Brand Therapy - why bother?#truthtalk

-written by Lauren Brener

I have often heard ‘what is the point of therapy?’

Now - coming from someone who has given themselves the title of the world’s biggest cynic - you would think my response would be to shrug my shoulders and fob the idea off - but then again - I have gone through therapy myself. So my outlook is a bit different.

I have a major fear of needles - and for the longest time I’ve never known how to manage this phobia. It has prevented me from the most basic wellbeing needs; going to the doctor, the dentist - not to mention it has removed the likes of Saving Private Ryan from my movie list. So all in all it stopped me from doing some basic human things.

I would feel anxious just thinking about it. Creating a list of problems for myself - overcomplicating and even dramatising the problem so overtly that I lost all sense of direction and logic.

But until I underwent my own therapy sessions to understand the root of the problem ( which I might add - came from the most unlikely of memories), as well as understanding that all problems will never be fixed - rather managed - did I realise the value of talking about it.

Not just talking - but interrogating the problem, removing myself from the picture - did I learn what actually was happening and it had nothing to do with needles.

Having time to address something that I have in the past set to one side - has given me a new lease of life, a new appreciation for the small stuff and a way to interrogate problems to see other perspectives.

That question ‘how are you feeling today?’ is so simple - yet so underestimated, we forget that amongst all of our idiosyncrasies that sometimes a simple - how are you - can go a long way to unravelling, the good, the great, the bad and the ugly. Only then are we truly being honest.

“I would feel anxious just thinking about it. Creating a list of problems for myself - overcomplicating and even dramatising the problem so overtly that I lost all sense of direction and logic. “

How does this relate to brands?

Like my experiences above - its about looking realistically at what we do. As strategists, we aim to get to the truth, the root, the core of a brand problem - and provide a viable and most of all - an exciting proposition to take forward.

This - in our eyes is a bit like dot joining.

“I have problem A and I need a solution to get to point B.”

Our response to this is to understand problem A.

• How did it start?

• Can you give me an example of problem A?

• How did you respond to problem A?

9 out of 10 times - brand’s will use a pattern of language. These patterns paint a picture of what is actually going on.

Asking these questions - means having a conversation beyond the norm of ‘What is your brief?’ or ‘What are your sales targets?’ - albeit important - there is a flaw in the system. They don’t address the human being in the room. They sit entirely on the surface with short term goals. 

Like therapy - brand development requires us to look a bit deeper than the forecasts, facts and figures - but to talk in more depth about the so called pink elephant in the room. It requires us to decipher the real intrinsic need that is deep rooted in brand’s structure, history, people, places and things - something that the advertising world has forgotten about. As advertisers - we are in the business of people, not just ideas. Sometimes all we need is bit of truthful talking.

So — why bother with brand therapy?

Before spending thousands of pounds on big campaigns, media activations and big creative - it is we important to get to know the individuals asking for the support.

Some like to say - isn’t that the ‘inside/out’ approach to brand development. No it is not. That approach only looks at the organisation - not the individuals.

Advertising needs to lean to be more human - therefore this one one on one time - starts to help shift that dial.

By opening a dialogue - brand activities become  more efficient and thoughtful. Like therapy - we are not here to fix brands - rather to help uncover solutions that are more cost efficient, long term and holistic. It’s about self improvement - not reinventing the wheel. 

This also starts at the beginning. Asking the right questions. 

“Advertising needs to lean to be more human - therefore this one one on one time - starts to help shift that dial. “

We offer brand therapy as a 1st consultation. Book your session today. It’s free and it might inspire the next idea.