I have heard that brands are storytellers. Brands tell their story in an incredibly unique way, moving people and making them feel a sense of affinity for a specific brand. After listening to Anthony Perez, creative director for Leatherman, I realized that the current communication between a brand and its consumer is outdated. There is a tidal wave of new thinking for branding rising up from the Pacific coast; a type of thinking that would create the niche that is an Oregon brand.
As Perez discussed the values Leatherman holds as a brand, I realized that Oregon brands do something both differentiable and definable. Rather than inspiring people by telling the brand’s story, they enable individuals to share his or her stories to inspire others. Each person can be a light for a brand with the stories he or she tells.
Oregon’s great products allow for people to do, rather than just absorb. This “doing” is what creates action and action creates plot. Perez told us a story about a soldier who was in Afghanistan facing gunfire. His Leatherman tool, stored securely in his pocket, absorbed the potentially fatal bullet. Stories like this one cannot be told by the brand unless lived by its customers. They shed light on what that brand truly means. A brand’s foot soldiers create its strength—not from an individual, but from a community. That tidal wave is here and a new way of branding has been born in Oregon.
Great point of view. Can you suggest some specific steps or questions for brands to use to guide them in their progress toward involving foot soldiers?