A Brand’s Super Fan
This article was contributed by Levina Kusumadjaja
A good archer is known not by his arrows but by his aim.
—Thomas Fuller
When you see archers in epic battle movies, they make it look so easy and effortless to shoot an arrow. In reality, the bow is really heavy. It takes a lot of energy to pull the string before you release the arrow. I remember going to this archery arena as a teenager, trying to shoot the arrow as best as I could. Took an aim, gave every ounce of power I could find, and yet the bow only reached less than 2 meters in front of me. It was nowhere near the target. If only there were effort points in archery, because it doesn't matter how hard you tried, what matters is how close you get to the target.
Branding carries the same principles as archery. There's an archer, a bow, an arrow, and a target (or the bullseye). The archer represents the company and the target represents their ideal clients. The bow and arrow represent everything else that they do in order to reach their ideal clients—such as strategy, product, service, and so on. For an archer to be effective, they need to aim straight at the bullseye, laser-focused to one point. For brands to be effective, they need to know which type of customer is their “bullseye.” Many businesses say they want to attract “everybody,” but "everybody" means there is no target.
Building a brand without an ideal client is like shooting an arrow without a target.
When you want to build a brand, you have to know your ideal client because if you cannot attract them, you won't be able to attract anyone else. The more you understand who you are aiming for, the more you know what strategy to use. An archer will use different levels of strength to hit targets at 27 yards and 77 yards. A business should follow the same principle. The way they deliver their product, service, and messaging to parents should not be the same as the way they would approach college students.
Tip: Figure out your brand's super fan.
Here's a concept that can help you find out your ideal client: super fan. If your brand had one person who was your ultimate, most loyal, biggest fan, who would that person be? What would that person look like? Try to picture the kind of person they would be, their personality and hobbies. Map out the things that they are passionate about, the things in life that they would be pursuing. Imagine what a day in the life would look for them, the places they go to and the food they eat. The more you understand your brand's super fan, the more targeted and more personal your strategy will be.
→ Who did you have in mind when you created this brand?
→ If you could have this one type of person as the only type of customer who will ever walk to the store, who would that be?
→ Who is going to tell every single one of their friends about you?
Just like an archer, it doesn't matter how fast or far the arrow can go. What matters is whether the arrow hits the target. The further it misses, the less points the archer will get. It doesn't matter how much effort you put into building a brand if you miss your targeted customers or worse, you can't see your target. You might still get points, but not as many as you could if you hit right at the center. You won't understand what your customers want and need if you don't know who they are. So, start with that. Figure out your brand's super fan.
Cheers!
Levina
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About the author:
Levina is a writer based in Indonesia. Because of Melinda Livsey, she recognized the power of brand strategy for every creative. She is sharing about her learnings as she goes to help creatives have fun in their growth and journey of building brands. Connect with her on LinkedIn and say hi!