Making Your Brand Shine, Even If Tarnished

A hundred years ago, Detroit was the Silicon Valley of our country. This is where entrepreneurs came to build their fortunes by inventing things. Amazing creativity and entrepreneurship were the status quo – people like Henry Ford came in and did things differently, broke the mold, were imaginative, and took risks. As a result, we prospered and put our city on the map – it’s the reason we’re all here today. Over the last several years we stopped innovating and stopped winning, through a period I’d call the dark ages, as we got away from those roots. Entitlement, bureaucracy, and unnecessary systems ran rampant. Instead of building great things, our leaders focused upon cutting cost and managing control over people. So what happened? We suffered.

How do you change that as a brand marketer? How do you take a brand that is so tarnished and tell a different story? One brand did exactly that. Chrysler launched a TV spot during the 2011 Superbowl and one injection of creativity changed the game forever. After the ad perfectly displays a dichotomy between grit and luxury, it features Eminem putting it succinctly: “This is the Motor City. And this is what we do.” Two years later, this brilliant advertisement still gives me chills every time I watch it.

Chrysler’s spot ushered in the age of a new chapter in Detroit, presenting all of us with a choice.  We can continue to point fingers, cry in our soup, and long for the days gone by.  Or we can DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.  We can own it, fix it, and rebuild it. This is our time.  This is our defining moment.

Your brand – as difficult as it may be to represent – can do the same thing as Chrysler. By inspiring your audience and unleashing a visceral, emotional response, your message will be effective. In order to elicit such a reaction, you must first assess what your brand’s unique identity and purpose is for its customers; then, drive that message home. Be the most authentic version of itself and share that message. It’s not worth your time or energy to make the brand you represent the “something of something else.” Delve into it and really figure out what the special sauce is – what makes that brand special. As Chrysler figured, it could even be grit, as is the case with my hometown.

Truly special advertisements generate a call to action. Just as Chrysler put the city back on the map,  the Opportunity Detroit campaign challenged us to think about where we’re headed next. I view our current, unfinished chapter in Detroit as two choices. First, we could complain about it. The second choice and the one I hope all Detroiters take is to realize what a privilege we have, to rebuild a great American city. Let’s acknowledge challenges but not dwell on them. Look at it as an opportunity. This is our moment to make a difference. This is our moment to unleash the creativity that’s inside all of us. To take the challenges head on and rebuild it into a place we’re proud to pass on to our kids. To change the world. Why? Because this is the Motor City. And this is what we do.

Forbes.com