Compiled and edited by Cikey, ArtMap
Original video:Positioning and Branding in web3 with Steven Ebert provided by a16z crypto.
Brand expert Steven Ebert gave a keynote speech. He discussed in depth the key elements of brand building for early Web3 startups. He also discussed how to define your brand story and build a minimum viable brand to stand out from the competition.
Are you wondering how to create a compelling brand story for your Web3 project or organization?
Are you curious about how to capture influence through clear brand storytelling to clarify goals, optimize messaging, and more?
Steven Ebert：I work with many startups at different stages, whether they are start-ups, mature enterprises or established companies, mainly to help them tell their stories better.
Today, we’re going to focus on early-stage brand building. Many entrepreneurs tend to overlook the importance of brand story and narrative in the early stages of their startup, thinking that these are things they need to consider later. However, what I want to share is what you can do at this stage, what priorities you should focus on, and what you can handle later.
Please take a moment to think about it. Give yourself 60 seconds. Don’t think too much. Answer this question intuitively: What is the purpose of your project? Answer it in as few words as possible, and then put it aside for now. We will discuss it in depth later.
First, let’s start with a question:“What is a brand?”
It’s something people can recognize.
It’s like a tribe, and people can be loyal to it.
It’s something you associate with.
……
Your answer reflects how we usually think of brands. If you look it up on Google, you will find a variety of different definitions.
The definition we’re going to discuss today is this: A brand is a set of beliefs people have about your company.
Let’s break down this definition a bit – “a collection of beliefs” means these are what people think about your company: Is it cool? Is it useful? Is it fun? Do I want to use it? Is it worth the money? These are people’s opinions about the company or product. When we say “people” we mean customers, users, but also partners, investors, potential members, and even the cryptocurrency community and market, in fact the whole world.
Next up is “your company,” which refers not just to you, but also to the product you’re building, the team, and what you’re bringing to the world. What I like about this definition is that it reminds us that a brand isn’t something you can “set and forget.” A brand is more like an organism that evolves as your product, team, and users grow. When you launch a product, you’re actually handing over some control of your brand because the perception of your brand becomes more complex as more people come into contact with your product.
Therefore, it is time to think about what we want the brand to convey. The core task of brand building is to actively shape people’s beliefs about our company, which is “perception management”.
When you become a larger company, you have a lot of tools at your disposal to manage your brand. These tools include visual or verbal tools that help us consistently communicate in the marketplace about who we are and how we want to be perceived.
However, since you are in the early stages of company building, there are some issues that large companies do not need to consider, but you must pay attention to.
First, you probably don’t have a large team yet. The reason big companies need these tools is because they have hundreds or thousands of employees, each of whom is representing the brand in some way, and it’s difficult to get everyone to consistently deliver the same message.
Second, you may not have a full-fledged operations function yet, so many traditional branding tools may not be useful to you for the time being.
Finally, you may still be searching for market fit and, while you may have some early customers or revenue, you haven’t fully validated your business hypothesis yet.
Therefore, what you need is a more flexible thinking framework to help you tell your story in the market, which is called “Minimum Viable Brand” (MVB). Although this word is a bit cringe, it conveys an important concept-tell your story to the world with the most basic ideas.
Your minimum viable brand needs to accomplish three things:
1. Explain why you exist
This is probably the most important thing you should focus on today. Many companies can easily say what they make, but few can clearly explain why they exist. Why do you exist? What problem are you solving? If you don’t think about these questions early on, it will be much harder to develop a consistent brand identity as your company scales.
2. Tell your story in a compelling way
This isn’t just for operational reasons, it also helps you with recruiting and fundraising issues. With competition for talent so fierce, being able to tell a compelling story is crucial.
3. Differentiate yourself from your competitors
Especially in high-stakes commoditized industries, your brand story may be the only thing that makes you stand out.
In short, brand building is an ongoing process. Proactively shaping your brand in the early stages can win you market recognition and trust.
We have determined that we need to build a “minimum viable brand” and understand why it is valuable. Now the question is, how to achieve it specifically? What do we actually want to focus on? There are two key directions:
1. The story itself
What language will we use? How will we tell the story of this brand? What ideas do we want to have in the market? How will we describe our approach to solving problems?
2. Visual Recognition
What is our brand visual identity?
Since brand storytelling is an area I work in day to day, I’ll spend more time on it and we can dive into that in depth, but I’ll keep the visual identity brief.
First, start with the brand story. The brand story is very useful for us to help us clearly define the “why” – why our brand exists, it helps us define the problem in the market and how we solve it. The brand story is also the fundamental reason for our existence. If you can express this well, you will be in a better position than most brands.
Brand storytelling also gives you a language tool that you can test and iterate on. A brand is a living thing that grows and evolves over time. Ideally, when we start out, we’ll have a set language that we use, but we’ll test that language as we speak to customers, investors, and people we trust. Through feedback, we learn which ideas resonate with people. As the product evolves, the brand language will evolve as well.
There is a third benefit of brand storytelling, which is that it can build goodwill for you among the public. This is a backup benefit, but in the worst case scenario, when a crisis occurs, if you have built a solid brand with a good reputation, public trust, and a favorite brand image, then the public will often be more willing to give you more trust and tolerance in times of crisis. Therefore, having a clear brand story is very valuable.
To better understand the process of building a brand story, let’s take a look at a familiar example – “Zora”.
How did Zora establish a unique brand in the market and continue to evolve? What are the three key steps in their brand story? Ideas that are more relevant to their business and audience.
Zora’s brand story follows three steps:
1. Clearly define the problem
When Zora first launched, it was an NFT marketplace where creators could publish their own NFT projects on this platform and people could buy and sell these works on it. Shortly after the launch, co-founder Jacob gave a speech that talked about the mindset of information ownership. He defined the problem in the market very well: platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Spotify are essentially private networks that take content created by ordinary users and monetize it in various ways, and creators are usually only rewarded through “social currency” such as likes and follows. This is the inherent cognitive model of Internet ownership and information ownership. We have not really escaped from the traditional Internet. So Zora defined the problem very well, and interestingly, they created an idea or “meme” for the new future they are pursuing, which they call the “Internet Renaissance”. This concept describes a new future in which creators will be able to use technology to control their own content distribution and their relationship with the community, so that they can enjoy the fruits of their creation. The creation of this language played a very important role in the development of Zora.
2. Propose an innovative vision
Of course, Zora did not say that they are the only ones leading the “Internet Renaissance”, but they said that they have observed the emergence of this trend. They saw this problem and how NFT and distributed network technology can break the monopoly of content control. Therefore, they decided to participate in this movement and contribute in their own way.
They explained how they were solving this problem with mission language: “Our mission is to make creation on the internet free and valuable.” From there, they created more language to explain how they were going to achieve this. They called these beliefs, some people called them values, some called them pillars, and some called them interests. This language was very detailed, well thought out, and tied to their brand.
3. Deliver on your promises with actual products
This GIF is a screenshot from a few days ago, and you can see artworks posted by many creators on Zora’s marketplace. The quality of these artworks varies, but the creators have control over these works and distribute the content by building relationships with collectors. Therefore, this simple three-step process – define the problem, explain the solution, and prove its effectiveness through products, constitutes an effective way to think about brand stories.
If you want to learn more about how these languages are built, I recommend focusing on three areas.
1. Clarify our why
This will be the part you need to spend the most time thinking about. Again define the problem and define how we can solve it.
2. Explain the benefits of your product
What do we offer to the market? Why would a user want to use our product? What is the value of our product? Why would a user choose our product over other products?
3. Define your brand’s tone of voice
This is often an overlooked point in brand strategy. What is important is not only the content you want to express, but also the language and expression you use. We need to first understand who our target audience is, and then adjust the tone of our speech according to their characteristics. In short, it is to communicate with different people in different ways.
Next up is the visual identity part. I expect most of you will want to work with a design partner because you are here to build great crypto products, not because you are visual designers. If you happen to have both skills, great, but in most cases you will probably need to work with a design partner. You may also work with a strategic partner on your brand story, but you will almost certainly work with an external design partner on developing your visual identity.
There are several factors to consider when choosing a design partner.
1. Target audience
If you’re building a product to help crypto enthusiasts buy shitcoin, your brand’s visual identity and style will be very different than a product aimed at institutional investors. So think very carefully about the needs and preferences of your target audience.
2. Competitor Analysis
Look at what your competitors are doing in the space. What is their brand style? What do you like and don’t like? What styles are common in the industry? Is there anything you can do that is different and recognizable?
3. Brand atmosphere
When working on a creative brief with your design partner, be clear about the brand vibe and energy you want to convey. If you’ve done the work of defining your brand story, this will provide a great framework to guide the design work. For example, Zora’s brand story is about making internet creation free and valuable, which provided a great creative brief for designers.
By following these steps, you can effectively define and present your brand story to stand out in the market.
For example, let’s take a look at a very successful brand – Party.
Party is a tool that allows users to work together on-chain. Their mission is to make crypto a multiplayer game (“multiplayer”), which is a great brand language. Through this language, they make it easy for users to work together to buy, sell, and manage assets.
There are a few key points here that are very smart.
1. It’s closely tied to the brand story
If the whole concept is about multiple people working together to accomplish tasks and bringing the community on-chain, they chose a logo that shows four different cursors moving in the same direction. This visual expression makes a very intuitive connection to the story they are telling, showing a very thoughtful connection and making the brand image even stronger.
2. They designed a very flexible system
This is something that really stood out to me, and I would have admired anyone who could develop such a strong brand identity system at this point. They built a system that allowed for extreme flexibility in their visual communications. They designed separate logos for the company, the app, the mascot Kazoo, and the underlying open source license. They even designed a quality seal, similar to the ones on the covers or boxes of early Nintendo games. As a result, any communication that comes from Party is very distinctive and cannot be confused with any other brand. No matter what content you see, as long as it comes from Party, you will recognize it immediately. This is because they spent a lot of time thinking about how the visual system should be presented.
This is even more important if you’re building a consumer-facing brand as opposed to a B2B brand. I guess if you’re building something related to ZK proofs, you probably don’t need to think about branding as much, but if you’re building a consumer-facing product, this kind of visual system is especially valuable.
Here are some factors you may want to consider:
The first is the logo, the symbol that represents the brand may be an icon, a word mark or a combination of both.
The second is color matching, thinking about the color combination of the official website, presentations and other communication content.
Finally, when it comes to fonts, most companies will use two or more fonts to create contrast between headlines and body copy.
Finally, I want to share some scattered thoughts and do a Q&A based on them.
1. Avoid using an existing brand story
Once a big brand comes up with a catchy concept in the market, a bunch of people will soon follow suit and say they are doing the same thing. For example, companies like Coinbase and a16z successfully came up with some catchy concepts in their early days, such as “building a new Internet” and “making finance freer and fairer.” Therefore, if someone still uses these concepts now, it will seem unoriginal and unattractive.
2. Be careful with naming issues
If your company, team, and project all use the same name, it may be confusing. Many lending protocols have similar problems. Different names help to better distinguish and understand them, such as the naming differences between OpenSea and SeaPort, Party App and Party Protocol, which avoids this problem well.
3. Avoid following current trends
Just like a few years ago, many brands built their image around buzzwords like “GM” and “WAGMI”, which now look outdated. Your brand should not just be popular for a short time, but build an image that can attract people for a long time.
4. Brand story should evolve with product development
The story you tell today doesn’t have to be relevant in two or three years. It should be adaptable to the present. You should be open to your ideas and be ready to adjust and change over time.
I mentioned before that visual identity is especially important for consumer-facing businesses. B2B brands are more about expressing clear functionality than creating a certain “cool” atmosphere. But if you are building a consumer-facing business, visual identity is very important, especially in a competitive market where you need to stand out by telling a unique brand story.
Finally, you may need to seek professional help with design. You may want to consider working with a partner who specializes in strategy or design. But be aware that some small agencies may charge high fees, such as $50,000, just to help you build a brand, which may not be the most economical option.
Therefore, I suggest that you don’t rush to invest a lot of money. You can wait until the company gets the A round of financing, or even the C round of financing before considering investing in the brand. The specific timing of investment should be determined by how much money you are willing to invest in brand building.
When choosing a partner, you should look for individuals or small teams that you trust and whose tastes and thinking align with yours. Once you decide to work with a partner, ask them to show you their work and listen to how they built their brand and brand story. This will help you determine if their ideas match yours, as this partnership is crucial to the quality of the final product.
Also, be wary. If someone claims to be an agency or independent consulting firm (which is what I usually call them), be careful because they may try to increase their prices. Always do your due diligence and evaluation when choosing a partner.
Finally, I want to take the pressure off a little bit. This can be a lot of information, especially if you’ve never thought about branding before. It can feel a little overwhelming.
But the good news is that we are focusing on the short term right now and you should focus on closing your next round of financing.
So, after Demo Day, stop thinking about the distant future and focus on the next few months. Brand building often requires a large investment because many agencies will try to help you build a brand that will last for 3 to 5 years. But the reality is that if you don’t know if your product meets market demand, it’s hard enough to predict the next 18 months, let alone three years from now. Therefore, you should focus on shorter time periods, give yourself the freedom and flexibility to focus on what is currently effective, and then gradually improve and develop along the way.
Q&A
Q: What do you think about using AI to generate brand designs, like with tools like MidJourney, to create a brand identity for your next round of funding?
If you mean using a tool like MidJourney to build your brand identity, here’s my take:If you are really good at generating cues and can make the design look like it is not AI generated, then it is indeed possibleSome designers do this very well. However, if they fail to do so, AI-generated designs may reduce the perceived value of your brand.
Therefore, I recommend caution. If it were me, I would prefer to spend time focusing on a detailed design process.Create a simple yet powerful logorather than choosing designs that look complex but are obviously AI-generated.
As a startup, we can consider working with designers to create visual elements around the brand DNA and ensure that the design is in line with the core spirit of the brand. The key to operating this process is efficiency, getting a complete brand core report, and extracting the main visual and design direction of the brand from it. At the specific implementation level, you can consider whether to choose to work with a freelance designer every few weeks, hire a full-time designer, or work with a design agency. These are all optional options, depending on resources and needs.
The challenge is that as an early-stage startup, we usually need to work with an agency to learn about frameworks such as brand positioning and brand values. These are very important for startups. The first step in working with startups is usually to identify the core elements of the brand and then build a brand image around these elements.
Your situation may be different, but when I work with early-stage companies, my advice is usually not to jump into the nitty-gritty of execution, like a mission or positioning statement, but to help you gain confidence in your brand storytelling and make sure you can tell it well in a variety of contexts.
Q: How do you build a community in the process of introducing smart contracts to people who don’t know about them?
This is an interesting question, especially considering that they only knew about Bitcoin before. When you build something that is very abstract and lacks existing metaphors, your task is to build those metaphors. For example, a technology like ZK (zero-knowledge proof) is a good example. Companies like Aztec have successfully found a mental shortcut to make their technical functions easier to understand when dealing with ZK technology. You can talk about multi-party computation and specific mathematical processes, which is useful for some users, but it is also important to explain why the technology works and why it is valuable. Like the analogy of smart contracts, it is like a self-executing machine that completes the task as long as the conditions are met, without the intervention of a third party. Ethereum went through a similar process, they had to find a metaphor to explain what smart contracts are, what account abstraction is, and what all these technical concepts are. By emphasizing a new framework for handling the flow of money, they made its core value understandable to those who don’t understand technology.For multiple audiences – including ordinary users and developers – messages need to be handled at different levels.For general users, you can focus on the practical application scenarios of the technology, while for developers, you can go into the technical details. This way you can ensure that your explanations are comprehensive and easy to understand.
Q: In the “why, how, what” framework, what is the balance between these three parts when telling your story?
That’s a good question. The maturity of an industry is a good shortcut to determine the focus. If you’re building a brand new category, then the “why” will be more important because it’s the easiest part to connect to. For example, when you’re solving an abstract problem, the core of the company lies here. For early-stage categories, the focus should be on the “why.” If there is some competition in your market, then the “how” is more important. If your approach, methodology, or delivery method is different, then the “how” becomes more prominent. And the “what” is usually most useful in categories with less competition, such as the operation of functional sports drinks, where you will talk more about the “what.” That said, all three parts should be covered, but you can focus on one depending on the specific situation.
For example, you can better communicate your company’s core values and mission by saying “We’re solving a pain point that’s not being addressed.”
Q: When building new layers of data, should new narratives be adopted if existing metaphors no longer apply?
That’s a good question.If you find that your existing metaphors aren’t working well enough, try a new storytelling method.For example, if your data layer solves a different problem than existing “oracles” on the market, you can highlight this. You can choose different strategies, such as: “We solve this problem differently than the other seven competitors.” This strategy not only highlights your uniqueness, but also avoids direct comparison with existing competitors. Just as the data we provide is not just data, but a new way to turn data into value, this narrative can help you highlight your unique characteristics.
Q: How do you build your brand when facing a community that is nervous about crypto-related language?
If your target group is resistant to crypto, consider reducing the visibility of the technology so that its presence is no longer important to the solution you offer. For example, you can focus on how to use these technologies to provide practical solutions instead of emphasizing the crypto itself. In addition, you can educate them to understand how you are different from your competitors and how your crypto adds value. This approach can help you overcome the group’s nervousness about crypto and effectively communicate your brand values.
Q: How do you balance the decision of whether to change the name when the company name no longer fully matches the business direction?
The classic answer is “it depends.” But generally speaking, if your company has built a reputation around your brand, that reputation is valuable and worth preserving. If the name is completely inconsistent with the existing business direction (for example, the company was called “Sports Drink Manufacturers” and now makes hockey balls), then you should really consider changing the name.
But if the distance between your name and your original business isn’t too great, or your name is fairly descriptive, consider crafting messaging around this issue rather than changing your name and giving up on the brand equity you’ve built.
Many people change their names, which is a common phenomenon. We can further explore the specific messaging methods for name changes.
