2 weeks Ago
BY Sooyoung Cho4 minute read A Mongolian farm wanted to improve its branding and help its community, while developing new products. A dual brand strategy did the trick: one brand for its overarching smart farm initiative, and another, Smart Berry, for its flagship strawberry produce to be launched early next year. This approach nurtured a new community around sustainable agriculture, provided work opportunities for local farmers, encouraged healthier consumer lifestyles, and contributed to the nation's economic development.
Many communities like the Mongolian farm seek to unlock their potential by developing new products or hosting community gatherings. Communities, in this context, are gatherings of people with shared interests, visions, and a sense of kinship. While these initiatives are undeniably necessary, they often have a short-term focus that's not conducive to long-term sustainable community development.
Through my 15 years as CEO of The bread and butter, a global brand consulting firm, I've determined four ways in which branding can future-proof a community and generate a lasting impact by bolstering its economic growth and human network. 1. Use branding to empower communities For a community to survive and continue to provide meaningful offerings to its members, it must be able to generate revenue, which most communities do by offering products for sale.
Although these products are frequently innovative and high quality, they tend to lack brand power, restricting their reach, sales, and brand awareness to solely those in the immediate vicinity of the community. Subscribe to the Compass Newsletter. Fast Company's trending stories delivered to you daily Privacy Policy | Fast Company Newsletters A robust brand, however, can massively expand a community's brand awareness and, consequently, revenue.
Earlier this year, for example, The bread and butter collaborated with the indigenous Yanesha community in Peru to establish a brand for its coffee farming...
Sooyoung Cho.
