Staying true to your brand values

An interesting thing happened at work. It sounds corny, but our MCM program has truly made me think of things differently, go next level, or at least ask more questions, and I kind of love it.

I’m the swag business. Our clients include the Amazons, Microsofts, and Googles of the world, but also tiny craft breweries, college clubs, hospitals, non-profits. Basically, anyone that wants their brand on a product or garment, highly custom cut and sew projects produced overseas or coffee mugs with a three-day turnaround, we make it happen. Corporate America loves us and we love them right back. It can be stressful, but it’s a fun job that allows me to be creative and figure out how to tell my clients’ stories in unique ways. Rarely is there something we can’t do for a client. Until today.

I had to tell a client we can’t produce the branded apparel they want. It was totally out of my control and I was pretty caught off guard by the whole thing. A little backstory: We partner with major brands to deliver high-quality product when requested and/or when brand appropriate for our clients. Brands like Arc’teryx, Tumi, Filson, Nike, Peter Millar, and Patagonia, to name a few. Some of these brands are specific about who they share branded real estate with and Patagonia is notorious for reserving the right to refuse to partner with clients they feel don’t share the same values they do. I heard about this when I first started because my co-worker was dealing with an issue at the time, but I haven’t really given it much thought since. Again, until today.

Today I had to tell a client of mine in the financial tech industry that after Patagonia fulfilled their last reorder, we were informed they will no longer be able to partner the fin-tech firm. Patagonia gave us little to no info regarding why. All they said was aspects of our client’s business do not align with their corporate values, and they do not want their brand used alongside our client’s. It was a hard message to deliver that I scrutinized over before hitting send, and the client was pissed. They’re a trendy, young, Chicago-based start-up and they want their Patagucci, damnit.

Even though I won’t be making commission off a large puffy jacket embroidery order, ultimately, Patagonia earned a place in my heart. Patagonia consistently stands up for what they value as a company and they do not make exceptions. They take care of their employees and are firm in what they believe. I asked around and this happened to another girl on my team with one of her fancy NYC finance clients. Apparently one of her client’s investments funded a real estate project in South America that wiped out a dam. Patagonia pulled the plug on co-branding with my colleague’s client with no exceptions.

Brand values are important, and they can lose their meaning when they’re not consistently upheld. This was a good reminder as we start piecing together the bulk of our final 541 projects, that not only is consistency throughout our planned media important, but staying true to our brand’s values and mission must be paramount if we want them to be taken seriously.