building a brand within the bison industry, it’s important to tell our audience who our force of nature character is, and how they are such an integral part of the story. Bison have built-in brand cache and intrigue; they remain a mystery to most people, even many in the agriculture industry.

Our audience might know that bison were almost extinct (many erroneously think they’re still endangered), they might know that Indigenous Peoples were very connected to bison (and still are), and they may know that bison roam somewhere in Canada. But what they likely don’t know is that:

• bison are one of the most successful conservation stories of our time
• they are regenerative by nature and are healing the endangered grasslands
• bison are thriving in Canada alongside consumer demand for bison meat
• they are being described as climate change heroes for their ability to improve soil health and carbon capture

Those are some pretty great stories that need to be shared by all who have a vested interest in growing the bison industry in Canada.

The Product

Bison meat is a niche product, which is good in that it has a very unique brand story unlike anything else out there. The downside is that bison meat is a niche product that is, at best, unknown to the consumer, and at worst, misunderstood. This is where the power of a good brand story comes in. Marketers like Noble Premium Bison (who have successfully introduced bison meat to consumers across Canada) are certainly focussed on building their own charismatic brand. But that didn’t come first. Educating consumers about the features and benefits of bison as one of the healthiest proteins out there came first.

Consumers aren’t going to pay attention to an unknown brand if they don’t understand the product and its inherent value. McConnell, who has worked with some of the biggest brands in agriculture, calls it talking power. “The most powerful and also the most destructive thing in brand building is talking power”, said McConnell.

“When people talk about you positively, brand value goes up; negatively it diminishes. Anything you can do to get people thinking and talking about you positively, moves your brand in the direction you want it to go.”

The Place

Canada. One of the most respected and revered countries in the world, and a powerful brand story in its own right. Canada is a land of clean air, clear water, dynamic cities and wide open spaces. Canadians are a diverse and hard-working people valued for their openness and friendliness. And the Canadian agriculture industry is known to be one of the most well-regulated in the world in terms of quality and safety. This is a brand story that can’t be told enough in our industry, especially given its positive effect on building a charismatic brand.

“One of the stories we could be leveraging better is the Canadian grasslands”, said McConnell. “The grasslands of the prairies are our rainforests of Brazil, and one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world. The grasslands perform at their highest when they are utilized—have bison and cattle on them. That’s not a story being told enough, and one that the bison associations could champion considerably better than anyone else can.”

What is a charismatic brand?

A charismatic brand can be defined as any product, service, or company for which people believe there is no substitute. And we’re not just talking about Apple.

When most people think about ‘agriculture’, one thing comes to mind. Green. It’s an optimistic colour that says we’re healthy, we’re growing, we know what the land needs. Which brings us to one of the most recognized brands in this industry—John Deere. John Deere wasn’t always one of the biggest names in farm equipment, but when it comes to building a charismatic brand, they started with that colour green. To protect their brand (and investment), John Deere has patented that colour to be their own. You can be driving by a farmer’s field and if you see a green machine off in the distance, you know it’s John Deere. That’s great brand recognition, loyalty and market share that took a lot of time to build, and even more energy to protect. And it’s an excellent example of executing on the 5 Disciplines of Branding (excerpts below).

“Any brand, backed by enough courage and imagination, can become a charismatic brand if it masters the five disciplines of branding: Differentiate, Collaborate, Innovate, Validate, Cultivate.”

^{The 5 Disciplines of Brand Building, from the Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier}

Differentiate

1. Who are you? What do you do? Why does it matter? Our brains filter out irrelevant information, letting in only what’s different and useful. So, why does your product matter?
2. Differentiation has evolved from a focus on “what it is,” to “what it does,” to “how you’ll feel,” to “who you are.” While features, benefits, and price are still important to people, experiences and personal identity are even more important.
3. As globalism removes barriers, people erect new ones. They create tribes—intimate worlds they can understand and participate in. Brand names are tribal leaders, each ruling a different space within the tribe.

Collaborate

1. Over time, specialists beat generalists. The winner is the brand that best fits a given space. The law of the jungle? Survival of the fittest.
2. How a brand fits in its space is determined by the brand community. It takes a village to build a brand.
3. By asking left-brainers and right-brainers to work as a team, you bridge the gap between logic and magic. With collaboration, one plus one equals eleven.

Innovate

1. It’s design, not strategy, that ignites passion in people. And the magic behind better design and better business is innovation.
2. Radical innovation has the power to render competition obsolete. The innovator’s mantra: when everyone zigs, zag.
3. How do you know when an idea is innovative? When it scares the hell out of you.

Validate

1. The standard communication model is an antique. Transform your brand communication from a monologue to a dialogue by getting feedback.
2. Measure your company’s brand expressions for distinctiveness, relevance, memorability, extendibility, and depth.
3. Feedback, i.e. audience research (and engagement), can inspire and validate innovation.

Cultivate

1. Your business is not an entity but a living organism. Ditto your brand. Alignment, not consistency, is the basis of a living brand.
2. A living brand is a never-ending play, and every person in the company is an actor. People see the play whenever they experience the brand, and then they tell others.
3. Every brand contributor should develop a personal shockproof brandometer. No decision should be made without asking, “Will it help or hurt the brand?”

So, now that you have a brand story, what next?

“People today don’t spend enough time positioning their brand”, said McConnell. “As a kid, I used to play lots of hockey. I wasn’t that good, but I played on some good teams and I used to get lots of goals. Why? Because I stood in front of the net. I wasn’t somewhere else. I was positioned right where I needed to be. The scoreboard just says GOALS; it doesn’t say pretty goals or ugly goals, it says GOALS. Figure out where to be so that you can put the puck in the net.”