Michal Pastier is a branding expert and co-founder of multiple successful marketing agencies. With nearly two decades of experience, he’s been helping brands go global using innovative strategies and viral marketing tactics. Ranked among the Top 100 European Innovators by Google and with over 200 creative awards, Michal’s advice is refreshingly straightforward: “Don’t be stupid.” Let’s dive into his 3 practical tips for building a successful global brand.
1. Don’t sell your product – sell yourself
When Michal started promoting his new book (Editor’s Note: Žltá kniha budovania značky), the book wasn’t even finished yet. But the buzz around it was huge. Once the book hit the shelves, it was sold out instantly and became a national bestseller. Michal made it to the cover of Forbes Slovakia and people showered social media with his yellow book. What actually made the book a viral phenomenon? It wasn’t its amazing insightful content at the very beginning. Michal explains the book’s viral success in three waves:
👀 WTF (First impression: What’s this?)
😎 Social signalling (Sharing as a sign of status)
💡 Wow sharing (Finally opened the book and appreciated its valuable insights.)
The lesson? You don’t need a finished product to start creating the buzz. That’s actually a technique even Steve Jobs used when promoting Mac.
2. Less than 2 seconds to impress
What separates a regular company and a globally successful brand? According to Michal, the answer lies in prioritising branding over product uniqueness. The secret to powerful branding lies in creating unique brand codes – instantly recognisable elements that make your brand stand out.
Think of big names like Coca-Cola, T-Mobile, or Milka. What makes you recognise them instantly? It’s their consistent use of brand codes, whether it’s a colour scheme, symbol, sound or character. Michal recommends picking ideally 2 – 3 brand codes to represent your brand.
3. Keep it simple and consistent
Simplicity gives your brand flexibility. Forget a brand manual with hundreds of pages, it’s wasting your time and money. Have a clear strategy of what you want to achieve with your brand in the minds of your customers. Once you choose your brand codes, sticking to them is crucial. In fact, the more consistent you are, the easier it is for customers to identify your brand immediately, across any platform or market.
Building a globally successful brand doesn’t come from complex strategies or endless planning, it’s about understanding how to make your brand instantly recognisable, relatable, and shareable.
These 3 principles are just a concentrate of Michal’s talk. Want to dig deeper? Hit the play button below and watch the full recording of Michal’s talk at WebExpo 2024. Get inspired by several case studies and more detailed insights on building a brand that resonates worldwide. 🌏