It’s not what you know that counts; it’s what you need to know. Today analytics rule, and that approach may be just fine for some businesses; but as seemingly rational as number crunching may appear, it only tells you part of the story, and that can be misleading. Statistical analysis can tell you what people did, but it can’t tell you why; and it doesn’t tell you what they would have done if presented with an alternative. Even A-B testing won’t provide the answer to why people did what they did. What gets lost in a mountain of data is markets are an audience, and audiences consist of people not numbers. It doesn’t matter if you sell a product, service, or idea, answering the question why people should care about you, or what you sell, is critical to your success. The ability to connect to people on a human level is what marketing is all about. In short, marketing is a people problem, and you won’t find the solution on a spreadsheet.

In today’s highly competitive online marketplace with so many businesses selling the same, similar, or substitute offerings, the battle for competitive advantage is being fought on the brand-marketing front. Creating a brand universe allows you the freedom to be innovative in your communication efforts; it separates you from copycat marketers and price-cutting vultures intent on profiting from your hard work. In “What’s the Big Idea?” we approached the problem from a big idea perspective, because a big idea is how you differentiate yourself from the competition. But having a big idea will only be of benefit if it is implemented properly. Brand Universe provides the roadmap you need to implement your big idea and tell your brand story.