Getting Fundamental

Set your brand up for exponential growth with the Five Fundamental Human Values

We’re Back Baby!

Hello again and welcome to the next installation of Freshwater Creative’s series of advertising public service announcements that answer the question “what would you say you do here?.”

In my last post I mentioned that Freshwater is an agency founded with the distinct purpose of building trust– with clients, our employees, and everyone who comes in contact with our company. We believe that trust comes from consistently doing what you’ve promised, so we come in to work every day to be a force for building trust in the world, because when you build trust, you build growth.

However, with ever emerging trends, changing audiences, and advancing technologies, marketers must continuously evolve and adapt. So how can your brand stay rooted enough to consistently deliver on your brand promise while being flexible enough to respond to and lead the emerging conversations of today and tomorrow? By getting fundamental. 

What does “Getting Fundamental” mean?

Getting fundamental means taking the time to define and articulate the basic motivation for providing the product or service your brand offers. It’s an important step in building trust with your audience because it helps you communicate what you stand for and tell your potential customer or client how your company can help them, then deliver on that promise in ways that are different or better than other brands. 

So how do you do it?

Anyone who’s ever worked with an agency to help define their brand will tell you that branding exercises can be long, painful, and feel pointless. At Freshwater, we use a brand definition framework called The Five Fundamental Human Values to make this part of the process simple and pain free. In fact it can usually be completed in just a single meeting.

The framework builds off of a ten-year research study of the most successful brands on the S&P 500. The research team wanted a deeper understanding of why certain brands grew more rapidly than their peers. They found that the secret to the success of these brands is they all deliver on one of five fundamental ways of improving people’s lives. These are The Five Fundamental Human Values, and they’re a shortcut to creating effective brand communications that help grow your business rapidly. In fact the study found that brands that deliver a fundamental human value grew at 300% compared to their competition.

Gimme the goods already, will ya?

By now you’re probably begging me to “get on with it”, so without further ado, these are The Five Fundamental Human Values that have driven amazing growth for brands that consistently deliver them to their customers.

#1: ELICITING JOY

Activating experiences of happiness, wonder, and limitless possibility

Example: Coke is an excellent example of a brand that elicits joy. They don’t focus on flavor, ingredients, or product superiority in their communications, but on the sheer feeling of happiness that’s promised by drinking the beverage. That’s why their campaign tagline is “Taste the Feeling”.

#2: ENABLING CONNECTION

Enhancing the ability of people to connect with each other and the world in meaningful ways

Example: Harley Davidson is a brand that sells iconic motorcycles, but they deliver the opportunity to get together with friends and share a moment of freedom from the everyday grind. Their bikes are simply a way to access these meaningful moments.

#3: INSPIRING EXPLORATION

Helping people explore new horizons and new experiences

Example: Exploration brands are usually tools for achieving a greater understanding of something, whether it’s information, self or physical space. The North Face literally challenges people to go to places that are unexplored by setting out on a journey of outdoor discovery.

#4: EVOKING PRIDE

Giving people increased confidence, strength, security, and vitality

Example: Red Bull evokes pride by being a mechanism for people to push themselves to achievements beyond what they imagined was possible. “Red Bull Gives You Wings” has become one of the most memorable taglines in the world.

#5: IMPACTING SOCIETY

Affecting society broadly, from challenging the status quo to redefining categories

Example: This is the one that trips people up because they immediately think of non-profits or altruistic organizations. Impacting society refers to companies like Apple—category disruptors who continuously innovate and change the status quo. Apple has impacted society by revolutionizing the way people use computers, phones, music, etc.

So now what?

Did you see a human value that spoke to you, or reminded you why you started your company in the first place? Or maybe there were two or three that you had a hard time choosing between. That’s not uncommon, because all brands embody many of the human values at different times. The important part is aligning on the one that feels the most right, because it gives you a great jumping off point for the next step—messaging. 

Got the message?

Defining your brand isn’t enough, the next step is to ensure you’re delivering your Fundamental Human Value in ways that your customer can feel. In your products, services, and interactions with customers, vendors, and employees. But also in the external marketing messages that you’re pushing out to help your brand grow in the marketplace. The next step in creating breakthrough messaging for your brand is developing your brand communication pillars.

Tune in next time and I’ll give you some tasty tidbits about developing brand communication pillars that drive action and persuade new customers to try your brand.

For more on the fascinating study that revealed the importance of building brands that help improve people’s lives, check out Jim Stengel’s excellent book Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World's Greatest Companies.

This has been the next in our series of public service announcements that will help answer the question “What would you say you do here?”. Some of the topics you can look forward to (if you’re into that sort of thing) include the following:

  • THE POWER OF THE PYRAMID

    Building a strong brand identity with a structure that stands the test of time

  • WHAT’S YOUR STORY, MORNING GLORY?

    Making your brand story compelling, relevant, and memorable

  • PILLAR TALK

    Setting your brand up for success by clearly articulating your communication pillars