Video Brand Strategy: Top 11 Tips for How and Why You Need to Use Video

The Romans said, “Veni, vidi, vici,” meaning “to come”, “to see”, and “to conquer”. Two millenia later we say, “Video, video, video” in conquering digital marketing frontiers. Your brand’s one, three and five year brand strategy plans should reflect the fact that video content is an increasingly a powerful, indeed essential tool for both small and larger businesses.

   

     

You Tube 360 600px

Image via Google / YouTube

Orabrush is a great example of how a small start up brand can capitalize on video to achieve outstanding results. They’ve built a small brand from humble beginnings to worldwide distribution using YouTube videos exclusively. In fact they’ve had more online viewers then P&G Crest and every other brand in the oral healthcare sector combined!

If that’s peaked your curiosity then you might want to checkout some more of our key insider tips and brand strategies below for promoting and growing your brand using video.

Top 11 Video Tips: How to Use Video to Promote Your Brand

  

1. Video is Increasingly Essential for Search Rankings

Remember, Google owns YouTube, so YouTube videos rank high in Google search results and help your brand’s authority for better positioning in internet searches. Smaller brands and newer websites can rank higher on YouTube than on Google, which is no small thing, since YouTube is the world’s second biggest search engine, above Bing and Yahoo.

At the same time, YouTube is the world’s third largest social network, behind Facebook and Twitter. Bottom line, YouTube is an awesome boost for your brand’s profile on the web and an essential part of your brand strategy.[1]

The icing on the cake? Seven in 10 people said they view brands in a more positive light after seeing interesting video content.[2]

 

2. Long Live Video!

  

Among the knock-your-socks-off statistics in circulation, research from Salesforce[3] indicates that:

   

  • The average consumer spends 88% more time on content with video

 

  • People are five times more likely to click on content that contains video

 

  • Video is shared 1200% more times than links and text combined

 

  •  A landing page with video gets 800% more conversion than the same page without video

 

  • Video will be 74% of all consumer internet traffic by 2017, up from 59% in 2012

 

  • The average lifespan of a video is four years

 

  • More than 50% of smartphone video viewers use video to help them make product decisions[4]

 How To Incorporate Video 600px

 Image via www.salesforce.com

3. Social Media Platforms Support Video

Done right, video can be accessible, fun, fast, distinctive, different, memorable… and affordable… as a way to reach new and existing customers. In short, the research indicates that video drives engagement, and we already know that engagement drives sales.

A proliferation of startup platforms dedicated to video have sprung up: Snapchat, Vimeo, Vine, Meerkat and Periscope. Older platforms once devoted to photos have now enhanced with video capability; Instagram and Pinterest make it easy to post and share, allowing smartphone users to record video, upload it or stream it live. Other established platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have introduced video content to their publishing capabilities.

The video leader is indisputedly YouTube. As of 2014, 900-plus YouTube channels had at least a million subscribers each. While the video sharing giant has already turned 10, there’s no question it will be a sensation in its second decade.

4. Yes, Video is ‘Affordable’

The key ingredient of great video content is authenticity, not expensive production techniques. When business owners and their enthusiastic customers speak directly to audiences, the personal authentic connection a brand makes outranks flashy filming, casting and costly voiceovers.[5]

5. Best Practices for Small Budgets

We collected 5 top video tips from a few experts:

  

  • Timing is critical and 60-120 seconds is ideal. – Filmmaker Peter Bragiel, In Transit, Los Angeles

 

  • Create a bank of photos and videos — they don’t evaporate as quickly as some content does. – Andrew Smith, Chief Funster for Tourism Australia

 

  • Don’t be intimidated by the process; you don’t have to be an expert. – Susan Wilson Solovic, best-selling author of “It’s Your Biz”.

 

  • For inspiration, look at your top 10 Google searches and answer those questions with your video.  – Shaun Aukland, Google, San Francisco

 

  • Too much to cover? Break it up into several bitesize videos. – “It’s So Miami” by the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau

 

6. “How To” Videos are the Most Popular

Perhaps you recall the old jokes about pitches and promises made by used car salesmen. Now, the rules of the game have changed and hard selling is a car crash waiting to happen. Today’s best practice in content marketing is to bring your brand to life, be authentic, tell a story and share inside tips. Avoid a sales pitch. Explain how to do something.

 

Searches for ‘How to’ videos went up 70 percent in the first quarter of 2015, according to Google.[6] They’re the best way to share useful information with viewers, which they will be more likely to share with others. Imagine if the used car salesman were to create a video explaining the best way to wash a car or to maintain interior leather seating…that’s the kind of video that will attract views, interest followers, build your reputation and increase customers.

Case Study: How To Tie a Bowtie

When Columbia, South Carolina wanted to promote to holidaymakers, they targeted the destination wedding market. Instead of featuring brides and grooms in wedding venues, the visitors bureau created a how-to video on bow tie instructions that has attracted more than 3.1 million views on YouTube. As the number one instructional video on the subject, they have produced an evergreen video with an astronomical return on investment, and never ending shelf life.

7. Aim for Shareable Videos

  

You want people to share your video for the widest possible reach, so knowing what to put in and leave out is important.

What are the top three factors that make a video shareable?

Creative directors say:

 

1) The Unexpected – Show the audience something they didn’t fully plan to see. ‘Surprise and delight’ isn’t new, but it is golden. 

 

2) The Cool Factor – What does sharing this video say about the person who shares it? Does it make them feel like an insider, does it make them come off as a boring professor or does it show them off as the life of the party?

 

3) The Emotional Quotient – Pulling at the heart strings works, but funny is far more shareable.

  

   I Want To Do Moments 600px

Image via Google / YouTube, Think with Google

Case Study: Volkswagen Passat Old Wives’ Tales

When Vokswagen wanted to overcome objections to diesel vehicles, they came up with this brilliant campaign of six falsehoods shot down by three octagenarians. Here’s one:

8. Bring Testimonials to Life

 

Those written testimonials on your website are great. Turn them into a video by inviting customers to upload videos of themselves using your product or services. Alternatively, interview people at your place of business. There are lots of directions you can take this idea for brand evangelists-in-the-making, which has the built-in benefit of shareability by all those you feature.

9. Take Viewers Behind the Scenes

  

Film ‘A Day in the Life’ or introduce staff members or take a sneak peek into your  warehouse. If you serve coffee, have the barista demonstrate making a cup. If you operate a nursery, make a video about propagation or seasonal window boxes. If you sell furniture, explain how to spot quality construction. Add the personal touch and help potential customers decide they’d love to do business with people like yourselves.

Case Study: It’s So Miami – South Beach

When the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau wanted to show off their city, they decided on locals for a look around. You won’t find a hotel lobby featured in this series covering real people in real neighborhoods. Take a moment to watch and listen to Morgan to experience what a day in the life of a South Beach local feels like. A caution to viewing audiences: it will make you jealous.

10. Position Yourself as an Expert

  

Use video to provide commentary on news or information about your industry to build your reputation as a thought leader in the space. Are you an estate agency? Talk about tips for selling a home. Are you a grocer or a restaurant? Demonstrate some great-tasting, nutritional recipes. Are you a fashion boutique? Illustrate the hottest trends for next season or how to update looks in your current wardrobe.

 Your Brand Is The Star Google

Image via Google / YouTube

11. Incorporate Music

Audio is 50 percent of your presentation, so use music to convey the mood you want your audience to feel so you sound as good as you look. We’ll help you with obtaining royalty-free music clips ready for use by small businesses. There’s no need to spend a bundle.

Case Study: Volvo Trucks Epic Split Feat by Jean-Claude Van Damme

As much as we admire this video, and with the deepest respect for both the feat and the 80 million views since 2013, this is precisely what your small to medium-sized company does NOT have to achieve. Watch it and marvel.

“Within five years, YouTube will be the biggest media platform of any, by far, in the entire world.” – Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation at VidCon in December 2014.[7]

We’re here to help you with your video branding strategy and content creation.

• Is video a part of your short-term and long-term content brand strategy?
  
• Have you already created a YouTube channel for your brand?
 
• If so, does it need additional content and better attention for search engine optimization?
 
• Does your website have a video on the landing page, or one that needs a refresh?
 
• Would your staff love to get involved in a brand video and become one of your brand champions?
 
• Would you like us to show you how to create affordable video?

 

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, we’d love to hear from you.

 

[1] Juan Jose Mendez, “How to Make Your Video Rank Number One on YouTube (Case Study)” on JeffBullas.com

[2] Axonn Media (London), “Video in Content Marketing”,

[3] Salesforce, “7 Ways to Incorporate Video Into Your Marketing Campaign”, June 2015

[4] Google/IPSOS MediaCT, “Brand Building on Mobile” study February, 2015

[5] Chris Trimble, Axonn Media, The Guardian, July 30, 2015

[6] “I Want-To-Do Moments: From Home to Beauty”, Think With Google, May 2015

[7] The New Yorker, “Hollywood and Vine”, Dec. 15, 2014

Baby Boomer Branding: How and Why to Market to this Lucrative Demographic

Although there’s a lot of talk about millennials and their desire to engage in consumerism, it’s important not to overlook the baby boomer generation, born from the end of World War 2 up to the early 1960s (roughly between 1946-1964). After all, Baby Boomers hold 70 percent of all disposable income in the United States.

 

Also, government data indicates that the baby boomers outspend other generational groups’ spending on consumer products and services by an average of $400 million.

 

  

 

Branding Strategies for Baby Boomers: A Unique Process

 

If those statistics have stimulated your curiosity and made it clear that to overlook the baby boomer demographic is potentially a very costly mistake, keep in mind that you can’t just retool most of your brand concepts currently used to reach out to older target markets.

 

For starters, baby boomers are usually very loyal to brands—and as shown by the opening statistics, they have disposable income. Also, don’t assume that this demographic will settle for less as they get older, or even that they’ll settle down.

 

When looking at the specifics associated with marketing to baby boomers, experts have found that this group prefers living in comfortable homes surrounded by the latest amenities. Also, they generally want to maintain very active lifestyles. Those findings align with what we’ve discovered when developing brands to meet the needs of affinity groups within this demographic.

 

 

 

Misconceptions about Baby Boomers are Common

 

Even marketers who are guided by solid research and good intentions sometimes miss the mark as they attempt to resonate with the baby boomer generation. Often, that’s due in large part to some pervasive misconceptions.

 

Earlier, we mentioned how baby boomers tend to be faithful to the brands they love. That’s true, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that baby boomers are set in their ways. According to Nielsen research from 2012, only five percent of advertising budgets were geared toward baby boomers, but some experts believe baby boomers are not as brand loyal as millennials.

 

There’s another prevailing assumption about baby boomers, which some of our clients have expressed: the belief that baby boomers are not tech-savvy.

 

Although baby boomers were not early adopters of technology, they tend to use tech devices more frequently than you might expect. However, they do so differently than their younger counterparts.

 

Whereas a younger person might primarily use social media to connect with friends, baby boomers may feel more compelled to do so because that’s the way their kids and grandkids share updates and photos. The shift over to technology, in many cases, probably wasn’t primarily out of desire, but because boomers realized social media was the quickest way to keep in touch with younger generations.

 

Additionally, apps that are related to health services frequently get built for cross-generational appeal. Some boomers have shown interest in using an app that might help them check in faster for a hospital appointment or enjoy easier access to medical records, for example.

 

Finally, some marketers seem to forget that the baby boomer generation encompasses anyone between the ages of 51 and 69. It’s not sufficient to believe that certain branding strategies will universally connect with everyone. A younger baby boomer might prefer very active vacations, while one who’s nearing 70 or older may want to go on a cruise instead.

 

Of course, that’s a very broad example. The point is, marketers should try to focus their brand strategy on reaching baby boomers of certain ages, through developing affinity groups as a tool for profiling them or at least recognizing that older baby boomers have different needs and desires than younger ones.

 

 

 

Examples of When Multi-Generational Branding Strategies Can Work

 

Even though you’ve now learned how there’s a fine art to baby boomer branding, don’t get discouraged and think it’s necessary to do away with every tactic you use to appeal to younger generations. In fact, research has shown there are some valuable commonalities. In fact, some of our clients achieved the best results with cross-generational approaches.

 

Specifically, both boomers and millennials love bargains, and a high percentage of them (more than 80 percent for either group) are very comfortable shopping online. Also, 75 percent of boomers and millennials are more likely to purchase something if it’s associated with a perk, such as a loyal discount or a coupon.

 

Now, let’s take a look at some actionable strategies, and case studies of companies that have used them well.

 

 

 

Case Study: J. Jill and the Uncomplicate Clothing Line

 

As discussed above, baby boomers don’t want to settle for less when they get older. The clothing brand J. Jill took that into consideration with its Uncomplicate collection, which is marketed toward baby boomers.

 

 

 J Jill Site 600px

Image via www.jjill.com

 

 

The goal is to show that like younger generations of females, older women also deserve wardrobe upgrades. With this clothing line, they can look forward to clothes that are equal parts fashionable and comfortable.

  

Focus groups held before the new line kicked off found that women prefer attire they can easily dress up or down. When analyzing details of the Uncomplicate line, marketers realized that baby boomers wanted to look their best, without wasting time that could be used for more important pursuits. J. Jill also embraces a mix-and-match style with its Wearever line. These proactive steps reflect the brand’s realization that baby boomers have just as many reasons to enjoy new clothes as younger generations.

  

  

 

 

 

No matter how you market to boomers, we’ve found that customers respond best when you make it easy for them to meet their identified needs.

 

 

 

Case Study: Harley Davidson’s Tricycles

 

Baby boomers don’t like to be given the hard sell. They want to see the benefits of a product, but not in an intrusive way. Sometimes, brands have enough of a built-in following that people of all ages understand there are inherent advantages to choosing them, so there’s no need for a massive marketing campaign.

 

 

 Harley Davidson Free Wheeler 600px

Image via www.harley-davidson.com

 

 

 

Harley-Davidson has released a three-wheel motorcycle called the Freewheeler that’s made for great stability, but still reaches impressive speeds. The Freewheeler is an improvement on a previous model of a three-wheel model, which was called the Tri Glide. In comparison, the Freewheeler is less bulky and features a lighter weight than its predecessor. Reviews of the Freewheeler trike are generally favorable, and the brand’s press release boasts, “Riding on three wheels has never been cooler.”

  

   

 

  

   

Going back to what you’ve read about baby boomers wanting to stay active, this trike is a perfect example of that principle. Sometimes it’s not necessary to reinvent a product so it caters to baby boomers, but to just tweak the details while preserving the familiar aspects that attracted consumers in the first place.

 

 

  

Case Study: Spirit 50

 

Across the world, there have been concerns that as baby boomers get older and require more medical attention, there will be an increased demand on the healthcare system. One forward-thinking Canadian entrepreneur named Erin Billowits is trying to keep baby boomers healthier as they age by marketing a fitness program that lets her demographic work out at home. The program, Spirit 50, combines instructional videos with step-by-step instructions. Users can even purchase consultations that take place over Skype.

 

  Spirit50 600px

Image via  www.spirit50.com

 

 

In her research, Billowits found that a majority of baby boomers want to improve their health, and many are willing to make small, proactive changes without being prodded.

 

When designing her fitness program, Billowits looked at possible technological barriers. As you can see from the format of this YouTube clip, the exercises are explained in a straightforward way that’s not patronizing. Also, because the videos aren’t lengthy, most browsers should start playing them right away.

 

  


 

 

 

If you plan to market something to baby boomers that’s technological in nature, it’s important to do the legwork beforehand and make sure your concept doesn’t come across as overwhelming. Billowits identified that a need was there, but she recognized that some of her clientele may not be willing to embrace her exercise concept if it took them too far out of their comfort zones. 

 

Furthermore, to sign up for a fitness plan, users only have to submit usernames, passwords, and e-mails. That’s simple enough even for baby boomers who aren’t accustomed to filling out a lot of online forms.

 

  

 

 

Case Study: Japanese Convenience Stores

 

In Japan, convenience stores are doing whatever they can to appeal to an older demographic. Executives have realized that a growing number of people from the baby boomer generation are stopping into Japanese convenience stores to get what they need without delay. A few major brands are branching out by offering a home delivery service of nutritious and easy-to-make meals, including bento boxes. This strategy appeals to boomers who aren’t willing to sustain themselves on sodium-riddled frozen dinners of low nutritional value.

 

Some stores stock attire that’s marketed toward an older demographic, but others focus on more practical things, such as healthcare items that baby boomers might need. Others have thrown their hats into the ring and aimed to meet needs that are a little more obscure, but still have merit. Two examples are health advice counters, and karaoke equipment that turns convenience stores into social gathering places for baby boomers who want to have fun among their peers.

 

These kinds of purpose-based approaches make sense. If baby boomers feel alienated due to a perception that most of what’s available to consumers isn’t relevant to their lives, they’re less likely engage with a particular brand or shop at a particular establishment, no matter how convenient it claims to be.

  

 

 

 

Case Study: Ford Motors

 

As Ford Motors has discovered, successfully marketing to baby boomers starts during the engineering process. The company makes some of its auto engineers wear “aging suits” that mimic what it’s like to be an older driver. Dubbed the Third Age Suit, the device is designed to make a person physically feel approximately 30 years older. Using a corset and orthotic devices, the suit causes stiffness in the hip region, knees, shoulders, and feet. Earplugs simulate being hard of hearing, and special goggles mimic vision-related disorders that are common in older adults.

  

   

  

  

 

Although this case study doesn’t represent an example of direct marketing to baby boomers, it demonstrates an effort made by engineers in the early phases to understand how aging affects driver capabilities and comfort. This could eventually influence baby boomers to choose certain makes and models of vehicles over others.

 

 

 

 

A Worthy Venture

 

Clearly, the baby boomer generation is not to be overlooked when it comes to ensuring that your brand gets noticed by those with a great deal of purchasing power.

 

Although it’s necessary to tailor your branding strategies using some of the methodologies discussed above, the ultimate payoff could be a major factor in helping your business stay competitive and indeed become more profitable in a crowded marketplace. 

 

 

You make also like:

 

• Millennial Branding: Creating Brands to Appeal to Teens and Young Adults

 

• Rebranding Strategy: Why Your Rebrand Must Embrace Storytelling

 

• Brand Profiling: How to Use Emotion to Make Your Brand More Profitable

 

• Brand Audit: Tips for Determining Your Brand’s Health – Can It Be Improved?

    

• Brand Strategy: 6 Lessons Learned from Tourism Queensland, One of the Most Successful Branding Campaigns Ever

 

• Packaging Design: How to Make it into an Irresistible Customer Brand Magnet

 

• Brand Personality: Is Your Brand’s Character Strong Enough to Compete?  

 

• Creating New Brands: Top 10 Tips for Brand Success

 

 

 

So what do you think?

 

• Have you used brand profiling and positioning is when marketing to baby boomers?

 

• Do you think a brand name that alludes to the baby boomer market, such as ‘Spirit 50’ is an important part of the brand strategy for connecting with a target audience?

 

Rebranding strategy was crucial for J.Jill when realizing, during a brand audit and through market research studies, that the fashion needs of baby boomers weren’t being met. Have you had a similar moment that has made you discover that baby boomers may be an untapped market?

 

• In Japan, several convenience stores have incorporated the needs of an older generation into the brand identity design. Do you think that will eventually mean that the majority of convenience store shoppers will be much older than in preceding generations?

 

Brand positioning was a crucial aspect for marketing the Harley-Davidson trikes to a market that was already likely cued into what makes the brand worth following. Do you think that the brand strategy was comprehensive enough, or should it have been more extensive?

 

 

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, we’d love to hear from you.

 

 

Rebranding Strategy: The ABCs of Rebranding Google

  

Google made us uncomfortable!

 

When the third most valuable brand in the world [Forbes, 2015] announces a surprise rebranding, people notice.

 

On a recent midsummer Silicon Valley afternoon, the Co-founder and CEO of Google morphed into the CEO of Alphabet before our eyes. What’s Alphabet, we wondered?

 

Larry Page opened his official blog post saying, “We’ve long believed that over time companies tend to get comfortable doing the same thing, just making incremental changes. But in the technology industry, where revolutionary ideas drive the next big growth areas, you need to be a bit uncomfortable to stay relevant.”

 

 

Alphabet 

 Image via https://abc.xyz

 

 

“Uncomfortably excited” is a state of mind that Googlers are well familiar with; they say it comes up frequently during internal meetings. When Larry Page addressed the graduating class of the University of Michigan in 2009, he counseled, “Always work hard on something uncomfortably exciting.”[1]

 

 

  

 

 

“We Do Search”

 

With the perspective of a few days and hundreds of pieces of content produced by Google observers, the picture came into focus. People realized that Google wasn’t disappearing (audible sigh of relief), but rather that Alphabet was born to give Google the space to be Google. The bottom line is that from a consumer perspective, it’s business as usual!

 

 

 Googles Products

 

 

Google is a search engine and an advertising platform. And clearly, it’s a cash cow — which has everything to do with funding the next big breakthrough and nothing to do with Google’s (um, Alphabet’s) next passion project, whatever it may be.

 

As an obscure campus startup, Google’s mission was “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” Two years on, Google AdWords launched with 350 customers.[2] Overwhelming success has been declared in the blink of an eye, in about one and a half decades.

   

The authors of “The Google Story” discussed the profound impact of the founders’ vision to make all web-based information searchable via PageRank algorithms, comparing it to the first mechanical printing press in 1440. They wrote, “Not since Gutenberg…has any new invention empowered individuals, and transformed access to information, as profoundly as Google.”[3]

 

  

The Google Story By David A Vise

 

 

“We do search,” was the core of Google’s philosophy as expressed in its original “Ten Things We Know to Be True”[4] document. However last winter, Larry Page said, “Google has ‘outgrown’ its 14-year-old mission statement.”[5]

 

So, on second thoughts, no one  should have been surprised by Google’s big announcement. In October 2014, Page laid it out in an interview with the FT,[6] expressing his desire to step away from daily chores at the colossal search engine. “The world’s most powerful internet company is ready to trade the cash from its search engine monopoly for a slice of the next century’s technological bonanza,” is how the FT put it. 

  

   

 

Spelling it Out

 

Alphabet is about brand innovation. When Larry Page titled his announcement “G is for Google,” the implication is that it leaves another 25 letters for Alphabet to dream big.

  

  

   

    

  

Several of the spaces on the virtual Scrabble board have already been filled in: Life Sciences, working on the glucose-sensing contact lens; Calico, focused on longevity; Nest for smart-home products; Fiber for super-connectivity and whatever words are played next, sometimes via acquisition.

  

Google X is the think tank for moonshots, artificial intelligence, robotics, longevity, health advancements, biotech, self-driving cars and smart glasses. Google Ventures re-invests.

  

It’s all about staying “uncomfortably excited” and attracting the best minds for collective ideation.

 

    

  

 

  

Brand Architecture : A House of Brands

 

Alphabet is now an umbrella for one of the largest brands we’ve known. From a brand architecture perspective, Google bucks the trend of the last decade which has seen large brands consolidate toward a single ‘brand house’ approach e.g. Unilever (2004), P&G (2011), Coca-Cola (2015). Google is doing the opposite by creating a ‘house of brands.’

  

The scale of Google’s size and scope demands a more efficient approach for managing multiple brands with different cultures, complex mergers and acquisitions, innovation, brand sub-cultures whilst satisfying Wall Street demands for accountability.

  

As an article published in the Harvard Business Review points out:

“…the financial returns of the search engine and advertising business could not be observed separately from the investments in all of the new businesses. The new structure ensures that there will be, at a minimum, independent accounting numbers produced for the Google business, and perhaps for the others as well.”

   

The Alphabet umbrella brand also reduces risk in terms of brand reputation management, with risk being ring-fenced around each individual brand and its own CEO within the ‘house of brands’. Alphabet will be much less vulnerable to major scandal or irregularity and it will also not be a consumer brand.

    

The point of a ‘house of brands’ structure is that the corporate brand becomes essentially invisible to the outside world, only relevant to senior employees and investors. How clever is Google?

 

 

 

What are the Branding Takeaways?

 

For smaller businesses, it’s more advantageous to manage a single brand or ‘brand house’ with one budget, one culture, one organisational structure, one employer, one leadership team and so on.

  

At first blush, the immediate branding Alphabet/Google learnings or takeaways from their initial announcement, for any size company or organisation, are as follows:

 

1)    Continually evaluate your core business, product or service and re-evaluate ancillary revenue streams, products and services to remain properly focused. [Note: Apple’s Steve Jobs used to tell Larry Page that he was trying to do too much. Page told Jobs that Apple wasn’t doing enough.]

 

2)    Secondly, re-visit your mission statement. It doesn’t belong in a box file in a drawer, but in a frame on the wall at reception and in the lunch room. Dust it off and discuss it, make it the heart of your business, a living breathing, authencitic expression of who you are and what you do and the true reason why you do what you do.

 

  

Mission Drives The Business Gapingvoid 

Image via http://www.gapingvoidart.com, Hugh MacLeod

 

 

 

3)    Not every hiccup or even a crisis requires a rebrand, sometimes a brand health check is one of the most useful tools to protect your most valuable asset. Talk to us. 

 

4)    Does your existing brand name properly represent your business today and into the future or has it become something of a misnomer as your business has grown and evolved? Do you need some help re-evaluating your brand name relevance?

 

Larry Page explained the decision behind their new name.

“We liked the name Alphabet because it means a collection of letters that represent language, one of humanity’s most important innovations, and is the core of how we index with Google search! We also like that it means alpha-bet (Alpha is investment return above benchmark), which we strive for!”

 

Rebrands happen. For a number of reasons, they can be an exceptionally good move at the right time for the right reasons. We’re here to help.

 

 

You may also like:

 

• Brand Audit: Tips for Determining Your Brand’s Health – Can it be Improved?

 

• Rebranding: How to Make it Through a Rebrand and Emerge Stronger

 

• Brand Renaming: Name and Tagline Change Considerations

 

• Brand Audit: When the USA Took the Branding Bull by the Horns

 

• Creating New Brands: Top 10 Tips for Brand Success

 

• Brand Naming: Top Ten Methods for Brand Name Creation    

 

• Rebranding Strategy: Why Your Rebrand Must Embrace Storytelling

 

• Brand Differentiation: 30 Ways to Differentiate Your Brand 

 

• Brand Profiling: Top 6 Components to Creating a Strong Brand Personality

  

• CEO Brand Leadership: How Does Your Leadership Impact Your Brand?

 

 

 

Are you getting uncomfortably excited about your own business? Or just excited? Let us know what you think about these questions that pop into your mind as we ponder the changing Google landscape.

 

 

 

  • How can I know whether a rebrand will help or hurt my business and its reputation?

 

 

  •  How can I budget properly for all that a rebranding entails?

 

  • Are there potentially moments in the life of a business when a brand health check or rebrand is the right strategy, even when the company is performing well, like Google?

 

 

[1] Larry Page’s University of Michigan commencement address

[2] http://www.google.com/about/company/history

[3] Vise, David, and Malseed, Mark. The Google Story, Delta Publ. (2006)

[4] http://www.google.com/about/company/philosophy

[5] Samuel Gibbs (November 3, 2014) The Guardian.

[6] Richard Waters (October 2014) Financial Times.

   

     

   

  

Top 10 Branding Articles in 2014

Have you ever wondered which Persona Branding and Design articles are the most popular with readers?

We’re always interested to see which of our posts resonate most with you. Even though we do lots of research and planning, there are no guarantees which topics will get the most attention.

Today we’re giving you an exclusive peek into our top ten most popular posts of 2014, some of which you might have missed.

I know you’ll find at least one that will be very useful to your business.

Enjoy!

 

  Top 10 Branding Articles 2014

  

 

1: Top 20 Branding Trends for 2015

As 2014 draws to an end, now is the time to review, revamp, and update your branding strategies for the year to come. Successful branding is the key to driving business growth and profitability – and in 2015, it will be more important than ever to have a strong, thriving brand.

 

2: 30 Ways to Differentiate Your Brand

Building a strong brand is the undisputed key to success in today’s business world, and robust differentiation is an absolute must to build a powerful and compelling brand. There are many ways you can differentiate your brand. The skill lies is developing and applying the most effective brand differentiation strategy in a way that appropriately reflects your brand’s personality, values, promise, way of doing things and key characteristics.

 

3: Rebranding: How to Make It Through a Rebrand and Emerge Stronger

Brands are not static, unchanging identities – the most successful brands live and breathe, evolving along with changing shifts in market tastes, trends and demands. Rebranding or brand revitalisation, when properly planned and implemented, can be a powerfully effective strategy for rescuing or reinventing a failing brand, jump-starting a stagnant brand, expanding your markets, or initiating substantial business growth. A rebrand may be subtle or evolutionary in nature, or it may involve radically transforming a product, service, or entire brand.

 

4: Brand Audit: Tips for Determining Your Brand’s Health – Can It Be Improved?

Have your sales hit a slump? Are hot new brands drawing your customers away? If your brand seems to have lost its shine, it may be time for a brand audit or brand health check. Brand audits are effectively a health check for your brand. These comprehensive, honest evaluations look at the overall effectiveness of a brand and its current position in the market compared with the competition, as well as pinpointing inconsistencies and weakness, and identifying potential areas for improvement.

 

5: Packaging Design: How It Can Make or Break Your Brand

Research shows that you have less than 9 seconds to engage your customer and close the sale. In a fast-paced and highly competitive world, packaging design has become one of the most crucial elements for communicating your brand and standing out from the competition. Your brand might be the best in its category, but without packaging that grabs your target audience, customers won’t investigate your product to find out more or see what’s inside.

 

6: Brand Naming: Top Ten Methods for Brand Name Creation

Brand Naming is all about strategic rationale, not emotion and not politics. It’s your first impression so it’s critical you get it right. A good name is a compact easy-to-communicate piece of information. It grabs peoples’ attention and makes them want to know more and it carries a hugely significant portion of your brand recognition all on its own. 

 

7: Brand Personality: Is Your Brand’s Character Big Enough to Compete?

Creating a brand with an authentically strong character is central to your branding strategy success. Just as people can be larger than life, a brand’s personality can take on a life of its own. Creating a brand with an authentically strong character is central to your branding strategy success and effectively the decider between just another average price fighter or a truly magnetic and profitable brand.

 

8: Brand Promises: Are You Consistently Delivering Yours?

A brand promise is what your company or brand commits to delivering for everyone who interacts with you. A strong brand promise describes how people should feel when they interact with your brand, how your company delivers its products or services, and what sort of character your company embodies. Is your brand promise authentically ‘walking the walk’?

 

 

9. Branding Amazon: 3 Lessons to Learn For Your Brand Success

Amazon is one of the most recognizable companies in the world, occupying and serving more global regions than any other organization. While your company may not have the reach and capabilities of Amazon just yet, there are still several branding lessons you can take away from the mega-store’s strategies, positioning and brand management.

 

 Ceo Leaders Logos

 

10: CEO Brand Leadership: How Does Your Leadership Impact Your Brand?

The company leader is the single most powerful influencer on branding, the visionary and voice behind the brand, particularly in a small, medium or large businesses (SMEs). Phil Knight, Sir Richard Branson, Maxine Clark and Johnny Earle are all very different visionary leaders behind their brands but they have shared characteristics – the secrets to their incredible brands success.

 

 

Which is your favourite?

• Do you have a preferred article from Persona Branding and Design that didn’t make the top 10 list?

• Which of these top 10 posts did you find most useful?

 

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments! We love to hear from you!

 

 

CEO Brand Leadership: How Does Your Leadership Impact Your Brand?

Branding is the dominant decider for competing successfully in today’s business world. Organisations with the strongest brands are able to achieve far greater market share, higher profits, and long-term viability and sustainability. Whilst most companies focus their branding efforts on marketing, platform and brand collateral, many neglect one of the most important drivers of their brand – their chief executive’s or managing director’s brand leadership.

 

Particularly in a small, medium or large businesses (SMEs), the company leader is the single most powerful influencer on branding, the visionary behind the brand. Downplaying or ignoring your role in shaping your company’s brand often weakens your potential success and dilutes the potential impact of your brand. Whereas on the other hand, embracing your brand potential as the leader and visionary behind your brand provides the additional direction and focus much needed to help your brand grow and flourish.

  

We work with a lot of SME owner managers, helping them by adding distinction, structure, substance and more compelling meaning (from a customers perspective) to their vision of their brand. This is a key part of our work and ultimately critical to our clients brand success and the work we do in supporting them in their businesses.

 

   

 

 

 

Why Strong Leadership has a Powerful Brand Influence

A business brand is so much more than a name and logo. It’s the total brand experience from the moment a customer first interacts with anything that represents your brand. This could be an employee, a referral or conversation about your business, an article in the media, a person or an indirect affiliation which represents your business. It involves every piece of brand collateral, from your business cards to your website and product packaging, the look of your retail location or business interior, and every visual representation across all customer touch points. What’s more, your brand encompasses all the intangible aspects of your business – it’s reflected in your employees behaviour, your customer service, your pricing policies, the internal culture of your organisation and your total customer experience offered.

 

All of these elements together shape customer perceptions of a brand. In an SME business, the leader has the final say on every ingredient that goes into creating, developing, directing, growing and maintaining the brand. Each decision you make has the potential to impact your brand, for better or worse. Branding begins from the inside out – as a leader, you set the tone that resonates throughout your company and extends to your customer-facing brand experience, all of which is critical to your businesses survival, growing profitability and long term success.

 

One of the most familiar examples of this concept in action exists in chains and franchises. For instance, most people have been to more than one McDonalds, or Starbucks, or KFC. You’ve probably noticed that while they are the same stores, selling the same products in the same way, they can be quite different in brand experience. One chain location may be clean and well-lit, with a fast and friendly service, while another may be unkempt and slow, with terrible service and miserable employees.

 

This sometimes striking difference is the result of indifferent leadership, typically the store manager or franchise owner. If the leader of a franchise store is disengaged and out of touch, the brand suffers even with the backing of a national or global brand name behind it.

 

 

CEO Brand Vision: How Influential Leaders Shape Brands

In contrast, to the leader who pays little or no attention to their influence on their branding, some leaders carry a company’s brand and drive it with incredible success. Having a strong brand vision as a leader creates a powerful ripple effect that starts with the internal company culture, and extends into customer interactions and overall brand perceptions. Apple CEO Steve Jobs is a well-known example of this. The brand floundered and nearly went into bankruptcy when Jobs left in 1985, but bounced back stronger than ever with his return in 1997.

 

   Phil Knight Nike

  Image via www.nikeblog.com

  

 

Phil Knight, co-founder of Nike and CEO of the company until 2004, when he resigned but remained involved as chairman of the board, has continuously served the Nike brand through a powerful brand vision. Knight’s leadership ensured that the company maintained an internal culture that lives and breathes sports. Employees at Nike are highly competitive, careers are envisioned as extended sports seasons, and committees are quarterbacked rather than led. This pervasive dedication to the industry, to fans, and to players has cemented Nike as a global leader in the sports sector. Customers respond to the passion behind the company with a strong brand loyalty that mirrors the internal culture.

 

  Richard Branson Virgin

 Image via www.virgin.com

 

Among iconic brand visionaries, Sir Richard Branson is another standout example with a powerful personal brand that unifies more than 400 companies under the Virgin umbrella. Branson himself understands the supreme importance of branding, and knows exactly how he wants the Virgin brand to be perceived. He is a great living example of the visionary behind the brand. In an interview with Inc. magazine, Branson says, “I think people see the Virgin brand as not taking itself too seriously. It’s a fun brand, an adventurous brand. It generally offers great quality at great value…It’s a people brand.” Fun and adventurous certainly describe Branson himself, who’s attempted several outrageous stunts, such as flying around the world in a hot air balloon and trying to break the trans-Atlantic sailing record.

   

  

  

  

CEO Brand Leadership: Driving the Customer Brand Experience

Visionary leaders understand exactly how they want their brand to be perceived, and take steps to ensure that the brand is represented consistently throughout all channels and at every touch point. A consistently strong brand strategy creates powerful customer experiences that engenders strong loyalty.

  

  Maxine Clark And Staff

  Image via www.buildabear.com

 

 

Maxine Clark is the visionary leader of Build-a-Bear Workshop, a retail toy outlet that creates a highly personalized experience for its customers, the young and the young at heart. Clark’s official title is Chief Executive Bear (CEB), which is just the beginning of the consistent branded experiences she brings to the company.

  

 

Build A Bear Workshop Store Front 

   Image via www.buildabear.com

  

  

Build-a-Bear is a completely customer-centric organisation. This unique toy retail model allows customers to design their own stuffed toys, and then watch the personalized toy made right in the store. The Build-a-Bear brand stands for whimsy, love, and the magic of childhood, and every aspect of the company is designed around amplifying that brand story, its values and promise.

 

  Build A Bear Workshop Founder Maxine Clark

  Image via www.buildabear.com

 

 

In addition to hiring employees and managers based on customer-focused personality and the ability to see themselves through the eyes of a child, Build-a-Bear engages their young customers at every opportunity. The company website lets children create virtual versions of themselves and their stuffed creations, and interact with other bear owners online. They provide each bear with a built-in barcode and a “birth certificate” so that lost bears can be returned to any store and matched with their owner. The company also recruits and maintains a team of kids called “Cub Advisors” who provide feedback, ideas for new animals, and thoughts on other Build-a-Bear products and services.

  Build A Bear Workshop Logo

 

 

In an interview with TeleTech, Maxine Clark said, You don’t have to have all the ideas. Let customers give you ideas. It’s not about being psychic. We are just really good listeners.” The customer-focused brand has achieved tremendous success, with more than 400 retail outlets around the world and nearly $400 million in annual revenue.

  

   

 

  

  

 

CEO Brand Leadership: Influencing Brand Originality

Distinctive brands truly thrive, standing head and shoulders above their competitors, and visionary brand leadership typically is the secret catalyst behind driving that brand success.

 

  Johnny Cupcakes Packaging

  Image via www.johnnycupcakes.com

 

  

Such is the case with Johnny Cupcakes, a unique apparel company that sells branded t-shirts and more with a baking theme. The company’s ironic shirts are packaged in baking styles like frosting cans and donut boxes, and the stores display merchandise on oven racks and baker’s shelves, with decorations like industrial mixers.

  

  Johnny Cupcakes Store

  Image via www.johnnycupcakes.com

  

  

This unique brand is highly successful with thousands of fans, some of which are dedicated and loyal enough to have tattoos of the Johnny Cupcakes’ cupcake-and-crossbones logo!

  Johnny Earle Founder Johnnycupcakes

 Image via www.johnnycupcakes.com 

 

 

Johnny Earle, the founder of the company, started Johnny Cupcakes when he was in his early 20s. Earle committed himself fully to developing the distinctiveness of the brand, investing almost nothing in advertising in favour of creating an incomparable brand experience in his retail locations, from the displays and shelving right down to the smells of a bakery, achieved with frosting-scented air fresheners.

  

  

  

CEO Brand Leadership: Connecting Your CEO Brand to Your Company Brand

Sir Richard Branson is highly conscious of the Virgin brand and treats it as not just as a company, but as a lifestyle. Throughout every piece of brand messaging that bears Branson’s name or participation, he repeatedly reinstates and lives the Virgin culture and core values, ensuring a clear vision, mission, and direction that is echoed through the vast Virgin empire.

  

As a leader, you have the opportunity to exert a powerful influence on your brand, from all the internal processes and details to external customer and stakeholder perceptions and experiences.

 

“Living the brand” is a very effective strategy for any leader, regardless of the size of your company. When you channel your leadership skills into directing and building both your company brand, while ensuring your personal brand is fully aligned to those product or service brand values, you ensure both internal and external brand consistency. This relentless focus to constantly deliver on your brand promise to both your employees and customers alike is what ultimately makes brands successful, gives them longevity and helps grow your company’s long term profitability.

  

What do you think?

  

• Does your current leadership style reflect your company brand?

  

• What is the internal perception of your brand at your company?

  

• How many brand elements do you have direct control over within your company?

 

• Do you have a strong brand vision that guides your leadership actions?

  

• What changes can you make in your day-to-day leadership to encompass and support more of your brand’s core values?

  

• Are you “living the brand” and leading by example in living the brand? Are your employees living the brand?

 

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you!

Personal Branding: Tips for CEOs & Senior Executives

Branding is essential for the success of your business, but your products or services aren’t the only aspects of your company that need a strong brand. As a CEO or executive, and the public face of your business, developing a distinctive and consistent personal brand complements and further solidifies your business brand—while at the same time helping you achieve personal development, growth and enhanced career success.

 

Personal branding is a natural extension of your leadership. Your personal brand encompasses your expertise, your career accomplishments, and your professional reputation. In large part, it is the emotional response your customers have when they hear your name—it is the experience of ‘you’.

 

As a CEO or executive, you don’t have to be Sir Richard Branson or Jeff Bezos to enjoy the benefits of a well-developed personal brand. The following four tips will help you create a consistent personal brand that will help elevate your professional reputation and drive brand effectiveness for your business.

 

  

Top 4 Personal Branding Tips for CEOs and Senior Executives

 

1. Understand Your Existing Personal Brand

Whether or not you’ve worked to develop it, you already have a personal brand. The problem is that it may not be the brand you want.

 

Your personal brand is defined by your reputation, and by other people’s perceptions of you. This is especially critical in today’s digital world, where trusting online information and resources is the rule rather than the exception. What kind of picture does a Google search for your name paint?

 

Controlling your personal brand begins with awareness of the reputation that’s already out there. Your professional website, social media profiles, and published content should all reflect the brand promise you want to deliver to your customers. Without active participation in shaping your personal brand, it will be created for you—and you may not be pleased with the results.

 

Some of the most crucial ingredients for managing your personal brand online include:

  • A professional photo: Maintain personal brand consistency with one high quality, professional headshot that’s used for all of your online platforms, from your website to Linkedin to Facebook to Google Authorship etc. Having a great photo not only encourages brand recognition and visibility, but also helps to create personal connections with your customers.
  • A unified profile: As with your photo, use a single, succinct and compelling personal bio for every aspect of your online presence that encapsulates your personal brand and strengthens brand recognition.
  • A defined and consistent brand position: Make sure your personal brand philosophy is reflected in every piece of content that appears under your name online. Conflicting or incongruent presentations can undermine or dilute your brand and raise doubt in the minds of your audience about your integrity.

   

  

  

2. Define Your Niche

You may know how to define a niche for your products or services, but what about your personal brand? You can’t identify a target audience, because your customers aren’t buying you—or are they?

 

The goal of personal branding is to sell your audience on ‘you’ as a professional, an expert, and a business leader. This means you do have a target market, and it includes your business customers as well as your colleagues, strategic partners, stakeholders and the thought leaders in your industry. So defining your personal brand niche means deciding who your ideal audience is, and determining how you can best connect with them on a personal level.

 

3. Elevate Your Personal Brand By Association

As the saying goes, you are known by the company you keep. This holds true for personal branding, where a few strategic endorsements from industry influencers can enhance your personal reputation and allow you to be perceived as successful by association with known name brands.

 

 Tim Ferris 4 Hour Work Week

Image via www.timferriss.com

  

Tim Ferriss, entrepreneur and New York Times bestselling author of The 4-Hour Work Week, has seen phenomenal success as a personal brand, bolstered by multiple endorsements from highly recognizable names. The bio page of Ferriss’ website places him in the company of big business and personal brands, from working with Google, Harvard, and Nike, to appearances in Forbes and on CNN, to receiving mentions in the class of Richard Branson and Jack Dorsey.

 

As a CEO or executive, networking with influencers in your industry and gathering testimonials is a powerful way to build your personal brand and draw on the success of association.

  

4. Own Your Brand

Even in an impersonal medium like video or the Internet, your audience can tell when you’re being authentic—and they can spot a phoney. Your personal brand will not be successful if it’s not authentic. In fact, authenticity forms the foundation of a unique personal brand that helps you stand out. As writer and poet Oscar Wilde (who was a strong personal brand before the term was defined) said: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

 

Many CEOs and executives fear the possibility of polarizing their audiences with a strong, authentic brand. But it’s essential to realize that, like your business brand, your personal brand won’t appeal to everyone—and it doesn’t have to.

 

 Steve Jobs

Image via www.apple.com

  

Take, for example, Steve Jobs. The former CEO of Apple was unquestionably a powerful personal brand. Innovative, dynamic, and widely respected, Jobs was also known for his strict perfectionist tendencies and for being harsh on his employees. He never tried to hide these qualities or apologize for them, yet even after his death, Jobs remains a beloved icon and a symbol of technological innovation.

  

   

Jobs’ less desirable personality traits remained a known but low-key quantity throughout his life and career. But even more polarizing personal brands can be successful, whether at the positive or negative end of the spectrum. Consider the unprecedented success of UK entrepreneur and celebrity chef Gordon James Ramsay, Jr, OBE. Abrasive, brusque, and demanding, Ramsay has built his personal brand on unending criticism delivered in crude language that has actually reduced his guests—his customers—to tears on occasion.

 

 Gordon Ramsay Kitchen Nightmares

 Image via www.gordonramsay.com

 

Still, Ramsay’s audience can’t get enough. The reason is that despite his caustic demeanor, Ramsay is absolutely authentic. He has a genuine interest in, and a passion for, helping others succeed, and that passion shines through. And while he may seem to work at cross-purposes, at its core, Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares aims to create more successful restaurateurs through the application of Ramsay’s demonstrated expertise.

  

   

Defining, shaping, and promoting your personal brand as a CEO or executive requires concentrated effort and some brand strategy inputs, but the results are worth the challenge. By maintaining a powerful and consistent personal brand that is distinct from, yet complementary to, your business brand, you can engage your customers and strengthen your platform for ongoing success.

 

What do you think?

 

• Are you aware of your existing personal brand? Is it positive, negative, or neutral?

 

• How can you monitor and shape your personal brand online?

 

• What niche audience does your personal brand appeal to, and how will you reach them and engage them positively?

 

• Where would you start looking for influencer endorsements in your industry?

 

• How can you define and enhance your authentic personal brand?

 

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. We’d love to hear from you!

 

Entrepreneurial Branding: 5 Top Tips For Brand Success

Entrepreneurs typically face an array of challenges with a failure rate which is dauntingly high. Estimates range from 75 to 90 percent of startups failing within the first few years – those numbers are enough to give even the most stoically resilient and determined entrepreneur pause for thought.

 

The good news is that a strong brand strategy can vastly improve your chances for entrepreneurial success. If over 80% of the Fortune 500 Company CEOs, rate ‘their brand’ as their company’s number one asset, then maybe you should be giving the planning and thought around your brand a lot more consideration than merely tokenism. When building a brand, it’s vital for entrepreneurs to realize that brands are not solely visual. The most common misperception is that many think their brand is just their logo and not much else! A logo is not a brand. This one of the most prevalent mistakes business owners, and designers alike make – much to their detriment.

  

A brand is what your product or service ‘stands for in peoples minds, what it means to them’ and ‘branding is the process of executing and managing things that make people feel the way they do about your brand’. What your brand stands for, its values, promise, customer experience and those associated feelings your brand provokes through its story, and so forth, are what determine the creative design brief for what you logo, and all your other visual materials, actually look like. Your logo is merely the visual idnetifier for your brand, assuming it is well designed enough to appropriately convey your brand meaning in a very distilled visual representation. In short you need to build your brand profile first, before you start designing your logo.

 

If you define what your brand is all about from day one, through your brand profile, it will provide you with absolute clarity on the direction of your brand strategy in parrallel with your business strategy and overall business plan. It will provide you with the right direction for all the different choices you will need to make such as suppliers, communications, online interactions and marketing activities etc.

  

The question here is what’s different, really different about what you’re offering? Slightly different is not good enough. If you want to stand out, you’ve got to be brave and think bigger – dare to be different with your brand in a way that is really relevant to your primary customer. This is what gives your brand substance and potential sustainability – not a logo. You can have the most beautifully designed logo but that still won’t make it into a brand.  

 

    Jeff Bezos Amazon

 Image via www.financialpost.com and Patrick Fallon/Bloomberg

  

One entrepreneur that has defined a brand very succinctly is Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, when he said: “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” Successful branding is about winning and keeping customers, about influencing choice, and ultimately about finding and dominating your place in the market.

 

 

Checkout these top five branding tips to help you achieve a stronger start and give your budding business a better chance of success.

 

5 Foundational Branding Tips to Support Your Brands Success

 

1. Start Early, Brand Consistently and Congruently

For any entrepreneur or startup, it’s never too early to begin building the foundations of your brand. In fact, you should have your brand well developed and thought through so you can put it to work for your business long before you interact with your first customer. This can be summed up in Simon Sinek’s quote ‘People don’t buy what you do, they buy ‘why’ you do it, and what you do simply ‘proves what you believe’.

 

  

Understanding is the first step to building a successful brand. You must know, as a company, exactly who you are, what you stand for, why you do what you do, and what you have to offer your prospective customers that they can’t experience or get anywhere else. Your brand must emotionally and intellectually have the power to engage, motivate and inspire both your prospective customers and your people internally.

 

Dedicate committed time and effort to determining your brand vision. Challenge your thinking, don’t settle for second rate ‘me tooism’ or hybrids of what’s already out there. The greatest sin is to be bland, obvious and ordinary. You must be different, distinctive and memorable for the right reasons if you want success. Be rigorous and thoroughly challenge yourself. Be able to answer questions such as:

  • What is your company’s mission? What will you deliver to your customers—not just in terms of products or services, but emotionally and as an overall customer experience?
  • What benefits and features of your company’s products and services are unique to your business?
  • How will your brand enhance your customers lives and/or solve their problems?
  • What qualities do you want your consumers to equate with your company?
  • What should your business be synonymous with in one year, five years, ten years?
  • Will it still be relevant and powerful in one year, five years, ten years or twenty years plus?
  • Would you fight to protect what your brand stands for? Do you believe in it so strongly that you simply won’t compromise on it? Is it fundamental to your core belief system?

 

Once you have fully fleshed out your business brand vision and values, you can begin distilling your core message into a powerful and captivating brand communications strategy that puts your brand to work effectively.

 

However this can only be done authoritatively when you have a very clear picture of who your ideal core target audience is. Do you know what their needs, wants, loves, hates and aspirations are? How and where do they live, what age and gender are they?

 

You need to build your customer persona or avatar because its only when you have absolute clarity on what this is, that you can create a brand that will truly resonate with your core target audience. You need to create a brand that meets their emotional needs because when people buy, be that a product or service or into your ideas, they buy with emotion – not rational. Think about it, you can’t build something of substance and compelling meaning if you don’t know or understand who you core customer is and what matters most to them.

 

  

  

2. Create the Right Visuals

While a brand isn’t just about visuals, your brand collateral or visual materials are far more important than most entrepreneurs often realise. Think about all the brands you know that are instantly recognizable: the BP flower, the Nike swoosh, the red Coca-Cola can, McDonald’s golden arches, and Apple’s…apple.

 

 Apple Logo

Image via www.apple.com 

 

For any entrepreneur or startup, a well-designed logo can become a powerful hook for your brand. It’s your brands identifier and like a tattoo, not something you easily or readily change once you start establishing it – so it needs to given some serious thought and investment from day one. In short it needs to be invested in properly as does all the rest of your brand collateral be that your website, brochures, PowerPoint or Keynote Presentations, packaging, direct mail, advertising, social media presence and videos etc. Your brand collateral is the tangible evidence of your brand and it must be designed to congruently reflect and tell your brand story, its values and personality properly. Every single touch point or piece relating to your brand must be consistent and properly designed. They are the tactile materials of your brand, an extension of your reputation and part of your branding strategy.

 

3. Dare to be Different

Every business has competition, and as an entrepreneur, your startup must stand out from not only the established companies in your industry, but also the thousands of other startups launched every year. This means that having absolute clarity on what your brand stands for, what your ‘big why is’, and how you’re going  to communicate your message and that distinction to your customers, is crucial to your brands’ potential success.

 

Distilling your brand values, what it stands for, its personality, the do’s and don’ts of how it will behave and the experience it will create for your customers through all the various ‘touch points’ of its interaction with them is critical to its potential success.

  

It can be challenging to properly and fully develop your ‘brands’ profile’, but once done becomes vital to the fundamental success of your business and part of your ongoing business strategy and plan. It’s integral to your business model.

  

As an example, many entrepreneurs around the world have built their success through a brand profile that has been strongly rooted in the provenance of their unique geographic location. The hospitality and restaurant industry is particularly crowded, but with enough differentiation from other restaurants in the same locality and an authentically lived and experienced brand story, you can attract a loyal customer following.

 

The world you create around your brand must be authentic with an almost theatrical piece of escapism, from a customer experience perspective. From the moment they stand outside your door, metaphorically speaking, to consider a purchase from you, your brand must offer them something they can’t get or experience anywhere else. It must richly express its own personality in a way that’s truly relevant and compelling to your target audience.

 

L'etoile Restaurant Usa 

 Image via www.letoile-restaurant.com

 

One restaurant owner in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, not only created success with her brand proposition, but also used it to elevate her status from entrepreneur to icon. Odessa Piper’s vision led her to launch a fine-dining establishment, L’Etoile, in the middle of a large farming community, which became successful due in large part to her brand vision and commitment to serving only the highest quality, locally sourced food. While sustainable dining may be nothing new today, it’s important to note that Piper opened L’Etoile in 1976, making her a pioneer of the farm-to-table movement and earning her the title of “First Lady of Cuisine” in Wisconsin.

 

4. Brand Promises: Make Them and Never Break Them

Every successful brand comes with an unshakeable promise—in fact, your brand promise is a core part of your brand. You don’t have a meaningful brand without a brand promise. Having a brand means that your customers can and should expect certain rewards whenever they interact with your company. Whether that promise is incredibly great quality ingredients “using only the really good stuff”, exceptional customer service that “goes beyond just the good to an exceptional and unforgettable experience” or “social distinction in a class of its own”, the key to sustaining your entrepreneurial business is to deliver on your brand promise – every time congruently and consistently without question. Your brand promise must be non-negotiable in its delivery and fulfillment all the time.

 

 Ruby Hammer Recommends Lip Gloss

 Image via www.rubyhammer.com and www.debenhams.com

  

International makeup artist and successful entrepreneur Ruby Hammer understands and capitalizes on her brand promise. Hammer co-created and launched the now-discontinued Ruby & Millie makeup brand in partnership with Boots—but she’s also responsible for the launch of other successful brands in the UK, including Aveda, L’Occitane and Tweezerman. She was awarded an MBE in 2007 by the Queen, and she’s recently launched a new line called Ruby Hammer Recommends.

 

In an interview with the Female Entrepreneur Association, Hammer states that promising and delivering quality is vital to the success of a brand. “The key to developing a successful brand is first, you’ve got to have something worthy of success,” she says. “You can’t do it with a bad product.”

 

Successful brands not only give customers the expectation of a unique perspective and a valued experience, they deliver on that promise to provide something undeniably and irresistibly desirable.

 

 

5. Branding: A Solid Foundation for Startups

The majority of new businesses may fail, but yours doesn’t have to be one of those sorry statistics. Strategic branding with a clear message that communicates the unique experience and attributes of your offering can help you win and sustain your business from day one. Commit to building a strong brand foundation to attract and underpin a loyal customer base. This will in turn inspire your brand advocates who in turn will help you spread your brand name and reach much further, and most importantly, help you build an ongoing profitable empire.

 

What do you think?

 

 • Does your business have a strong brand profile? If not, how can you create one?

 

• Do you understand what your target audience wants, and exactly how you can meet their desires?

 

• Does your logo really stand out in its uniqueness and distinction, capturing the essence of your brands’ mission, vision, and qualities of your business at a glance? If not, how can you improve it?

 

• How can you measure the effectiveness of your startup’s brand?

 

• What channels are you using to spread your brand, both visually and conversationally?

 

Drop us a line and share your thoughts in the comments, we’d love to hear from you!

 

 

Top 14 Branding Trends for 2014

The concept of branding has come a long way—from a near-mythical corporate buzzword attainable only through massive infusions of marketing euros, to a vital and achievable goal for any company, big or small. And like all things branding and marketing related, the methods that work for branding continue to rapidly change and evolve with the times.

 

As we rapidly advance into 2014, branding trends reflect a tighter, more focused approach that increases effectiveness and return on investment by reaching precisely targeted audiences. Effective branding strategies are moving toward more and improved visuals, meaningful company brand visions, and an outreach that brings customers more personalized experiences.

 

Read on to find out more about some of the critical branding trends for businesses seeking a successful return on investment in 2014.

  

Top 14 Branding Trends for 2014

  

1. Aesthetically Stunning & Functionally Performing Websites 

Your website is the hub of your online brand. It’s also competing with a landslide of other websites for the attention of your target customers—so if you’re not standing out visually, you’re losing out monetarily.

 

How long has it been since you last audited and redesigned your website? Even over the past year, web design trends have experienced major shifts, with the most successful businesses moving away from the flashy and complex towards the simple elegance of less cluttered designs and beautiful typography. Navigation is simplified too, with a rapidly growing, dominant preference to access websites on mobile devices which means your online presence has to be designed to meet that customer need.

 

Make 2014 your year to invest in a stunning website in both aesthetic, branding and functional terms. Take the time to choose a talented branding partner, designer and developer who can create visual marketing magic for your business.

 

2. Choosing National Over Global

Think about it: Does your company really have the resources to market your brand to the entire world? Unless you’re bringing in more than $5 / €4 billion annually, the answer is probably not. Trying to build a global brand out of the starting blocks is not necessarily the best use of your time and resources.

 

Depending on your product offering or service type it’s sometimes far easier and more affordable to grow your business locally or even nationally initially. Once you’re known and respected in your local or national geographic region you can leverage off that success to expand further afield. The loyal customers you’ve gained will also spread your brand through referral, social media and global connectivity too.

 

3. Social Media: Less is More

Speaking of social, the idea that your business needs to be active on every existing social media network, from AgentB to Zebo (yes, those really are social networks), is finally losing ground. The fact is, spreading your social marketing efforts across multiple networks only succeeds in making them all weak and ineffective.

 

It’s far better for your branding to choose one, or two at the most, where you can create the best engagement with your target audiences. If you’re B2B, LinkedIn is likely to be your top choice. Visually oriented businesses can find success on image or video-centric social sites like Pinterest, Vine, and Instagram. In a general sense, Facebook and possibly Google+ make fine focal points for most types of companies.

 

Social Media 

4. Being Authentic

Brands are at their core the relationships between companies and customers, the glue that joins the two. And just like any relationship, it’s less about what you say—and more about what you do. Today, successful branding involves putting your proverbial money where your mouth is, and demonstrating that your business truly stands for the brand you’re selling.

 

This means you need to make sure that everyone on your team understands, authentically lives and promotes your brand. Every customer experience with your company should reflect your values and beliefs, so you’re consistently living what you stand for—not just telling people about it.

  

Toms Logo

Image via www.toms.co.uk

 

5. Initiatives Over Monuments

Corporate social responsibility and sponsorship is an important facet of branding. In the modern market, its statistically proven that customers place a much higher value on brands that give something back to the community compared to those that don’t e.g. sponsoring a public service carries much more substance than just hanging a brand name in lights above venues and stadiums.

 

One good example is the New York City bike program sponsored by Citibank. This is effective branding, because the program offers a healthy, environmentally friendly alternative to the subways and taxis most city residents rely on.

 

 Citibike

Image via www.citibikenyc.com

 

6. Environmental Consciousness in Packaging

More businesses are making a branding impact by reducing excess packaging, using sustainable material resources and offering double-duty products, with packaging that can be reused instead of thrown out. This concept appeals to consumers who are conscious of environmental impact—and their budgets. For example, a Dutch light bulb company has come out with packaging that becomes a decorative lampshade and Puma’s reusable packaging is a key part of its brand message.

 

Puma Clever Little Bag 

 Images via www.puma.com

 

Clever Little Bag 2

  

7. Category: The New King in Town

Cross-category appeal has been a popular branding strategy for years, due to the perception that the more target markets you can appeal to, the more money you’ll make. But with more consumer choices than ever, buyer demand is becoming more specific.

This is good news for brand marketers, who can now find success by targeting a narrowed set of category values—which in turn boosts branding effectiveness.

 

8. Content Has Not Been Dethroned

Marketing experts have always trumpeted “content is king,” and with good reason. Great content is still a cornerstone of effective branding—businesses simply need to understand how to leverage it.

 

Today’s content marketing is less about keywords, and more about contextual relevance. Striking a balance between paid, owned, and earned media with engaging and relevant content can produce branding goldmines for any company.

 

9. Luxury Branding Makes a Comeback

On the heels of the economic downturn reversal, more consumers are looking for luxury. High-end brands are now blurring gender lines and marketing to broader categories of consumers—such as Johnnie Walker, a traditionally masculine brand that is building a gender-neutral and contemporary tone.

In the luxury market, boomer women are the dominant target, with millennials expected to rise to the top by 2016.

 

 Johnnie Walker Where Flavour Is King 600px

Image via www.johnniewalker.com

 

10. Differentiating Through Emotion

More consumers are reacting to how a particular brand makes them feel, and marketers are responding with emotionally driven campaigns that help them differentiate from the competition. Budweiser’s heartstring-tugging Super Bowl commercial this year is a great example of the emotional brand at work.

  

 

  

11. “Made for you” for Everyone

There’s no shortage of consumer information out there. Companies that capitalize on the massive streams of data, and find ways to personalize the customer experience, will come out ahead in the branding jungle. Personal outreach and detailed customization will delight your audience and elevate your brand.

 

12. Conquering Digital Diversification

With so many digital channels available, brands can find themselves being talked about in online spaces they’ve never heard of before. It’s essential to shift the focus from whether you should have that presence to what you should do with it.

 

Digital and social monitoring will help you keep up with online brand management, and push differentiation and emotional engagement through multiple channels.

 

13. Viral Visuals

Consumers are becoming much more visually literate. Arresting images, engaging video, and informative infographics are far more likely to go viral than long, tedious text-based pieces. Brand marketers looking for increased exposure should look toward image-sharing initiatives with the potential to spread quickly across social media.

  

  

14. Sales Funnels Become Connect-The-Dot Paths

The purchase funnel, or sales funnel, is a long-standing marketing staple that many brands concentrate on. However, with increased category specificity and narrowed targets, the mouth of the fabled sales funnel isn’t as wide as it once was.

 

Effective brands will look for and focus on path-to-purchase channels, and often find multiple paths that lead to the same purchase. Rather than opening up the funnel and hoping consumers fall in, the savvy brand marketer will find concentrations of potential customers, start building the relationship as early as possible and lead them from point to point until they reach the sale.

 

Branding in 2014 is an exciting field of opportunity for businesses, regardless of company size or revenue. With the right focus, any business can build a stronger brand through targeted outreach and authentic representation.

Here’s to building a strong, successful brand in 2014!

 

• Have you audited your brand values, what your brand stands for and what makes it different to your competitors – to see if they are still compelling and resonating with your ideal customer?

 

• Are you living your brand authentically throughout your business top down and bottom up? What can you do in 2014 to ensure you give your customers and clients an incomparable and unmistakable, consistently superb brand experience.

 

• Does your brand packaging design grab attention in a couple of seconds, sell your message succinctly and effectively while also delivering on sustainability?