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Great insights and a fun analogy, Stephanie McCarty!
It brings to my mind another story about Theseus, that is probably less well-known than the thought experiment you've referenced, but is also surprisingly relevant to branding:
Before Theseus departed for Crete to buy wine from King Minos, Theseus's father, King Aegeus, urged Theseus not to be seduced by Commodity Wines, but to be wise and accordingly to acquire only Great Independent Wines.
Theseus understood his father's wisdom and promised to do his best to fill his ship with only Great Independent Wines. Because he knew that King Aegeus would be impatient to know whether he had succeeded in avoiding the trap of Commodity Wines, the two agreed on a signal (in a sense, a "brand").
If Theseus failed to acquire Great Independent Wines and returned with Commodity Wines, then he would leave up the black sails currently on his ship. But if Theseus succeeded and brought home a cargo of Great Independent Wines, then he would swap out the black sails for white sails (to make his success clear to his father from afar).
Theseus was a skilled purchaser at the labyrinthine marketplaces in Crete and filled his ship with Great Independent Wines. The ship returned to Athens from Crete, sailing low in the sea due to the weight of its cherished cargo.
With the sun warming his face and the songs of the shearwaters and yellow-legged gulls resounding in his ears, Theseus reflected on his successful acquisition of these Great Independent Wines and amused himself by imagining how delighted his father would be with his bounty.
Perhaps we can forgive Theseus who--in these moments of his great success--forgot to signal to his father which cargo his returning ship contained. Theseus forgot to change his ship's sails from black to white!
From a high cliff outside of Athens, King Aegeus, the son of Pandion and the grandson of Cercops, scanned the horizon impatiently, anxious for his son's return. What he saw--at first indistinctly and gradually more clearly--startled him and then horrified him.
The sails were still black!!! That could mean only one thing. Theseus must have failed to acquire Great Independent Wines and settled for Commodity Wines!!! King Aegeus's mind raced, and his breath caught in his throat.
Envisioning his future self--soldiering through month-after-month of listless Commodity Wines, the grief-stricken King Aegeus threw himself from the cliff at Cape Sounion into the wine-dark waters that would henceforth bear his name: the Aegean Sea(TM).
So brand managers of the world: be not like wretched Theseus, who invited tragedy by forgetting to align his branding with the expectations of his audience . . .
Sommsation#independentwines#brandmanagement#wine#branding
Chief Marketing Officer @ Taylor Morrison | Business Insider Most Innovative CMOs of 2024 | Brand and Transformation Leader | Board Member
Ready for a mind-bender that'll prove once and for all that branding starts from the inside?
Buckle up, 'cause we're about to hit you with some philosophical baseball branding! ⚾💡
Ever heard of the Ship of Theseus? (If not, Google it now!) Because it's like that, but with pinstripes.
OK, now picture this:
You've got the New York Yankees.
Legendary brand, right?
Now, what if throughout the year we swap out every single player, one by one, with new talent?
Is it still the Yankees?
Duh. Of course, it is! 👊
But here's where it starts to get wild.
What if all those original Yankees end up on the Red Sox? And all the Red Sox players get traded to the Yankees.
Is Boston suddenly wearing pinstripes in our hearts?
No way, José!
So, what's the deal?
Simple.
The players aren't the brand.
That’s decided by the fans.
Now I know what you’re thinking
You’re thinking: “Stephanie, you just proved that a brand has nothing to do with the employees.”
Oh yeah, smarty pants?
What if the players on the Yankees (now on the Red Sox) are better players?
It doesn’t change the brand (that’s determined by the fans).
But it does effect the success of the brand.
Think about it...
New players crush it? Yankees soar.
New squad struggles? Yankees sink.
The brand remains the same, but its fate?
That's all about the team.
Now, let's bring this home for my marketing friends...
Your logo or signature look?
That's your Yankees cap.
Your mission statement?
That's your stadium.
Your internal team?
They're the players making magic on the field.
They don't define the brand, but holy smokes, do they determine if it's a World Series contender or a bottom-of-the-league bust that you have to pay people to watch.
So yes, your brand is bigger than any individual team member.
But your brand's success?
That's 100% on your internal squad.
All of them.
Even Karen in right field ... I mean accounting. 😉
#BrandingStartsFromWithin#CMOUnfiltered#BrandingPhilosophy