It’s going to seem a little like I’m beating a dead horse here, but this post is all about Brands. Back up a little, no animals will be harmed, that idiom is talking about the futility of an endeavor when the outcome is already apparent. The Truth is, whether or not you recognize it, your brand matters and yes, you do have a brand.

That’s Not My Brand

Have you ever heard someone while shopping for clothes say, “Nah, that’s not my brand”? Knowingly or unknowingly, they were accurately describing one of the many facets of being or having a brand. First, you are your own brand. Second, brands have a lot to do with aesthetics. Third, decisions or “practices” are monumental in making your brand what it is. Because more than just being a logo, a set of colors, some typeface, and a few general rules about how those things interact, your brand is how you make people feel. It’s the experience customer’s have with you. It’s what you do for your community. It’s how you take or give back. It’s how ethical you are. It’s whether you deliver on your promises and how you handle miscommunications.

We’re Looking at you, MoviePass.

A brand that immediately comes to mind when the word “miscommunication” comes up is MoviePass. We’ve all heard of it (we have all heard of it, right?), the $10 a month, unlimited, one-movie-a-day subscription that made us pause Netflix and get our butts into the theater again. For a minute it was the best thing ever, seeing two movies a month made it worth it and you could watch any movie you loved seeing on the big screen as many times as you wanted before it left. Pure Magic. Then the rules changed and that “semi-restricted-unlimited-at-participating-theaters” viewing turned into “very restricted you can see four movies in a month” viewing. Yes, it changed from a maximum of 30/31 movies in a month to only 4 with the ability to rewatch films gone forever. If you nap at the movies, time to try a different brand: Starbucks. Current MoviePass subscribers also lost their ability to rewatch films, though they were not cut down to 4 films a month; so they can watch as many flicks as a participating theater shows, at the speed that the theater shows them, but only once.

Renege on a Promise

The biggest flop here was that people didn’t know their subscription had changed. And even if they weren’t going more than four times in a month, they were promised they could go more. What MoviePass offered and what it delivered were not the same. Suffice it to say, people got angry. Very angry. People felt lied to, and the mindless “value” of having a MoviePass immediately became debatable depending on your movie-going-habits. You don’t have to take my word for it. The New York Times wrote an article about it and the internet has seen it’s fair share of MoviePass complaints.

You Can’t Please Everyone

Here’s the thing, there will always be people who don’t like your brand, and there will be people who love it. The best thing you can do is be authentic. Don’t make promises you can’t keep and if you do have to make policy changes, don’t sneak them into content that your people will never read, be clear and direct about the changes.

Your Brand Matters

What’s cool about all this fussing over your brand is that it shows how much the people who follow you or use your services care about the entirety of what you’re doing. They don’t just want the cheapest or easiest whatever; they want to stand by where they put their money, in this scenario, by you. Show people that they can trust you, that you are honest and that you care about more than making a profit, and 2018 could be an excellent year for your brand. In the meantime, Here’s to seeing how long MoviePass lasts.If you enjoyed reading this post, check out some of our other articles. I recommend Jessica’s deviation from the technical details of what we do, otherwise known as her post about cats. You can always check out our portfolio or get in touch with us if you have any work you would like done to help your brand, create a brand, or do anything else related to Graphic Design, Web Development, or Marketing. Cio!