Thankyou has bravely flipped the script and is playing by its own clear rules, rather than operating within the traditional and often limiting guidelines followed by other brands. It is redefining a unique narrative in a context that serves both the brand and the consumer. By doubling down on its core purpose, it’s also redefining the competition, focusing ten-fold on the five percent that makes it different.
In short, Thankyou has written a purpose-driven rulebook that has given the brand freedom to operate and communicate with clarity and confidence. So, what can other businesses learn from this strategy?
1. To flip the script, you need to really know who you are
Fortune favours the brave, but brands need to be confident and clear on their unique purpose first. They require robust frames of reference to anchor their purpose and identity in a way that feels genuine and is meaningful for consumers. This, in turn, helps both existing and prospective consumers consider who they are and understand how they relate to the brand, driving action.
2. When you know who you are, you have the freedom to truly be yourself
Convention, today’s narrative, dictates that rules are restrictive. They’re boundaries and limitations placed on us, and not necessarily with positive outcomes. But if convention is turned on its head, those restrictive boundaries can become clarity, clarity evolves into focus and focus stimulates limitless thinking and a whole world of possibility. While this may feel counter intuitive, it’s important to remember that rules don’t need to equal rigidity. They can also enable agility.
3. The rulebook is your key to boundless creativity
When we’re playing a game, whether it’s Monopoly or a sporting match, we set up the basic rules that define the boundaries – or the playground – within which the interactions between the players happen. In the same way, brands need to build their own rulebook by which to operate. When done well, creative thinking will benefit. Equal measures of focus and restraint – the rules of the brand’s particular game – provide a safe space for new ideas and the possibility to grow.
4. Your people are your most valuable players – keep them focused
Real growth, we know, lies in unlocking the potential of your people. Renowned management consultant, Peter Drucker, said it best: “The most successful company is not the one with the most brains, but the most brains acting in concert”. Purpose is an organising concept that focuses people. Think of it as your rulebook that ensures all your players are working together to achieve a common goal.
