Growing up, I was obsessed with the X-Files. Before the age of podcasts, I used a dictaphone to record episodes so I could listen to them before bed. Like I said, obsessed!
Maybe because the Vancouver backdrop mirrored my own rainy Northern England view, but I instantly felt drawn to Mulder’s quest for the truth above all else. And it’s the standard I continue to apply when building our brand strategy practice here at J2.
Today, more than ever, the “truth” may feel elusive but we believe there are undeniable human truths that resonate on a deep, motivating level that compel people to act.
During our discovery process that kicks off a project, we unearth these truths to help our clients connect with their audiences in a straightforward, real way that cuts through the marketing BS.
Getting to the truth requires bravery.
That starts with being brutally honest about the business challenge, drilling down specifically to the role of brand in the issues we’re taking on together. It’s having the courage to know what you won’t do and where your weaknesses lie. And it means being vulnerable, sharing your experiences openly with us from a place of mutual trust. Clients have shared how we create safe, respectful environments during our 1:1 audience interviews, and to create that experience we’re not scared to share a bit of ourselves in the work too.
The truth needs creativity.
Our research methodologies are not one size fits all. We know people don’t readily give up their truths and we get creative in how we reach the insights that breakthrough. When it came to positioning a NYC office space, it was field research in the bustling NYC cross sectional neighborhoods of NoMad, K- Town and The Penn District that revealed the shared emergent mindset between the space and the tenants it was built to attract.
Finally, the truth takes discipline.
As we take our insights and codify them into a brand positioning, everything must be distilled to its simplest, human articulation. That takes a ton of google docs and Zoom calls, together editing, pushing and refining until we have one powerful North Star (or U.F.O.) to guide the future of your business.
That for us, is out of this world.
