Not so perfect

Whilst the film Black Swan had me in equal parts turning away, cringeing, closing my eyes completely and marvelling, it also made me scribble something down in my note book.

The character played by Natalie Portman was being criticised for being too perfect in her execution and therefore lacking in the passion that would motivate people’s deeper engagement in her dancing. (Thankfully she had feathers growing out of her skin later on which addressed this.)

The same could be said of so many brands and their communication, when in the digital age control is increasingly out of brands hands.

A colleague once said: “That brand needs to ruffle it’s hair a bit”. He refered to a pristine pharmaceutical company embarking on a strategy for broader stakeholder engagement. His words stuck with me.

People are getting closer and closer to companies, both participating in their activities and scrutinising them. They relate better to the truthful, human businesses than the rigid, closed off ones with a too highly polished exterior.

So here’s the call for more brands to relax their style, to ruffle their hair a bit and join in rather than set themselves apart, to show the different sides of their personality.

A flexible visual identity will help:
wearezephyr.com/what-we-do