The hardest part about doing something new is figuring out how to communicate it in an accessible and impactful way
The fruits of innovation are held back by bad messaging, a bad brand.
This substantially impacts your day-to-day life.
This substantially impacts your day-to-day life.
Messages can be poorly constructed in many ways. As in War and Peace: "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
1. Too complicated: introducing too many unfamiliar elements "eVTOL transportation network" vs "Flying rideshare"
1. Too complicated: introducing too many unfamiliar elements "eVTOL transportation network" vs "Flying rideshare"
2. Branding on facts -- features, benefits, comparisons, etc.
"A company can’t “own” its facts. If the company’s facts (speed, price, quality) are superior to the competition, any good competitor will duplicate them, or worse, improve upon them, as soon as possible. " -@Benioff
"A company can’t “own” its facts. If the company’s facts (speed, price, quality) are superior to the competition, any good competitor will duplicate them, or worse, improve upon them, as soon as possible. " -@Benioff
3. Lack of focus.
Even if you're the cheapest, fastest, and the only one with an app, you will dilute the message by trying to communicate all of it.
Pick a single differentiating factor and focus your branding message. What is the one thing that you want to associate with?
Even if you're the cheapest, fastest, and the only one with an app, you will dilute the message by trying to communicate all of it.
Pick a single differentiating factor and focus your branding message. What is the one thing that you want to associate with?
4. Doesn't feel new.
You shouldn't offer an alternative to something people already have. You shouldn't offer an option for something people are already seeking.
Ideally, offer something they didn't know they wanted yet
You shouldn't offer an alternative to something people already have. You shouldn't offer an option for something people are already seeking.
Ideally, offer something they didn't know they wanted yet
5. Not telling a captivating story.
Good brands get people emotionally engaged. They offer a persona or journey as part of the product -- an aspirational version of you.
When you buy Nike, you're not paying for shoes.
Good brands get people emotionally engaged. They offer a persona or journey as part of the product -- an aspirational version of you.
When you buy Nike, you're not paying for shoes.
Bad brands are like bad perspectives.
It doesn't mean there's nothing there, you may just need a different angle to reveal it.
It doesn't mean there's nothing there, you may just need a different angle to reveal it.
Every little thing you create for others is branded to some degree. From TPS reports to the iPhone. Glossing over it is a choice. 
6. Inauthentic or inconsistent messaging
When you do talk about facts, present them in a way people can easily relate to
New is good, but don't make it alien
@Benioff Here's how to not brand a product.
You're telling me it's the same thing as all these other things, with a slightly better number.
If a fact is all that makes you unique, you're dead in the water.
You're telling me it's the same thing as all these other things, with a slightly better number.
If a fact is all that makes you unique, you're dead in the water.
Storytelling is mostly about empathy.
Giving someone stepping stones to get from where they are to a new, more promising, place.
Giving someone stepping stones to get from where they are to a new, more promising, place.
Society-level notions of progress are the same. They exist within a narrative, lose that narrative and society can lose all direction. See: post-modernism
7. Lack of repetition and reinforcement
9. Not timeless.
The only shortcut to timelessness is creating products of the absolute highest quality
The only shortcut to timelessness is creating products of the absolute highest quality
The easiest way to lose the narrative is to listen too much to customers.
People don't know what they want. They often don't even know what they don't want.
hbr.org/2001/10/the-pe…
People don't know what they want. They often don't even know what they don't want.
hbr.org/2001/10/the-pe…
Great tip for telling a compelling story by @araskin: paint a scene with emotion, don't give a summary.
medium.com/the-mission/th…
medium.com/the-mission/th…
10. Overpromising & underdelivering 👎
A coffee shop near my place has a sparkling water dispenser. This is the main reason I go there, when I do.
One day, the sparkling water was flat. This disappointment outweighed the warm feelings I had towards the brand.
A coffee shop near my place has a sparkling water dispenser. This is the main reason I go there, when I do.
One day, the sparkling water was flat. This disappointment outweighed the warm feelings I had towards the brand.
