Are you a brand that uses technology, or a technology company with a brand?

This is the most important question. Most brands get it wrong. They believe they are in the technology business.

They are not.

The Piano

In the 19th century, piano makers sold ornate wooden boxes with keys. They sold wires and hammers. They sold craftsmanship.

Steinway did not.

Steinway sold access to the artist within. The technology, the box, the keys, was the same. But the promise was different.

One sold an instrument. The other sold immortality.

The Two Paths

1. The Technology Company with a Brand

This is most companies. You build a platform. An app. A tool. You talk about features. You talk about speed and data.

Your brand is a thin coat of paint on the technology.

This is a dangerous path. It is a race. Someone will always build a faster, cheaper, newer box. Your technology will become a commodity.

2. The Brand that Uses Technology

This is rare. This is Steinway.

Here, the promise comes first. The brand is the core. The technology is just the tool you use to deliver that promise.

If your promise is "community," you might use an app. Or a physical store. Or a newsletter. The tool does not matter. The promise does.

When the technology changes, you do not die. You simply pick up a new tool.

Look at what you sell.

Are you selling the code, or the new freedom that code enables?

Are you selling the platform, or the connection it creates?

Are you selling the box, or the music?

What promise does your technology actually enable? And is your brand built to deliver it?