#3 - How to turn your brand into a status symbol (even if you're NOT a luxury brand)

That’s one of the most burning desires of business owners.

They want to see people proudly showcasing they are consuming their product, telling their friends, sharing all over social media…

And I think that’s fair.

You work so hard.

So, better this brand get the recognition it deserves.

Let’s get into it!

PS: ⚠️ This issue it’a longer piece compared to the previous ones you received. But it’s WORTH IT. I promise.

If you get what I break down for you today, you will have the future of your brand guaranteed.

You will be working in the right direction.

So…

How to turn your brand into a status symbol?

Let’s break down this question and shape your path forward:

This time, we will start the question from the end → and work our way to the beginning.

Part 1: Defining status.

Status it's the perception of others about how much influence we have in a group: based on admiration, respect, or power we may have accumulated.

Different of what many believe, status is not only about affordance (money/social class).

Status is about relevance. What makes us “cool” among others.

Part 2: Defining Symbol.

To shape a perception, we use symbols - weather consciously or unconsciously - to signal that we are relevant to the group.

A symbol is just anything with meaning. Or according to the dictionary: something that stands for something else.

This is what a strong brand is: They give meaning to meaningless things to help us signal our place in the world.

🫠 Ok, that’s too philosophical. I get it.

But I needed to go there to get to the next point:

💡 There’s one thing that status and symbol need to have in common to exist:

A specific group, that speaks a specific language, and share similar ideas, customs, and behaviour (culture).

Here's the thing about status symbols - they require context. And the group, the niche, the tribe, IS THE CONTEXT.

The way we signal status to others DEPENDS on:

• the group we belong to or

• the group we want to belong.

✋ Now hold on to this idea for a second.

Part 3: A brand

A brand is not your product, is the idea you stand for.

And when you associate an idea with a product - over repetition for a long period of time - then you start to infuse meaning into whatever you sell.

Finding your path - Part 1

The first important question we need to answer to turn your brand into a status symbol is:

What is the idea that your brand stand for, THAT:

• Is relevant to a specific group with a shared culture*, and

• by communicating it helps them build appreciation and credibility among their peers?

*speaks a specific language, and share similar ideas, customs, and behaviour (culture). Language here does not stand only for spoken language.

Finding your path - Part 2

Part 4: “How to turn”

Once you’ve identified:

• The group.

• Their cultural hierarchy.

• The idea your brand stands for that’s relevant to them.

Now it’s time for ACTION.

Here are 2 strategies to start turning your brand into a status symbol:

1. Get the right people talking about you with PARTNERSHIPS

   As we saw, status is not something you say you have. It’s something that others perceive about you.

   So it won’t be effective if you are the one saying “I’m THE brand” for this and that. You have to have others speaking about you.

   A first great step to achieve that is through partnerships. Now that you know the group and the culture, search for:

   • Who are the people who currently hold the status among that group.

   • Who are the brands appreciated by that group.

   • What are the projects / events / happenings that the group interact with.

And then, start co-creating with them. YES, co-creating. Paid PR doesn’t build you as a status symbol. It’s too short-term focused.

You need to be PART of that group. So you better start working together.

2. Help your audience to grow in the direction they want and gain the status in that group they are looking for.

   What would make them stand-out among their peers? Knowledge? Experience? Achievements? Creativity?

   Here’s where the content marketing comes to play. Help them to get what they want and they will carry you to the top with them.

Let’s look into some examples to see what it means in practice:

Example 1:

1. DB Journey and The Globe Trotter identity

We all have seen people communicating status through instagram feed and stories.

A curation of all the cool destinations we've visited around the world.

The higher the number of countries one has visited communicates, in theory, more cultural knowledge, experiences (the social currency of our era), and affordance.

Leading others to hold us in higher regard and potentially opening up more opportunities.

It’s not only hospitality businesses that are capitalising on the Globetrotter identity making everything a shareable experience.

DB Journey is an Scandinavian brand that makes travel bags for creative and adventurous people who are always on the move.

Instead of just promoting the brand, they gave people something to interact with.

They created an igloo installation in one retail store in Paris and ranked it in Tripadvisor as an attraction to visit! They not only help people travel better but they put their brand in the people’s travel map.

1. They understand the group of people they want to connect and what are their behaviour (where they hang).

2. They could just have promoted an ad campaign in the trip advisor website. But instead, they choose to create a project and become part of it.

Example 2:

2. Cryptopunks NFT

   If you don’t know what are cryptopunks they are an NFT Collection. This one to be more specific:

A little background: this NFT collection entered the market for $0 dollars. (yes, you are reading correctly - for free). Today, the cheapest NFT for sale in this collection costs $114k (yes, you read it right - one hundred and fourteen thousand).

I've lost count of how many people have asked me:

"How can someone pay THOUSANDS of dollars for a jpeg like cryptopunks? What's the value of that?"

My answer is:

if you're asking this, it's because you've never been around NFT/Crypto Twitter.

For that specific group and community, just by having a Cryptopunk in your profile picture will attract thousands of followers and give instant credibility to anything you post.

Not because of the "illustration" itself, but because of what it represents.

For that community, a Cryptopunk means that you are an OG (someone who has been in crypto since the beginning) or that you resonate with the values and beliefs of one.

🚫 If I had a cryptopunk, it wouldn't mean shit to my family and friends.

✅ But if I want to grow into the web3 world, it might open a lot of doors for me.

1. People: What made Cryptopunks gain this significance was because the people who first collected them were the ones from the beginnings of web3 (even when this word didn’t exist yet). They are respected for believing in something when no one else did.

2. They were builders and educators. They were sharing, educating and helping others to advance in the web3 world, while showcasing the NFT in their profile. They were an active part of shaping the present and the future of that group.

How to turn your brand into a status symbol?

How does this question help you?

If you want to become a brand that people care about you need to become more than just a product.

1. Forces you to search for cultural layers of the group you serve to better understand behaviour.

2. Highlights the importance of your brand standing for an idea that is relevant to the group.

3. Put your marketing strategies and activations under the angle of building relationships instead of promotion.

A reminder: Turning your brand into a status symbol is not something that happens overnight or because of one partnership or one brand activation. It requires TIME. Like, years. Over and over again of consistency. That’s the part no one wants to hear but that’s the work to be done.

Now, it’s your turn…

Action step

👉 Set aside some time to discuss with your team, research, and write down your insights and findings. It will give you the clarity you need to set your business for authentic growth.

Finding your path - Part 1

What is the idea that your brand stand for, THAT:

• Is relevant to a specific group with a shared culture*, and

• by communicating it helps them build appreciation and credibility among their peers?

And then move to

Finding your path - Part 2

Actions!

Warmly,

Nathalia Montenegro

P.S : Ready to find out exactly what you need to do next to grow your business?

Here's how I can help:

• If you haven't yet - connect with me on Linkedin to get daily insights about how to get clarity about your brand and yourself as a leader.

• Book a complementary clarity call with me here to find your unique path forward to grow your business.

PS.2: New here? Read the previous issues of this newsletter here.