When everyone on your team is tuned into the mission, goals, and differentiators that help define your brand, opportunities will continuously arise to make brand connections and highlight your brand identity. For example, we live by the following philosophy:

"Although the stripes on the zebra are unique, when the zebras are grouped together it's difficult to distinguish one from another. In the wild, this increases the chance for survival. In business, it means certain death." ~CEO Jeff Goss

As a result of this founding principle, we often incorporate this image into our marketing materials:

This philosophy and reference to zebras has helped shape our entire brand identity. We have zebra rugs that greet everyone in our foyer. We also utilize this image in the books we send out, and the black-and-white color scheme helps define our website and digital assets, too.

Thanks to this focus, our entire team is tuned in to looking for brand connections in their everyday lives. Last week, an opportunity presented itself when three of our team members all showed up wearing black and white. So, we snapped this photo:

Besides just being a great photo of some of our team, the colors, rug, and "G" symbol in the background all reinforce our brand identity in their own ways. Without the zebra-related philosophy, this picture wouldn't have come to fruition because it wouldn't be a marketing point that we were aware of internally. As Deluxe Connection explained in their article, "6 Reasons Why a Strong Brand is Important for Your Small Business":

"Branding inspires employees. Many employees need more than just work--they need something to work toward. When employees understand your mission and reason for being, they are more likely to feel that same pride and work in the same direction to achieve the goals you have set. Having a strong brand is like turning the company logo into a flag the rest of the company can rally around."

What's your flag that your team can rally behind?