S7 E21: Brands and Bias — Avoiding Blindspots in Branding with N. Chloé Nwangwu
Jun 13, 2023
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N. Chloé Nwangwu, the Brand Scientist and Director of NobiWorks, offers a fresh perspective on branding with a focus on visibility and biases. She shares insights on employing behavioral science to enhance brand strategies, emphasizing the importance of inclusivity and authentic representation. The conversation dives into visibility engineering, mentorship dynamics, and the significance of understanding diverse perspectives in branding efforts. Nwangwu asserts that outdated practices must evolve to promote genuine diversity and social impact in the industry.
N. Chloé Nwangwu emphasizes the integration of behavioral science and data-driven strategies to enhance brand visibility and counter biases.
The conversation critiques traditional Ideal Client Avatars, advocating for stakeholder spectrums to capture a more nuanced audience understanding.
Chloé highlights the importance of recognizing visibility biases, urging brand strategists to foster inclusivity and address under-recognition in branding.
Deep dives
Understanding the Role of the Brand Scientist
Chloe Wangwu, known as the brand scientist, merges behavioral science and brand strategy to create impactful visibility strategies for her clients. By utilizing telemetry, semiotics, and network science, she aims to help brands become impossible to ignore. Her consultancy, Nobi Works, is dedicated to equipping under-recognized brands with scientifically grounded systems that neutralize visibility biases, ensuring they effectively capture and retain the audience's attention. This strategy not only enhances brand visibility but also shifts the paradigm around who gets recognized in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
The Importance of Data in Brand Strategy
Chloe emphasizes the necessity for a data-driven approach in branding, contrasting traditional creative direction with empirical research and user tests. Many designers rely on instinct and creativity alone, often neglecting the underlying behavioral science that can inform their strategies. Chloe advocates for integrating user testing and focus groups into the design process to create a solid foundation of data that can support decision-making. This data-centric method is vital for understanding the true needs of diverse audiences, leading to more inclusive and effective branding outcomes.
The Invisible Bias in Brand Recognition
Chloe introduces the concept of visibility biases, highlighting how cognitive shortcuts often lead to the overlooking of certain demographics, affecting brand recognition. This issue can result in significant gaps in attention and engagement, particularly for marginalized groups. An empirical study found that white Americans are 33% more likely to overlook their Black peers, revealing a troubling trend in visibility that brands must address. For Chloe, recognizing and understanding these biases is crucial for any brand aiming to create an inclusive strategy that resonates with all potential audiences.
Transforming Ideal Client Avatars into Stakeholder Spectrums
The conversation critiques the conventional practice of creating Ideal Client Avatars (ICAs), suggesting they may limit a brand’s understanding of its audience. Instead, Chloe proposes using stakeholder spectrums to map out various characteristics of target audiences beyond demographics. This approach provokes deeper analysis, encouraging brands to consider who is being overlooked and why. By employing this strategy, brand designers can foster a richer understanding of their audience, leading to more meaningful connections and effective branding efforts.
Creating Impactful Change in the Branding Industry
Chloe emphasizes the responsibility of brand strategists to shape the future, highlighting the need for a broader perspective in their work. Each decision made within branding can ripple out, affecting how communities perceive and interact with brands. Investigating biases and the status quo is essential for creating change, as is sharing insights publicly to encourage discussion in the design community. Ultimately, fostering an awareness of under-recognition in branding practices can empower every designer to contribute to a more inclusive and equitable industry.
N. Chloé Nwangwu is the Brand Scientist, a brand visibility and Digital Diplomacy (like actual diplomacy!) advisor who unabashedly believes brands and visibility strategies not built with power dynamics and biases in mind should consider the old Thanos snap treatment. In this episode Jen interviews N. Chloé about how brand practitioners can be on the lookout for blindspots in brands and bias.