Ever pondered brand strategy while munching snacks at the movies? Our communications strategist Bede MacGowan did—well, back at the studio—and found surprising parallels between Pixar and brand identity.
As I sat with my boy watching Inside Out 2 at the cinema this weekend, brand strategy didn’t cross my mind once, thankfully. I was too busy enjoying the film and the snacks. Mainly the snacks. But a couple of days later, as I sat at my desk pondering that very subject and with the fizzy laces and dolly mixture now a fading memory, I started to see some parallels. And yes, I know that sounds a bit tragic, but you can’t choose your thoughts, right?
Foundational elements
Of course, it’s not all about feelings when you start crafting a brand strategy and identity — though they certainly play their part from a client’s perspective. Thankfully, we’ve generally not encountered much in the way of ‘disgust’.
But swap out teenage protagonist Riley’s joy, anger, embarrassment, fear, and ennui for purpose, personality, USPs, and values, and you start to sense a connection. These elements come together to form the foundations of how a brand behaves and how it is perceived from the outside in.
Discovering the true self
And just like Riley’s emotions, left unmanaged, they can lead to chaos, humiliation, and a downward spiral. Unlike Riley, companies may not get a second chance to put things right — especially when they’re just starting out. It’s a brutal world for startups and scaleups, with first impressions increasingly crucial as the window of opportunity for investment and growth gets ever smaller.
Defining your brand identity
Defining, combining, and communicating these fundamental aspects of a brand’s identity in the right way is vital. And while it’s important to recognise how it all looks from the outside in, just as Riley discovers, what matters most is that what comes out from inside is authentic, true, and consistent — otherwise, everything, eventually, will fall apart.
Case study: Unifying Totem’s brand identity
Totem is a creative tech company that does it all—events, meetings, content, and virtual learning—supported by their in-house activation agency. But this diverse range of offerings had begun to blur their identity, both inside and out.
Discovering differentiation
We delved into Totem’s story to uncover the common thread that ties everything together. Together, we pinpointed what sets them apart—how they excel in helping organisations better connect with their audiences.
A clear path forward
Based on this exploration, we developed a clear, consistent, and compelling brand identity for Totem. This strategic clarity now provides them with a solid foundation to continue growing and thriving.