A year ago I started Brand Maven with the intention of building a space where I could share not only my knowledge, but also my appreciation of branding and marketing. In that year, I’ve tried time and time again to become more consistent in my work to build this brand…and time and time again I get swept away in life’s demands. When I reached Brand Maven’s year anniversary, I was initially saddened by all the things I didn’t do that I said I would when I launched the site. Then I realized that this was a fabulous learning experience in the art of building a brand.

Sometimes things go wrong. Huge over-generalization right? You’d be surprised how many people forget this simple fact though. This statement isn’t a cop-out, it’s not a reason to not try your hardest at whatever you’re doing. It’s a reminder to power through what’s happening. When you’re building a brand, things will still sometimes go wrong. Your brand can survive, and whether or not it will depends on the actions you take when something does go array.

Turn a Negative into a Positive

Remember when Chipotle was going through their little (or not so little) e. coli snafu? Some people thought it’d be the end of the franchise. However, the company hunkered down and powered through. As many of us marketing nerds assumed, they took advantage of the opportunity to craft some pretty great on-brand messaging and show how much they care about their customers. Starting with an open letter to consumers, from founder and CEO Steve Ells, Chipotle kicked their PR and marketing efforts into overdrive in the wake of their food safety pit falls. They didn’t just offer a ton of free stuff either, the company simply reinforced their promise to produce safe food and publicized their efforts to improve their processes.

Now let’s see what Starbucks plans to do in the wake of a racial bias scandal…

Prove Your Worth

If you’ve had a misstep or you simply decide to refresh your brand, you’re going to have to prove your value. Technically, this is something brands should constantly be doing. But if Coke and Apple both have comeback stories, why can’t any other company? When you’ve “fallen off” a bit, why not come back stronger? Find a way to remind your audience why they paid attention to your brand/company in the first place. It doesn’t have to be the invention of the iPhone (it’d be hard to top that moment now, anyways), but you should really try to find a way to wow the people who are watching.

We’re all human. Humans are responsible for creating and managing brands and companies (at least for now). Mistakes happen and as Coleman Hawkins once said, “If you don’t make mistakes, you aren’t really trying.” As I like to say, “The faster you fail, the faster you’ll grow.” When it comes to building your brand, your best bet is to embrace the downs the same way they embrace the ups and show your commitment.

With all of that said, here's what you can expect from Brand Maven...

Activity...first thing's first
Brand Spotlights - hit me up, I want to learn more about your brand
My thoughts on marketing trends and innovations
Free tips & tricks
Op-eds (I'll try to take it easy)
A bunch of other exciting things...that I don't even know about yet.