Walk the Talk

"When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck." James Whitcomb Riley

Most everyone has heard that quote before, maybe in it's shortened form, "...if it walks like a duck..." but what does it have to do with marketing and branding?

Well, it's quite simple - all the elements of your marketing speak to your brand, if they are all saying the same thing, then you are walking the walk and talking the talk.

If you're a duck, there's things you don't have such as scaly skin, hoofs for feet, lips for a mouth and whistle or bark. That's because those attributes are not duck-like. If it quacks like a duck... it must be a duck. Your quack needs to be specific to your brand.

In branding, you have to talk the talk, meaning you need to communicate your brand essence in everything you do and then you must walk the talk, meaning you need to follow through on the promises made by your communications. The duck does this quite well, by being consistent in it's quack.

Now, don't get what we're saying wrong, we don't advocate conformity and being the same as everyone else - quite the opposite, you need to be different or better to succeed in branding. But whatever you are, you need to communicate it consistently and accurately, reinforcing your quack... whatever it is.