Fight the Power - How to be a Rebel Brand

Fight the power, How to Evoke a Rebel Brand Archetype.

When embarking on a brand positioning project, start by identifying your brand’s archetype. An archetype - original pattern from which copies are made - embodies a constantly recurring symbol or motif in literature, painting, or mythology. Some examples are the Hero, the innocent or everyman. You’ll see these collective ideas in literature, film and yes, branding.

The archetype can be your brand’s guide for decision making. Every brand expression - positioning, distribution, pricing - can ladder to your brand archetype.

Today I want to focus on the Rebel. It is one my favorites and superabundant in this disruptive obsessed cultural moment. The Rebel's purpose in life is to shake up the status quo. These brands stand in opposition to the conventional. The rebel breaks rules. They make some feel a little uncomfortable.

The embodiment of this Rebel spirit in hip-hop is Public Enemy - known for their politically charged music and criticism of American cultural and economic institutions. Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” is part of a legacy of black rebel music that used art to galvanize social justice movements and political discourse, it even nods to the Isley Brothers with the title “Fight the Power”, but it was one of the first acts to politicize hip-hop at scale.

Drawing inspiration from Public Enemy - here’s how to pull the rebellious archetype thread through your brand - turn the bass up.

1. Placement -

   • Embrace distribution channels that defy convention. If most brands sell in brick and mortar, the rebel brand will deliver to your home.

2. Pricing -

   • If category norms dictate that eye-glasses should cost $600, zag from traditional pricing structures. Go lower. Go higher. Just don’t go with the standard.

3. Promotions -

   • Assume a language and persona that shakes things up. Care less if customers like you. Maybe you don’t greet customers when they walk in the store. Maybe you pick fights on social media or calls attention to big issues when other brands play it safe.

4. Product -

   • Create an unconventional product that defies norms. Make the product uglier. Or more beautiful than the competition. Hold features back that the competition offers.

No matter what - liberate, challenge, defy and excite the boring norm. In the case of Public Enemy - go political when everyone else is singing about good times. Address heady issues. Fight the power and you will stand apart.