Your brand is at the heart of your identity, your product, and your mission. It's the narrative you weave throughout your scale journey. In order for this narrative to resonate with your customers, it needs to be relevant to their lives.

And customers’ lives change over time. So does technology, society, and the competitive landscape.

This is why relevance isn't a nice-to-have, it's a need-to-have. It's how brand value is defined. A brand that is no longer relevant isn't competitive, and will rapidly descend into obscurity.

By thinking about your brand in dynamic terms, you'll be able to make it relevant and keep it relevant.

You'll actively drive the narrative around your company and product. You'll keep your existing customers engaged while attracting new ones. You'll create a foundation of purpose and pride for your team. And you'll give a clear signal to current and future investors about your intended trajectory.

In today’s special episode of Masters of Scale, you’ll hear 5 key lessons about keeping a brand relevant, from Disney, Nike, and more. When you reflect on these lessons and adapt them to your own situation, you can bolster your brand's relevance — whether you’re just starting out with a new brand or working with a legacy.

Touchstone 1: Stick your neck out.

One of the biggest dangers to a strong brand at an established scale organization is a slow slide into blandness. It happens when you try to appeal to the most people by making as few waves as possible.

But if you play it safe, your brand will slip into irrelevance. You'll go from the dashing life of the party to the oxygen-sucking bore in the corner of the room, hammering on the same old talking points long after the conversation has left you behind.

Touchstone 2: Tell the same story in new ways

Keeping your core brand relevant depends on how you tell its story. And the way you story-tell needs to change depending on your audience, your situation, and your stage of scale. It can't be the same method every time.

Touchstone 3: Start — and maintain — a conversation.

One surefire path to brand irrelevance is insulating yourself from your customers and their experience. That's why you need to start and maintain a constant dialogue with your customers. Bonus: You might even find this dialogue to be a source of new ideas.

Just as with a product brand, the idea of a personal brand is to differentiate yourself. But in a conservative business culture, it’s tempting to try to be like everyone else. Today’s exercise is meant to help you see who you uniquely are, and identify the projects and clients who need what you uniquely offer.

It’s inspired by a moment in Tyra Banks’ early career when some of her top clients stopped calling. She panicked: Could she change herself in some way to win those clients back? Her mother sat her down and said: Don’t change yourself for these people. Instead, look for clients who'll appreciate her as she is. Tyra's mom asked her to make two lists: Write down all the clients who hire models like Tyra. And then write down the names of those models. “These are your future clients,” Tyra’s mom told her. “And these are the careers you can be inspired by.”

So do the same. Take a piece of paper, and write a list of companies, leaders, and potential clients that you believe would allow the real you to shine. The clients who work on projects where you’d be contributing at your highest potential.

Now, make another list. This time, write down all the people who have careers that inspire you. These can be co-workers, family members, famous people on LinkedIn. Anybody whose career has stopped you in your tracks and left you wondering: How did they get to do so many cool things?

Now, step back and look at your lists. As Tyra’s mom told her: “These are your future clients. And these are the careers that you can be inspired by — but you’re going to make it your own.”

Bonus: Share this exercise on your LinkedIn, and tag us in @MastersofScale!