The biggest branding mistake companies make? Not reading this…
It’s increasingly trendy for companies to tout their “Brand Purpose”—but sometimes that declaration of virtue comes back to haunt them. Take, for example, fitness behemoth Peloton, which actively promotes its community culture, its focus on “love for its members” and its mission to empower members to be the best versions of themselves.
Except, when a hacker stole subscriber data, Peloton hid the news from its members, only revealing it after a tech publication reported it more than a week later. So, members could be at risk because of the data breach, and the Brand Purpose took a serious hit. Couple that breach with an initially defiant stance against regulators who wanted the company to discontinue a treadmill that caused injury and death, and Peloton looks foolish espousing a brand purpose that is patently false.
At Pivot Forward, we pressure test brand positioning and promises when developing branding for clients, to ensure that everything rings true.
We read with interest Rik Haslam’s “The Biggest Branding Mistake Many Companies Make.” We think it brings up some great points. Check it out here.
