| |
| |
|
Branding Information |
|
|
|
Brand Identity and the CEO
This week I spent a few hours with a highly successful CEO discussing his brand identity questions and concerns. "What do the most successful brand initiatives have in common?" he asked. I shared an observation with him based on many years of having similar conversations and being involved in successful (and not so successful) branding programs. There are a lot of reasons to embark on a major corporate branding program, but from the point of view of a CEO, most of them are simply not compelling. For many years I have watched marketers and design managers struggle to get large scale identity programs funded and supported by senior-most management. Even though there are clear breakdowns caused by the existing identity systems and designers believe they are presenting a clear, rational justification for investment?their attempts are rebuffed more often than accepted. While designers think that because the expression of a brand is out of date or not working as hard as it should in a competitive context, it is obvious it should be changed. Sometimes there are clear business problems caused by poor brand architecture systems. Customer confusion, uncompetitive brand communications, and cost inefficiencies are painstakingly documented, and still senior management is left unimpressed. Of all the problems they have to solve for the entire organization, these opportunities just don't rank high enough. So what compels them to invest in solving their brand problems? When a CEO perceives brand as tool to express his or her vision for the organization, they fully support it. When they understand that changing the identity program can be a vehicle for manifesting the organizational transformation they want, they hop on board the train. When the brand change becomes emblematic of the change THEY seek, we have a shot at creating a program that shifts the organization's culture as well as the market's perceptions. Design (all design) is done to serve others. It is always about them, not us. The real customer/user of corporate brand programs is the CEO. Make your branding program serve his or her purpose, and you'll have the opportunity to fix all of your design problems at the same time. To measure how strong your brand is copy and paste: (http://brandidentityguru.com/bightml/brandmasterpiece.html). Then click "Take the brand strength test". This is a short survey that measures the strength of any company's brand. It's a great tool to see where you are today. Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru (http://www.brandidentityguru.com), a leading brand consulting and market research firm located in Easton, Massachusetts, USA, near Boston. Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation. Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations. Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Simon (America's largest shopping mall manager) and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies. Scott White is a very enthusiastic speaker and has the gift of being able to explain the principles of branding in a compelling and entertaining manner so that people at all levels can understand.
MORE RESOURCES:
Branding - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Jan Verhoeff: Brand Your Market Marketing potential of any product is based on recognition and quality. Name based recognition happens with a variety of products. A Lesson in Branding from Paris Hilton I have never been a fan of Paris Hilton.I see her parading around in her odd-looking clothing choices, leading her loyal following of giddy anorexic schoolgirls around by their noses, and I think, "Skank. What About Me? What You Need To Know About Me-Marketing What about me? Are you asking yourself this question? If not you should be. Don't wait until you are in crisis mode when you are losing your job or your business before you think "what about me?"Here are a few points to consider. Play it Again Sam The marketing director for one of my longtime clients used to complain "does it have to be purple again?" What she and many others don't realize is that the color you are seeing in your sleep, your prospects might just be beginning to recognize, and if done well, associate with you.Consistency cannot be stressed enough in brand development: whether it is a color or a font, where you place your logo, the schedule for newsletters and promotions, or the way the receptionist answers the phone. Don't Overlook Your Email When Considering Your Brand Identity You wouldn't skip letterhead when sending out a sales letter - Or would you?How many emails do you send each day? If you are anything like me, you probably send hundreds of emails for every one print letter. Most businesses use letterhead for their print correspondence but miss out on extending their branding to virtual communications. Good Logos Make Great Sales Tools Every day, the average person is exposed to millions of visual stimuli including hundreds of company logos.A logo is a unique visual image that represents a company or its products. Branding Article: Pepsis Missed Brand Opportunity I love Pepsi. It's that slightly sweeter taste and the all-American logo combined with the non-conformist statement that, well, it's not Coke. No Logo? Launching A Business Without a Logo Can Sabotage You Initial lack of customers and cash flow often causes a small business to put off designing a logo and marketing materials professionally "until [they] got a few clients" or "until [they] get started." Designing their own marketing materials when they launch their business, instead of having them professionally created, will make getting those initial clients more difficult, and may result in a business that will not succeed. Corporate Identity - A Rough Guide A rough guide to corporate identityThe tabloids report the millions spent by large corporate companies on their logos as a scandal.. Brand Value Plan - Brand Identity Guru Developing brand value is critical to every organization and when professionally executed, delivers a clear and measurable competitive advantage to your firm. It does so by helping you establish a positive connection and value-relationship with your customer, which, over time, will build brand equity and increase brand value. Logo-ize For Instant Identification & Increased Awareness The task of creating an indelible impact on the memory of your target market is arduous but can be made much easier with a well thought out logo. The word comes from the ancient Greek where it was used in philosophy and theology to mean "the divine reason implicit in the cosmos, ordering it and giving it form and meaning. Fast Forwarding Your Business If you think only big corporate names need to think about things like brand names, think again. Your brand says a lot about you and your business, and that's as true for a one person home-based operation as it is for a multinational conglomerate. Speech on Branding from a Franchisor Founder I was asked today by a group of students; What do you feel is the best way to build brand name and why? And what significance do you feel are relevant to a strong corporate identity?Well obviously this is a group of marketing students. And it almost sounded as if I was being tested on an essay question. Articles: The Perfect Branding Tool If you own a web-based business, you're probably aware of the need for things like link exchanges, lead-purchasing, SEO copy, banner ads and all of the "traditional" ways to get exposure on the World Wide Web.But did you know that article marketing is by far the best way to build your brand while at the same time increasing your exposure?Web articles. The Trust Issue In Marketing One of the prime motivating factors in the purchase decision making process is "trust". A consumer will at some point for however long or short of a time, ask the question, "Can I trust this company/person/product?"In today's ever-changing world of marketing, electronic media, email, and advertising innovations and intrusions, companies, and businesses are marketing to an ever increasingly suspicious consumer, who is conflicted between their desire not to be "sold" to and their desire to consume. Effective Public Relations Essential for Personal Branding Move over pop star "Posh Spice" Adams and English soccer hero David Beckham, the personal branding power of newly engaged Australian celebrity sports couple Lleyton Hewitt and Rebecca Cartwright could be worth up to $100 million dollars.In terms of public relations and effective public relations, their media performance this week in both print and television proves they have the potential to become a truly global brand and rival Posh and Becks on the world stage. Branding: All My Exs Live In... .. New Uniforms Could be the Gold Charm for the Golden Arches New designer uniforms could be the gold charm McDonald's needs to connect their new hip marketing campaign to their fast-food restaurants. This possible gold charm for the fast-food chain has the ability to let the actual fast-food restaurants reflect the image they are portraying in their advertisement campaign. Trademark: Do I Need One for My Business Name and Logo? Wondering if a trademark is important to you as a business owner? Let's start with the basics. A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol, or logo that distinguishes and identifies the source of goods of one company or person from another. Business Image One of the most important things in a business is a clean image. I started a small business when I was twelve years old and built it up in a very large small business and then franchised the business.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
