Is Your Brand Sexy?

It should be.

I can already hear people saying, “I’m a consultant. I don’t want to be sexy, I want to be professional, knowledgeable. I want to command respect.” I’ve worked with corporations who said they didn’t want to be sexy because they had to be professional. In the right context, your knowledge and professionalism are sexy. They command respect because to the right people they are sexy, especially when your identity makes them so.

What is sexy, really? It’s what turns us on, what stimulates emotional connections. ‘Sexy’ is defined differently by each person. What is sexy to you and me, or your neighbor, friend or really anyone is likely very different.

Brands are sexy. They appeal to the various senses, values, and intricacies of our personalities. I’m not just talking about what appeals to us in a romantic or animalistic sense. Rather, I’m referring to the unique aspects of our personalities. One of a brand’s primary functions is to appeal to those unique intricacies.

It’s not all about curves and six-pack abs. Sexy can mean intelligent design, utilitarian functionality, freaking awesome ease-of-use, slick surfaces, or a smooth delivery. It can mean strength of character, clear purpose, infectious desire, or inherent trust. Sexy brands can take your breath away or fill up your soul.

Brands do all of these things because they appeal to our unique core desires while filling a need. What is at the very center of our basic needs? Desire and survival instinct. Well-crafted brands appeal to these basics, and the basics can be applied to nearly anything.

When your brand is sexy, your employees take greater interest and invest their own identities in it. When your employees are invested, it comes across in their commitment and their communication. A sexy brand turns on employees’ imaginations. It ignites their motivation, so they can fuel their innate desire to give their best efforts towards achieving your vision of your company.

How is your brand sexy?