ASICS' Executive Vice President of Marketing, Gary Raucher, in his first column for MAD//Insight, believes the key to building a strong brand is consistency. Saying the same thing again, and again and again. It's not boring - the strongest brands in the world are masters of plain old repetition.

The strongest brands are the ones that have developed a story which is relevant, authentic, and differentiating.  And they recognise that when you have a powerful story to tell, you probably shouldn’t mess with it too much.  So, they stick to the same story, repeating it again and again…always looking for new ways to tell the same story.

David Ogilvy famously said, “Give me the freedom of a tight brief.”  So, it’s no wonder that one of Ogilvy’s longest standing clients, Dove, is a great example of a brand that is always finding creative ways to consistently tell its story.  Dove’s Real Beauty narrative hasn’t wavered for the last 20 years.  And this consistent brief has led to countless award-winning creative ideas which have driven both brand metrics and business results.

This model of success for Dove has been an inspiration for me and my team at ASICS.

We started by crystallizing our own brand narrative.  One which is not only highly differentiated from other sports brands, but also extremely relevant and incredibly authentic.

The world of sports has historically been a sea of sameness.  Almost all brands have fallen into one of two brand archetypes:  the “rulers” who celebrate winning as the only thing that matters, and the “heroes” who suggest that if you put in enough blood, sweat, and tears, then one day you too might transform yourself into a winner. 

ASICS recruited Brian Cox to to motivate office workers to move for their minds.

It’s a world where good enough, and limits can’t just be reached; they need to be stretched and smashed and broken. And in the past, ASICS has fallen into this sea of sameness too. But not anymore.

ASICS is fundamentally different from every other sports brand in the world. And it goes right back to our roots and our founding philosophy.

We have always been a “caregiver” brand, focused on supporting more people to move so that they feel better – both physically and mentally.  It’s why we were founded, and why we are called ASICS from the Latin “Anima Sana in Corpore Sano” or a “Sound Mind in a Sound Body”.

And 75 years on, we believe that our focus on the mind and our role as a caregiver is more relevant today than ever before.

Which is why our story is focused on differentiating ASICS as the sports brand that champions movement for the mind.  And for the last few years, we have committed to consistently tell this same story again, and again.

The way we bring the story to life, however, is different with every campaign.  We are constantly looking for new, culturally relevant ideas that communicate our “Movement for Mind” story in unexpected ways.

For example, we recently recruited Brian Cox to motivate office workers to move for their minds.  Brian delivers a powerful Public Service Announcement that raises awareness about the importance of taking a “Desk Break”, a short movement break during the working day, in order to improve mental health.

The integrated Desk Break campaign, developed together with Golin London, conveys our core brand story, but in a way that feels culturally relevant and fresh.  And while we are pleased to see the tremendously positive reaction to the campaign, we are already busy working on the next one.  Which will again be based upon the same, tight brief.

Because we will continue to find new and exciting ways to tell the same old story. Again, and again and again.

Gary will be writing a column for MAD//Insight throughout the year.