Branding Masterclass for AI Founders: Why Efficiency Isn't Enough

"You could stop a thousand people on the street and ask them what they want in life and no one is going to say, 'I really wish I was more efficient.'" - Cara Smith

Today, founders are racing to create the next groundbreaking product.

But amidst the frenzy of development and feature optimization, many are falling into a dangerous trap: the efficiency obsession.

Just an example

What surprised me was how often, this focus on productivity gains can be myopic and limiting, moreover, it's potentially fatal for your brand. Here’s what I’ve learned why efficiency alone won't cut it, and how AI founders can craft brands that truly resonate with their audience.

People Buy Feelings, Not Features

When it comes to building a brand that sticks, emotion is your secret weapon. Cara Smith, co-founder of branding agency Smith and Diction, puts it bluntly:

"To me, the main difference between fine copy and good copy is what's the emotion? What's the feeling that's behind it?"

This insight is crucial for AI founders who often get caught up in the technical capabilities of their products.

Consider this:

while your AI might be able to process tasks 10x faster than a human, that fact alone won't make someone fall in love with your brand (Although Garry from YCombinator would say that’s a must have).

People don't wake up in the morning dreaming about being more efficient. They dream about feeling empowered, creative, or connected. Your branding needs to tap into these deeper human desires.

Your Brand Is More Than Just Your Logo, it's How People See You

"Everybody has a brand. Brand is simply how people see you,"

This perspective shift is vital for AI founders who might be tempted to think branding is just about creating a sleek logo or choosing the right color palette.

Your brand encompasses every interaction a person has with your company. It's the tone of your customer service emails, the user experience of your app, and yes, even the efficiency of your AI. But it's also about the emotions you evoke and the stories you tell.

For AI founders, this means considering how your technology makes people feel, not just what it can do.

Crafting a Verbal Identity That Resonates Beyond Efficiency

One of the most powerful tools in your branding arsenal is your verbal identity.

"Verbal identity is once you cross that line between talking to your internal audience or maybe your partners and talking to your external audience, right? So that's what is your website going to say? What's the tone that you use?"

This goes far beyond a catchy tagline. It's about developing a consistent voice and personality that speaks directly to your audience's needs and aspirations.

Take Gamma, an AI-powered presentation tool. Instead of focusing solely on how quickly it can create slides, their branding revolves around the idea of "get your ideas out there."

This speaks to a deeper desire of their target audience – educators and non-designers who have valuable ideas but struggle with the technical aspects of presentation creation.

Developing a strong verbal identity allows you to maintain a consistent voice across all platforms, helping to build trust and recognition with your audience.

For AI companies, this might mean finding ways to humanize complex technology or articulating your ethical stance on AI development.

Moving Beyond Generic AI Aesthetics and Use Design That Tells a Story

"I always just try to make sure that our logos have like a 10% strange thing about them," says Mike Smith, discussing his approach to logo design.

In a sea of generic AI company logos featuring abstract geometric shapes or glowing orbs, this philosophy of intentional uniqueness can set you apart.

Your visual identity should tell a story about who you are and what you stand for. It's not just about looking sleek or futuristic, but what’s the story behind it.

Take the example of Perplexity AI. Their verbal identity focused on the concept of "where knowledge begins," positioning their product not just as an answer machine, but as a gateway to deeper understanding.

As its designer explained:

"Perplexity is now your starting point and then you can click any of those citation links and go anywhere you want to go."

And that’s why their logo is a spinning door visually represents their mission of opening doors to knowledge.

For AI founders, this might mean moving beyond cliché tech imagery and finding visual metaphors that represent the unique value your AI brings to users' lives.

"As long as the logo can kind of tell a story and like convey an emotion or convey a strategy or something like that, that's when we know we're on to something."

Understanding Your Audience: The Key to Authentic Connection

Creating a brand that resonates requires a deep understanding of your audience. This goes beyond basic demographics. You need to get inside their heads, understand their daily lives, their aspirations, and their pain points.

"The more time you just really spend treating your audience like almost like you're in a novel or you're in a movie and you're putting yourself in the shoes of that character, then that allows you to really think, okay, how do I talk to them in a way that's going to matter to them, not necessarily matter to me."

We talked about the observation of focusing too much on efficiency being a common pitfall for AI founders. As Cara puts it,

"I see a ton of ads, especially in the AI space, that are all about efficiency and I just think it's ridiculous,"

Therefore, instead of focusing solely on how your AI can make processes more efficient, ask yourself these critical questions: