Head of the Fluffies

Branding is often dismissed as decoration. In reality, it shapes trust, preference and enterprise value long before a sale is made.

I once walked into an introductory meeting with a senior marketing executive from a major UK bank. I had been summoned by our agency account manager, an ex-military man with whom I had spent the previous year delivering several demanding financial services projects.

Before I had the opportunity to introduce myself, he proclaimed:

"This is Andy, Head of the Fluffies."

I kid you not.

I was dumbstruck.

And deeply offended.

The remark revealed something interesting.

What exactly was meant by "the fluffies"?

That our work was decorative?

Peripheral?

Superfluous?

Effete?

The hierarchy seemed implicit.

Analysts provided insight.

Developers built things.

Project managers delivered things.

Designers made things look pretty.

At least, that appeared to be the assumption.

The irony was that I wasn't some junior designer moving pixels around a screen. In a high profile international web consultancy with more than a dozen offices, the London operation generated around forty percent of annual billings. Amongst a staff of one hundred people, I led a team of eight full time designers and three content writers.

My department was not without influence.

Over the years I have discovered that my former colleague was far from alone.

Many entrepreneurs hold a remarkably similar view.

Sales matter.

Cash flow matters.

Operations matter.

Technology matters.

Branding can wait.

Michael E. Gerber explores this phenomenon in The E-Myth Revisited. Most businesses, he argues, are started by technicians suffering an entrepreneurial seizure. Bakers open bakeries. Photographers start photography businesses. Engineers launch engineering companies.

They understand the work.

Running a business requires something more.

Vision.

Leadership.

Differentiation.

The ability to persuade customers to choose you over somebody else.

This is where branding enters the equation.

Not as decoration.

As strategy.

Most founders recognise the importance of products and services. Fewer appreciate the value of an authentic identity, a clear sense of purpose, resonant messaging and compelling stories.

Yet these are often the things customers remember.

The things they trust.

The things they recommend.

The things they buy.

I was fortunate to spend more than a decade advising and supporting Oliver Whitehead, founder of the award-winning mortgage broker Oportfolio.

Oliver understood the value of my work instinctively. He operated in a highly competitive sector where technical competence was expected. Every mortgage broker could arrange a mortgage. Standing out required something more. Over the years, he invested consistently in branding.

Together we developed his identity, website, film content and social media presence. Every touchpoint was considered. Every detail reinforced the same promise.

During Lockdown, whilst many businesses were retreating, Oliver expanded.

He purchased office space in Putney and asked me to help merge two separate units into a single environment.

The objective was not decoration. The office needed to communicate professionalism and warmth. It needed to support productivity, attract talented people and create an environment where staff wanted to stay.

Working alongside his builder, I explored more than a dozen floor plans before the solution emerged.

A welcoming reception area.

A productive open-plan workspace.

A place that reflected the ambitions of the business.

There was nothing fluffy about the work.

It influenced recruitment.

Retention.

Culture.

Client perception.

Growth.

The account manager who introduced me as Head of the Fluffies believed branding sat somewhere on the periphery of business.

My experience suggests the opposite.

The strongest brands align values, identity and promise so effectively that they earn something every entrepreneur seeks.

Mindshare.

The point at which customers stop comparing alternatives because, in their minds, the choice has already been made.

Call it fluff if you like.

The market calls it trust.

Commitment.

Loyalty.

And at its zenith, devotion.