Reputația ta este marca ta. Înțelegerea puterii valorilor fundamentale.

PlayHardLookDope. That’s a brand name that will grab your attention and stick with you. It stuck with me when I came across their original store in SoHo back in 2017. Within the first sixty seconds of meeting the owners, Jon Nelsen and Ebony Mackey, I knew they were as cool and unique as their company’s name. I knew Jon and Ebony au fost PlayHardLookDope.

It’s easy to get caught up in the name, logo, and shiny marketing collateral that visually identifies your brand, but even the coolest, catchiest name or logo is not your brand. You are your brand. Your core values and your commitment to those values are your brand. Your core capabilities and how you present and deliver those capabilities are your brand. What you say and do is your brand. Your reputation is your brand.

Jon and Ebony love to play (and work) hard, and they like to look dope while doing it. So, when they decided to brand their idea for the type of jewelry they wanted to design and sell, they knew that it would have to coincide with the lifestyle that they live, because, as Jon says, “We weren’t going to give that up. We have a strong belief in having fun, in being transparent, in styling, and in products that are sustainable and accessible.” All those beliefs are clearly woven into all aspects of their business.

A company’s core values define who they are and what they stand for and must be embedded in the company’s standards, norms, and behaviors.

Let’s test how well your company brand stacks up.

List your company’s values and then define what each one means to you and your company.

For example, at Merchants, two of our five core values are Innovation and Community. To us, Innovation means thinking and acting differently in a useful way. Because we have intentionally embedded this value into our culture, we have been able to launch eight new internal businesses and services over the last five years. Community as a value means giving back our time, energy, and resources to make a better world. To reinforce this value, every employee is provided two days of paid time off a year to volunteer, and all employees are marked on this value in their performance review.

Your company’s core capabilities are your assets, attributes, and what you do well across all areas from culture and leadership to products and services.

What are your company’s top three core capabilities?

At Merchants, one of our core capabilities is vehicle rental. During COVID, when summer camps and universities suddenly closed and no longer needed to rent our passenger vans, we pivoted that business’ focus on the last mile, home delivery, and ecommerce industries. This was an example of taking our capabilities from one industry and applying it to an industry that was new to Merchants.

Are you ready to measure how well your company’s branding aligns with its values and core capabilities?

1: Identify how each of your values are communicated in your branding and if they are clear and consistent across all platforms.

2: Assess if:

• Top leadership is modeling the company values.
• All employees understand and practice the company’s values.
• Your values are clearly demonstrated in the services and products you offer.

3: Listen to your customers. Do they know who you are, what you stand for, and what you offer?

Posting your values on a wall or listing your core capabilities on your website is easy. It’s also meaningless unless the whole company is honoring and practicing them every day—even in a time of transition.

In 2020, like many businesses in the pandemic, PlayHardLookDope was forced to adjust and adapt. They had to shut down their SoHo store and subsequently were offered an opportunity in Westchester. The areas of SoHo and Westchester, NY couldn’t be more different, but that didn’t stop Jon and Ebony from staying true to their brand.

“When Jon and I decided to make the move to the Westchester mall—which is so different from our SoHo location—our vibe, our style, how we set our space, all of that stayed the same. We don’t try to blend in. We’re different. That’s part of our brand. And I think that speaks to our customers. They want to look different, feel different, and still be able to wear our product in their everyday life. That’s what they’ve come to expect and that’s what we deliver.”

Live your brand. Honor your brand. Be your brand.