Written by Canon Wing

I teach entrepreneurs and organizations the proven action steps to stand out within their market, improve the perceived value of their business, and better connect with their audience through naming, branding, storytelling, and communication platforms.

August 24, 2021

Brands Need to Move Beyond The Individual Hero’s Journey

Why Market Disruption Is The Key To Successful Branding

I think we’ve all seen that adorably cute character Baby Yoda. We’ve seen the multitudes of memes around this big-eared, liquid-eyed fictional character. But, do you know, The Mandalorian (Star Wars series spinoff) has no such character at all? What we know as Baby Yoda is referred to simply as The Child in the series. It’s we, the viewers that ‘named’ Baby Yoda. We the viewers decided that this was the breakout character of the series and the cutest thing since Labrador puppies! So, if Baby Yoda is a brand in itself, this owes itself to viewers and audiences; to the community. So what does this have to do with market disruption and brand creation? Stay with me as I explain or watch this video to know more [INSERT LINK].

Community is the New Hero.

So here’s what I, as a namer and brand-builder, have realized – it is no longer Sir Lancelot on his white steed that saves the day. The motley crew of villagers now has far more power! Earlier, we had this one hero who was the brand – case in point: Col Sanders. He had the whole 11 herb recipe and got the folks of Kentucky oohing and aahing for his fried chicken, and there we have one of America’s most enduring brands! Back then there was Ben Hur, this handsome upstanding hero, but today we have the booger-eating green ogre Shrek, his ogress girlfriend, his Donkey friend, a fire breathing dragoness, and other assorted characters that save the day!
We’ve moved away from the single, larger than life hero – your brand story no longer needs that lone hero or the mysterious genius or inventor. Today, you have technology at your disposal to create your brand story, to bring about the disruption, and you need to really grow your brand. As Stephen Hawking memorably said, “We are all connected by the internet, like neurons in a giant brain.” It is this very interconnectedness that makes your community, your customers the hero of your brand. Everyone is striving to be the hero in their own life, when your brand can help millions of people be the hero in their own life, your brand has rung the bell, hit the target, created a movement, changed the world.

Disruption is transformational.

Disruptive technology can be your brand’s advantage. You might not think so right away, but you will agree when you watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvzTi9Og7_w
Disruption can be inconvenient. It can even be negative. But when done right, it ultimately helps to grow your brand. Think about every Instagram update that was foisted on users, which users duly hated at first, and then went right back to using and then loving the new features.

Not everyone belongs in a brand.

Abercrombie and Fitch did the unthinkable when they told people that their clothes were just for the cool kids. How did their customers not vilify them for being classist, ageist, and sizeist? How did they turn a slur like “Fitch, Please!” (popularized by Ellen DeGeneres) into a compliment for their brand? And the bad press that the brand got – “Abercrombie & Fitch Refuses to Make Clothes for Large Women” screamed one publication – how did that cement brand loyalty? The case study is actually quite fascinating https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvzTi9Og7_w
The point I am making here is that not everyone belongs in your brand. You cannot please everyone so you shouldn’t waste time and resources trying to do that. What you want to do for your brand is to identify your target audience and then speak directly to them. Make them feel heard. Make them feel important and valued. Tune in to How to Use Disruption to Transform Your Brand into a Hero https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvzTi9Og7_w to know how you can harness the power of community and use disruption to effectively grow your brand.