Brands built to thrive series: success principle #1

Brands built to thrive series: success principle #1

By William Hensley, Hensley & Associates

Why is it that some consumer brands grow for a decade or more in existing markets while many others remain “flatish” quarter after quarter? Why is it that some prescription brands are able to retain a disproportionate share of their category even after crossing into OTC space? Why is it that some brands can thrive like this while others do not?

Brands that thrive just Think, Plan, and Act differently than those that do not. That’s it, plain and simple.

We have an exploding landscape of new pharma and biotech brands today, with record numbers in final stages of development coming soon. Fifty-five novel drug approvals (NMEs and new biologics) were approved by FDA in 2023. Each is named with a previously unknown, but clever, mix of letters. Each is supported with sufficient funds to capture a respectable share of eyes and ears. Some of these brands will thrive. Many of these brands will not, because they are not built to thrive coming out of the gates.

The difference is not a matter of brain power, energy or integrity; most brand teams have plenty. It is not about brand support funding; most brand teams have enough. It is about following a Functional Product First brand model. A model that is built to only push short term sales, but not enduring growth.

The idea of selling more of what the brand offers to more people year after year is the highest ambition of any brand. When a brand thrives, it elevates everyone involved: consumers, employees, and shareholders. So, what is the unique advantage of these thriving successful brands?

Thriving success principles

Brands that thrive simply think, plan, and act differently than others; all three steps, in that order. They have learned that emotional desires drive lasting actions. Experience has taught them that it is equally or even more important to understand the consumer’s emotional desires than it is to educate how the product works. They realize that not all consumers share the same priority of emotional desires. They recognize that an effective product is necessary but simply not sufficient by itself to become the lasting obvious choice of consumers.

Consider three distinct steps in the sequence to building a brand that thrives: Thinking, Planning, and Acting.

Thinking is about getting the strategic brand platform right. It is the base of everything to follow. If it is incomplete, so will be the plans and actions that follow downstream.
Planning is about qualifying the most effective, innovative brand initiatives to support the strategic brand platform. Qualifying against the strategic brand platform is a requirement.
Acting is about building a brand market and loyal user base using these qualified initiatives. Which also builds the Brand Equity factors that drive sales momentum going forward.

Many brands that we meet are not following these steps. They speak of being consumer focused. A deeper look finds that they are just “thinking” about how the product relieves a particular disease. Messaging usually wraps that relief in a tribe of smiling faces. This is not sufficient to thrive; products eventually get lost in a perceived sea of sameness. It is more important to know what makes the consumer tick.

Thinking comes first

Brands that thrive simply “think” on a higher level. That is the essence of their advantage. They “think” first about consumer emotional desires instead of product functions. Emotional desires drive loyal actions. Their brand platform is centered on the most relevant emotional desire for the brand, rather than a product feature or function. Strong, effective, and safe product functions become the supporting proof of worthiness for the emotional desire. This Emotional Desire First strategic brand platform is the unique advantage of a thriving brand.

Thriving Success Principle #1: Center the Strategic Brand Platform on the Most Relevant Consumer Emotional Desire

Emotional desires drive lasting loyal actions. Their priorities rarely change. They are shared across genders, life stages, and ages. Brands with an emotional desire connection enjoy growing loyal user bases, sales, market share, and brand equity momentum. This connection is strong and enduring. This connection is what makes consumers ask physicians more than once about a specific drug. By contrast, the competitive landscape of product technology changes frequently. Functional Product First connections alone are just not stable. Emotional Desire First connections are long lasting.

So why are many brands not built to thrive? There are many status quo momentum forces. The flurry of daily activity leaves little time for “thinking”. Many brand teams do not have experience with Emotional Desire First brand models. Many do not have access to proven emotional analytic tools to do the job. And the list goes on.

We know from many experiences that any brand can be built to thrive. And any brand team can learn the Emotional Desire First model. They can learn from proven emotional analytic tools. And they will get more of the right things done faster to help the brand thrive. They simply have to want to do it.

After millions or billions have been invested in getting a new product to market, why don’t brand teams routinely invest a tiny fraction of their budgets in building the organizational capacity to create brands that are more likely to thrive?

Why indeed?

Next in this series: Success starts at entry points

Bill Hensley, founder of Hensley & Associates, Inc, is leading consulting teams on a mission to help any brand that wants to thrive to do so. Their unique Brands Built to Thrive planning model pairs market proven Success Principles with emotional analytics. To date, this pursuit has spanned more than 25 product/service sectors helping dozens of brand teams along with their agency and innovation partners. With brand clients ranging from private equity/venture capital startups to Fortune 10 brands, the experiences have been amazing. “It simply never gets old seeing another brand begin to thrive!”