Right now, we find ourselves in a complex and contentious landscape socially, politically, and economically. Regardless of one’s worldview, there is seemingly something that everyone is upset about and wishes were different. Against this backdrop, brands are continually faced with the challenge of how they position themselves. How do they live out the values they espouse? 

In the same way people are in search of their authentic selves, deciding what is important to them, brands find themselves on a similar journey. In today’s fragmented and friction-filled world, more is required of brands than just eye-catching visuals and flashy, slang-infused language. People don’t care as much about what you sell; they care about what you stand for. They are inspired and influenced by conviction more than convenience. This means that more and more brands are believing they need to do more than just stand out, they need to stand up.

What does “standing up” mean?

Here’s what it doesn’t mean: performative, pretentious positioning that adopts a position and tries to aspire toward it. Standing up means genuinely reflecting or reinforcing a position against or in support of something. 

What we’ve found is that while it is always good for brands to stand out, it is even better for them to stand up– that is, to be known for and to intentionally advocate for a set of values and viewpoints that influence every aspect of how business is done, from relationships to revenue growth.

Standing out is not an end unto itself. Standing up amplifies standing out, adding dimension, credibility, and emotional resonance that helps connect brands and customers.

Why/how is today’s landscape different?

The rules of branding have changed because customers, and the climate they operate in, have changed. Brands today have to give different answers because consumers are asking different questions.

Brand-building is about creating meaning. A brand strategy built solely around being distinct is weakened simply because today that is less valuable. Today’s consumer buying mindset and motivation are more attuned to values. Brands with a strong purpose outperform ones that don’t emphasize purpose, growing at twice the rate of others. Kantar’s Purpose 2020 study found that purpose-driven brands experience 175% brand valuation growth over 12 years, compared to 70% for others.

Whether your brand gets active or stays on the sidelines, there is something to be gained and lost, no matter the approach you take. As in most things, when it comes to standing out, there are risks and there are rewards.

A risk of standing up is facing backlash from those who disagree, and a reward is deeper trust and loyalty. Here’s a reality: Being bold in promoting the wrong thing can get you canceled, as can not being bold enough in denouncing the wrong thing. It’s better to be true to who you are and what you believe, because that is how you keep and nurture those who do agree with you.

Brands that are making marks and messages without meaning are likely to eventually be surpassed or overlooked. There is too much media and messaging to compete with. More than ever, consumers are looking to support brands that are actively standing out. Many focus on being viral-driven, but they should instead focus on being values-driven. Brands must carefully weigh the risk and reward of either approach, but it’s always better to be true to who you are. 

Now that we’ve made the case for going beyond standing out to standing up, here’s a 3-step Values-Driven Brand Action Plan to help you get started standing up and standing out. 

Brand Action Plan for Standing Up & Standing Out

Clarify and Consistently Communicate Values

Make it clear where you stand on important issues internally and externally. Ensure that your values are not only declared through what you profess, but also displayed through what you practice. If your brand feels quiet or small in moments where it should be more vocal or more visible, perhaps that is an opportunity to review your values and develop a plan for activating them. It is not usually the case that you have nothing to say, it is likely that you have not prepared to say anything.

Remember, however, that “loudership” is not the same things as leadership. You must do more than show up one time. It is about being continual and consistent in pressing for what you believe is important, even when the hot topic is not hot anymore. 

Tip: Brands should regularly review their values and develop opportunities for personnel to learn them and live them in real life situations outside of work alongside customers. 

Align Actions and Attitudes with Values

Brands should have internal and external checks in place to ensure that they are meeting the moment and matching their professed values. It is better to have healthy internal systems to review your positioning and presence than just rely on your own measures or others alone to tell you when you are meeting or missing the mark. However, this outside perspective can be very healthy and helpful, and it takes a mature brand to be able to receive it and respond to it, again, according to a plan. 

Brands must be courageous, engaging in hard conversations and making hard choices when there is a lack of alignment. They may have to part ways with staff, vendors, or partners. 

Tip: Brands should rehearse and have a pre-emptive action plan – before the crisis comes. They should think and talk through how a brand, with their professed values, would handle the next political or social firestorm. 

Influence, Inspire and Engage With Others

Brand-building is leadership. This practice looks like challenging the status quo if things need to change. It can also look like holding the line and fighting for things that need to remain in place. A key idea here is that the focus is on a greater good rather than just the business’ bottom line. Sometimes you will have to not just be quiet about it, you will have to stand out, to lead from the front. The goal is not to be political, or polarizing, it’s to be consistent. One of our 4 Functions of Brand is Identification, and being known for a value or virtue is an excellent way to be identified and differentiated in a competitive marketplace.

When you adopt this approach, you are taking a quality or ideal out of the realm of a value, and making it a virtue. Engagement includes partners, suppliers, etc. It, of course, includes your own team. It also may even be those you are in competition with. It can be a competitive advantage, but you are standing up because it is the right thing to do.

If you stand up for something, you would expect your supplier network to do the same. For example, if one of your main suppliers holds a view you don’t, do you continue to work with them, or do you find one that you better align with?

Values go hand in hand with vision. When your values are on display, you are showing people your vision of what the world should be like. Those that agree and align with that vision will be inclined to purchase from you and partner with you to help you create this vision and bring it to reality.  Values are for leaning in and living out. People are looking for more than just values declared–they are looking for values displayed. This is a challenge for brands, but also an incredible opportunity.

Tip: Brands should continually review their relationships to ensure that they are aligned with their values, and periodically speak out to the market at large about something that needs to change for the better.

Conclusion 

Going from just standing out to standing up can be a challenging, but ultimately, very rewarding shift. It requires attention, intention and a willingness to break with convention. If standing out is about recognition, then standing up is about responsibility–the responsibility your brand has to its values and those you serve and share them with.

More than ever, people are looking for the brands they support to not be neutral. They are seeking alignment. They want the brands they support and connect with to have a voice and to use it, especially in areas that matter to them. This should not just be pursued as simply a marketing strategy. It should be a business strategy that becomes a brand strategy. 

We have equated branding with leadership, and the brands that lead, those that don’t just stand out, but rather, those who stand up, choose courage over convenience and making meaning instead of just making marks.