Guest: Peter Wilken,  a global brand strategist. Peter is the author of Dim Sum Strategy and the former head of BBDO Asia Pacific, where he advised iconic brands like Coca-Cola, Disney, and McDonald’s.

In a nutshell: Effective branding is about more than a slick logo or a memorable tag line. According to my guest today, great brands assemble intangibles into a “territory of the mind” where our feelings about a particular product or company reside. That’s where Coca-Cola stakes out its everyman appeal, right next to Pepsi’s pitch to younger, more irreverent soft drink consumers. Financial advisors need to make these same kinds of connections in the minds of their audience in order to stand out in their marketplace, develop relationships, and grow organically.

On today’s show, Peter Wilken explains how to  uncover and articulate your brand DNA and draw a clear roadmap for owning a fertile mental territory.

.Peter Wilken and I discuss:

  • The “territories” that some of the biggest brands in the world own and how they differentiate themselves from key competitors.
  • Identifying and filling gaps in the market.
  • Building a “moat” around your brand.
  • Maximizing space and messaging on your website.
  • A discovery process for your brand’s DNA.
  • How emotions define branding in the digital era.
  • Why Rule #1 in advertising is, “Get noticed.”

. Quotes: 

Peter Wilken on defining brand: 

“I  define brand as ‘the territory in the mind that you own.’ It doesn’t exist in tangible form. It’s used in many different ways. So people will talk about a brand as if it’s a can of cola on a shelf, and that’s legitimate if that’s what it means to them. But it’s really not. It’s an intangible set of associations that exist only in the mind. You can’t touch it, but you can create that perception.”

Peter Wilken on niche vs. narrowing down for financial advisors:

“  When I coach all my brand strategists, the first thing to say is ‘Niche down. You said you’re going to be in pets supplies? What do you mean? Oh, you mean actually you are a dog walker. No, you’re not a dog walker, you’re a dachshund walker.’ You end up narrowing so narrow that you limit your opportunities. So it’s good to narrow focus. But you don’t necessarily have the narrow focus in the category. For example, with my consulting business, which is all around brand DNA and helping organizations truly articulate who they are, what they stand for, to whom and why, I haven’t said, ‘I’m just going into the hospitality sector, or the insurance sector, or the financial services sector.’ I’ve kept it incredibly broad. I’ve consulted two charitable foundations, branded cities, done a small YouTube company selling men’s hair care products, structural engineering firms, global tourist firms. I’ve done that by focusing people’s attention on what I do, on what I offer. Financial advisors, where they’re successful is lifelong relationships. Your financial advisor is probably one of the most important people in your life to bring financial security, and it’s somebody you need to trust and respect. Sometimes that human element of fallibility, of vulnerability, of making mistakes, is not easy to share, but is exactly what your customers want to hear because they want to know that you are human as well like them. Find your narrowing down position so that people can remember who you are.”

Peter Wilken on clarifying your brand:

“Really try and simplify it and boil it down and use a minimum amount of jargon. But I encourage you to be bold and courageous when you’re starting out building your brand. If you don’t know who you are, what you stand for, to whom and why, how on earth do you expect other people to understand? You really need to start doing your homework. With solopreneurs — and this would be particularly relevant for independent financial advisors — there’s a huge overlap of your personal brand and commercial brand, and how the way in which you think, your personal preferences, the style and the way in which you communicate and do business impacts your commercial brand. So it’s hugely important that you understand who you are, what you believe, and what you stand for as well.”

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