The Water Goes By, But the River Stays
A brand is a promise.
It’s like a river, we visit to relax; we might not say what brings us back. It could be the view, the quiet, the crystal clear water that moves by slow and deep. Yet we return with an expectation.
We come back to the river because we trust that those qualities we value will be fundamentally the same.
Small changes over time are often enjoyable. The trees may grow, flower, change color. The animals may come and go. The water moves by and slowly changes the terrain. Still we find the beautiful, peaceful place we came to enjoy.
It’s a familiar and consistent experience despite any subtle change.
A sticky brand is like that river.
A sticky brand changes subtly over time yet, the core values stay familiar — that customers trust in the experience goes without saying.
Without that core consistency, not only is a brand not sticky. It’s really not a brand. A brand is a promise we can rely on.
Liz Strauss
