“A brand is more than just the products it sells, more than just the price it sells it for … A brand is an experience. And if you think about your brand as a total experience, then you’re going to build much greater loyalty and actually build a much stronger business as a result.”

“Your values are what people say about you when you’re not in the room. Those are your values; because, unsolicited, it’s how they feel about you, how you make them feel, how you add value — those are your values. They say the same about brands. A brand is what a customer says about you when you’re not in the room — how they describe you … how you live your life is how people remember you.”

– Jim Joseph, President of McCann Health NA, Author, Blogger, Professor, & Dad

Welcome to OnBrand! In this episode, join host Sarah Grace McCandless as she speaks with Jim Joseph, a global leader in the marketing and communications industry, seasoned author, esteemed professor, and current president of McCann Health North America. Through their conversation, you’ll learn more about how consumers have come to expect transparent, value-focused behavior from the brands they love, what it means to market to customers in a more conscious way, and the best ways for brands to get out there and speak up for the causes they care about. Don’t miss it!

Customers want to know brands share their values, but empty words and gestures are just that — empty. And even though paying lip service toward an important social issue or cause might look good in a press release or on the company website, customers aren’t fooled by anything less than honest, transparent communication from companies that’s backed up by real, concrete actions.

That’s why it’s so important not only to know what you stand for as a brand, but also when to speak up and show customers — and the world — that you’re ready to put your money where your mouth is. Step one is listening to your customers for direction, as Jim describes further:

“That is probably the most frequently asked question that we get from clients: ‘Should I speak up? When do I speak up? How do I speak up?’ … And the answer, while incredibly complicated (in practice), is very simple,” Jim explains. “Let your customers be your guide: if there’s an issue that’s intrinsically important to them that’s relevant to your business, then you have to, at a minimum, be very much aware of that and alter your behavior as a result. But I would say, speak up about it. Contribute back. Add value to their lives by doing something about it. Make it easier for them to contribute if they want to contribute.”

Starting his career with Johnson & Johnson, Jim has gone on to work with some of the largest and most influential brands in the world prior to his current role as president of McCann Health North America. Already an accomplished author of six books on everything from business to parenthood, his latest, The Conscious Marketer: Inspiring a Deeper and More Conscious Brand Experience, further explores how the marketing industry will need to evolve in order to meet the needs of today’s value-conscious consumers.

Join us for this episode of OnBrand and discover how getting active on important societal issues, causes, or values can help brands build deeper connections with customers while contributing to a more equitable world!

Episode Resources

Jim Joseph (Twitter)

Jim Joseph