Maxim Behar: Brand is what people talk about you when you are not in the room

Maxim Behar's Message at the Exclusive Annual Branding Conference, "Brand Talks 2023"

Good day! PR makes the world go round - I firmly believe that. I've been in business for 30 years, as you know well. When we started our business, we began in a small kitchen, with my desk between the fridge and the washing machine. From there, we reached the point where we now work with large international clients, though they are not the focus here. What matters most is that we have gained tremendous experience over these 30 years. Ultimately, we have always worked for brands. We have been developing our brand, "M3 Communications." Naturally, with ups and downs throughout all these years, we have also worked for our clients' brands. If we go back 15 years ago, we can all see that today's world is literally turned upside down - in how we carry out our projects, write press releases, host events, and press conferences. Throughout the years, we've organized events for 5000 people and for 5 people. The events for 5 people are far more complicated than those for 5000 because those 5 people must be the right ones. And it has always been about branding. What is a "brand," after all? A brand is what people say when you're not in the room; that's the truth. All of us who produce products and services or engage in various activities are surrounded by people telling us how great we are. And we tell ourselves that we have succeeded and how well we've done things. But the truth is, to objectively evaluate our brand, we must seek as many independent opinions as possible to understand where we stand. This is the reality.

There's a story from 25 years ago when Johnny Carson interviewed the founder of the large hotel chain "Hilton," Conrad Hilton, and at the end, he gave him 20 seconds to tell 40 million viewers what is most important about his brand. Hilton looks at the camera and says, "Please, put the shower curtain inside the tub. Too much water spills out. Thank you very much!" This is one of the best examples of pragmatism that I know. He didn't want the water to leak because it bothered him. If you've recently stayed at a Hilton hotel, you'll see that there are now two curtains inside the tubs. One is thin and goes inside; the other is waterproof and stays outside. At the core of every brand lies pragmatism – knowing what you want to achieve with it, and these are often simple things.

We were talking about rebranding. I am a strong opponent of rebranding, and perhaps this is one of the reasons we have kept our logo for 30 years. I've been offered to change the color and the brand. Some say the name "M3 Communications Group" is too long, but I developed it back then. Since then, we've had many companies with better names, but I decided to keep it. It had symbolism, and it was the first one back in 1994.

Every brand should have a bit of pragmatism because my second definition of a brand is that the brand is what we do. These are our services, products, relationships with colleagues and clients, and nothing more. If we make lousy products, they don't sell, receive a lot of criticism, aren't competitive, can't survive in the market, or don't have a good market share – we don't have a brand. We can advertise from morning to night as much as we want. When they hear "brand," many people start thinking of the ten definitions I've read or heard over the past few days as I reflect on what we should discuss today. These are often about how the logo looks, the slogan, and the messages, but in my opinion, that's not the case. The brand is what we do, produce, and how we produce it.

Here, I place a significant emphasis on the ethics of how we do things. It may sound abstract because if we have a strong brand and selling, why do we need ethics? But you know the iron rule – you can build a brand for 20 years only to destroy it in 20 seconds. That's why we need to invest enormous effort daily – literally 24/7 – to guard our brand and how it is perceived. We create the best products and the best services; we're great, we're innovative, and we're number one in the market. We might be 55th in the market tomorrow if someone takes to social media and starts spreading falsehoods about us.

Nowadays, everyone combines 3 roles or jobs that no one would have thought possible.

First, we are publishers because a publisher's characteristic is owning media, and we all own social media.

Second, we are all editors because we create content for these media. This means we have an editorial mindset. It's true; many people have a drink or two in the evening, sit behind the monitor at 11 PM, and start posting nonsense on social media. But they are a separate category that is gradually disappearing. The more transparent and personalized the media becomes, the more this category will disappear.

Third, we are reporters. The word "reporter" comes from the verb "to report," which means conveying something. We are all creating news.

Given this attribute – that we are a mix of editors, publishers, and reporters – we must know very well that whether it's our client's brand, our brand, Ivan Petrov's brand, or Peter Ivanov's brand – we must monitor it 24/7. Not only should we be watching the forums to see if someone will criticize us and write something nasty, but we should also try innovatively and interestingly to tell stories about our services, products, and all the other elements they have.

I mentioned ethics because, in recent years, ethical business practices have proven extremely important in how people perceive brands or products. One of the modern world's most significant changes and most accurate characteristics is its transparency. 10-20 years ago, you could take something under the table or make shady deals. If a product wasn't good and someone wrote an article about it, people would forget because no one would look for the newspaper or TV show. Today, everything remains transparent.

By the way, 22 years ago, I wrote Bulgaria's first business ethics standard. I knew exactly what was happening and what was coming. I knew that business in Bulgaria needed ethical rules. At the time, I met with Prince Charles, and instead of bringing him a jar of honey or rose oil as a gift, I wrote this standard and gave it to him. You remember when King Simeon II was Prime Minister. I've always been amazed that during his four years in office, he had this business ethics standard behind him in the Council of Ministers. People usually keep pictures of national heroes such as Vasil Levski, Hristo Botev, or an orthodox Christian icon. Back then, I traveled all over Bulgaria - to all 28 regions – to explain business ethics. People would ask me to explain it in simple terms, and I came up with this definition: make profits transparently. And this is directly related to branding and the power a brand carries. We must make profits, pay salaries, develop businesses, pay taxes, etc. If we do it transparently, the same applies to brands. If we present our brands transparently and professionally and care for them, it's not just about making the best product and ignoring social media, forums, or anything else. It's 24/7 care for the brand and swift reactions.

In conclusion, three things are essential for a brand, and these are the three S's I came up with about 20 years ago. The more time passes, the more I am convinced that they work exceptionally well for maintaining any brand: speed, simplicity, and self-confidence.

Speed: Remember that we live in times where everything must be done quickly, especially when making decisions. Some may remember that in 2009, I wrote a book on Facebook, which was later published – "111 Rules." The first rule was that the worst decision is better than no decision. That's the speed with which we make decisions, even respond to emails, decide what to do with our products and services, and how to position the brand. Imagine thinking for a month about what to do with our brand and how to position it better. During this time, others will have done a million things while we are still thinking, making strategies, and PowerPoint presentations. I stopped making such presentations back in 2009. At a forum in Davos, Switzerland, someone expressed discontent with me using them, and since then, I stopped. However, many things can pass by while making these presentations and slides.

Number two – Simplicity. We are overwhelmed with information. If you search for the definition of "brand" on Google, you will see 150,000 definitions from different people. We need to simplify things so that we know what to do and what our priorities are. We protect our brand, but how do we protect it? We need to have a simple understanding of what we want to achieve. Not 500 things – it should be 3 things.

The third, which I always mention first, is Self-confidence. The topic was "Do you hear your brand screaming?" Yes, all brands scream and are powerful. I don't know of a brand that has succeeded without self-confidence. If you don't have self-confidence nowadays, you are a loser. You can create the best product, and no one will know about it. However, this self-confidence must be based on actual professional capabilities, qualities, and the strength of the brand we represent.

Finally, my third definition of a brand is—it's you. Each one of us is a brand. And this brand must be nurtured every day, every minute, every second if we want to be a brand. If not, we will be on the other side, observing the brands. Every day, millions of brands worldwide fall, and as many emerge. The important thing is to decide on which side we want to be on.

This is just the beginning of our conversation. I'm very easy to find, and you can reach me anywhere on social media. If you'd like to continue this conversation, I'd be happy to do so. I wish you a pleasant day and a successful forum!

 Watch the full video here.