borrowed relevance...

Josh Bernoff published a report recently here talking about "boring" brands.

It resonated with me - a lot of the brands I work with are what he'd define as "boring" - healthcare providers, banks, government departments, building supply merchants and educational institutions - brands that certainly aren't going to be adopted by users just because they're "cool" (I'm aware just using the term "cool" - means I'm likely to be anything but...)

As someone at the coal face of social marketing, tasked with getting these sorts of brands to exist online, I can attest to the fact that a lot of the issues on a day to day level, come down to brands not being comfortable with "borrowing relevance".

Its not about "cool" - its about convincing them to get involved with what people are actually saying, as opposed to what the brand would like them to be talking about. In other words - there is too much getting stuck up on the relevance of the marketing tactic being employed (because it might not directly communicate the message) - and not enough understanding, that so long as the applicaiton, viral, widget, newsfeed, weird bit of technology (whichever conversation you're getting involved with) resonates with the brand essence - that's enough.....

more than enough....a brand in unfamiliar territory, as long as they're contributing in a positive way, is something users probably take more notice of, at least initally. Removing friends from your facebook account has got precious little to do with eating burgers but it reinforced Burger King's playful, cheeky and "thought provoking" brand values. On the other end of the scale, the BBC publishing data in RDF format has nothing directly to do with "selling" TV and radio shows at the moment - its all about being seen at the cutting edge.

My advice - if you look after a boring brand - embrace "borrowed relevance" and interpret your brand essence in as wide a manner as possible - you'll find it opens you up to being able to talk to a lot more people....