We’ve been doing a lot of brand work with clients lately — helping them define the promise that they want to make to the world at large, their customers and their team. One of the biggest challenges in the branding process is moving the head aside so that the heart has room to think.

Most marketing, especially today, is very data-driven. We study our audiences and plot their buyer’s journey on a grid. We analyze our media mix, pay close attention to our web traffic numbers and trends, and calculate the return on investment. It’s an intellectual exercise, and when we pay attention to the right numbers, we can almost always win the game.

That’s reassuring for many marketers and business owners. The data gives us insight and clarity. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a key role for emotion in marketing. If we can’t connect with our potential buyer on an emotional level, the numbers don’t matter. The path that determines how and where we connect may be an intellectual exercise, but the message is a heart thing.

There’s nowhere in marketing where that’s more evident than when an organization is defining a brand. A brand is not about the head. It’s all heart. It’s a declaration. A promise of a kindred spirit connection. A battle cry or call to action. A statement of love or commitment.

A brand is all that and more. A brand should be such a bold promise that it makes you a little nervous about making it. Can we really honor that? Can we live up to it? Are we worthy of wearing that as our coat of arms?

When we let the intellectual side of marketing interfere with brand development, those concerns start to seep in, and the inclination is to water down the brand. If that promise feels challenging to keep every time, maybe we should back it down a little? Would it be better to make a less lofty commitment or perhaps even add some conditions on when or where we’d keep the promise? 

The instinct is understandable. Why would you stick your neck out that far? Why would you set yourself up to disappoint or drop the ball? Which is why most companies have banal brands that don’t really inspire or mean anything to their audience. The “play it safe” head gets in the way. 

Branding isn’t about coloring inside the lines or playing it safe. A brand should be something worth fighting for. It should inspire. It should create a tribe. It should make you a little nervous because it’s that big and because it’s that important. 

If you look at your own brand and don’t feel something lofty and worthy, then how can you expect your audience to have a different reaction? A strong brand invites your audience to wear it like a badge of honor. You want them to take pride in being part of your community. Think of brands like Disney, Apple and Harley Davidson. They have a loyal following who is happy to spend more for the privilege of buying what they offer. That brand strength is a direct result of taking the risk and making a promise with heart. 

What do you think? Is 2020 the year that your organization finds the courage to truly step out from the crowd to make a promise that inspires and ignites your audience? Is it time for you to stake your claim on how you’re going to change the world, or at least your sliver of the world? 

The rewards are definitely worth the risk if you can muster up the courage to make a marketing decision based on the heart of what matters.