If you love something, set it free. Isn’t that how the saying goes? The days of avidly and aggressively protecting your brand to ensure total consistency and clarity are rapidly disappearing. Brands who put their customers in control are winning over hearts and minds; creating fans, followers and true believers.

I like to look at this approach to branding like you would a successful relationship – it’s about finding someone who shares your beliefs, initially finding your feet, establishing the rules, open communication, give and take and gaining trust. Only then can we have a beautiful, successful and mutually-beneficial relationship that will go the mile. Like any good relationship, it takes hard work and some ups and downs, but the rewards are well worth it.

Atom Bank, due to launch later this year, is the first mobile-only bank and is firmly aimed at millennials. It’s philosophy is to be ‘customer-obsessed’ and to celebrate individuality; ‘Recognising that people are different and don’t conform is an intrinsic part of Atom’s DNA’. That’s a pretty bold statement so you’re going to need to be able to back it up to keep those savvy millennials on board. Their slightly lack-lustre named ‘Individually Matters’ campaign allows customers to create their own brand, logo, colour palette and even name of the bank. https://www.atombank.co.uk/blog/2016/01/individuality-matters These limitations aren’t endless, however, and even with the freedom they are proposing with the ‘individuality’ on offer, the brand is still clearly recognisable as Atom.

Handing over your brand isn’t a new idea. TED Talks was one of the first to take the brave leap forward and relinquish control when they launched TEDx. In response to the growth of the internet, they needed to drastically change their business model to allow people to interact and co-create, not just passively listen. What had been a fairly elite, invitation-only event changed practically overnight when they decided to post all their talks on their website for free. With TEDx, they allowed anyone with ‘ideas worth spreading’ to hold an event and allowed them use of their logo, set design and event formula. As we know, the gamble paid off and allowed the brand to spread to over 133 countries in just 5 years.

The term ‘Putting the customer first’ has become as meaningless and clichéd as the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ line, so in order to woo potential ‘partners’ you need to ramp up the rhetoric for it to get attention and resonate.

But it’s a fine line between looking attractive and looking needy. From being genuine and heartfelt to just telling people what they want to hear to get them into bed. We’re an increasingly cynical and ‘switched-on’ bunch so brand lotharios beware, it’s all too easy for us to simply swipe left.