When I’m not writing brand strategies for our clients, I’m writing poetry.
I recently read a passage from Pádraig Ó Tuama, an Irish poet, theologian, and conflict mediator, that made me smile: “One of the things I love — but also fear — about poetry is that it asks you to name deep truths. It asks you to lament, to remove shallow comforts in order to let the truth of what you wish to say be said.”
It hit home because I believe a good poem and a good brand strategy have this in common. It is in their ability to distill the complexity to a motivating human truth that allows both to be felt deeply.
I love that we’re in the business of uncovering what is essential. None of the superficial: straight to the heart of what our clients do, why they do it and how they do it differently. It’s a great privilege to be trusted and invited in. To be allowed to probe, poke and explore the lively edges and rich centers of their work to arrive at something that is true and inspires a new way through. So when a client recently told us that she felt seen through our strategy, it was the best feedback we could receive.
I enjoy this approach to strategy because it’s ruthless. To be able to align on a singular intention forces a tight process and partnership. It takes trust. And I believe it takes vulnerability.
For our clients, it’s a willingness to be honest about their limits and boundaries. Knowing what they won’t do can be hugely compelling. There’s no hiding in a strategy approach like this and that’s what makes it thrilling.
And for us, it means being brave enough to bring our real selves to work.
Reflecting on his 40+ year career in nursing, my Dad told me that to deliver good care requires you to give a piece of yourself to each patient and I realize that I try to do the same thing with our client partners. I love immersing ourselves in their worlds and bringing our sense of curiosity. But equally, we bring our experiences to bear on the work, sharing elements of ourselves to build a relationship where their success is experienced as if it were our own.
It’s a human, clear and direct approach to brand strategy that I’m excited to continue building in my role as Strategy Director here at J2. And it’s a response to the conventional way of understanding a brand as the attention-grabbing shiny object that has to fight for people’s time.
Together with our clients we’re building brands built on truths not trends. Because that’s the thing about searching for the truth, whether in a poem or brand purpose, once it is revealed there’s no denying it.
