The twin strands of a company’s DNA.

Even the most mundane B2B brand generates shareholder value. 30 to 40 percent of the value of any share market in the world is generated by brands. Nike’s brand, being a mass consumer brand, generates 70 percent of its shareholder value.

Given those figures, why wouldn’t a company put brand development in the boardroom and on the agenda?

But to reap the true value of brand development, a company’s business and brand strategies should be developed together, informing each other, so that they become the twin strands of the company’s DNA.

Nike is the perfect example of that, which is why I reference the company. It’s impossible to separate Nike’s product from its brand. The two strands of its DNA build each other.

Is the most valuable thing Nike manufactures these days is inspiration? Quite possibly. But then again, what would its inspiration be without its constant innovation?

One thing is certain though. By bringing inspiration into the company, making it central to its business strategy, it has transformed the fortunes of Nike in ways that Philip Knight and Bill Bowerman could not have dreamt of when they were first developing running shoes in the 1960s.

Inspiration and innovation form for Nike what Rita Clifton, former Chairman of Interbrand calls “the central organising principle by which competitive advantage is stitched into everything a company does – in products and services, in people and behaviour, in environments and channels and, of course, in communications.”

This is why I like to do what I do:

Help companies develop the brands that will help them develop their businesses.