Brand Champions

Parents Are Valuable Education Brand Champions

Yesterday I had a great conversation with a middle school principal about the value of parents in the brand development process. Like other stakeholder groups parents are not always effectively engaged in the education brand develpment process.

We need to make sure that there are period times and ways for parents to share their views on how well our schools are delivering on their brand promise. Does the school provide the assets to their sons and daughters that they thought they would?

When a school or system of schools has adopted a brand strategy the organization needs to make sure that parents understand the strategy, especially the narrative, so that they can tell others about the value of the school. This will ensure the the organization recruits and retains the right families.

Rex Whisman

Chief Strategist

BrandED Consultants Group

Getting Buy-In to Branding

Yesterday I had a conversation on this topic with a communications leader from an institution of higher learning, so I thought it would be appropriate to revisit this important subject here. The key to getting buy-in to any venture is to provid opportunities for people to be a part of the process and give them a chance to share their opinions and recommendations. That doesn't sound too hard does it?

No, but most organizations do not spend the resources to allow their employees, customers and and others to be a part of the brand development process. They either hire an agency or internally they establish a campaign and call it branding. The first step is to remind your stakeholders that branding is the process of aligning our internal culture with our external reputation. It is not an event, a tagline, a logo or a campaign.

Once stakeholders understand what branding is and what it is not, and are given the chance to participate in the process, your chances of getting buy-in will increase. You will even have the chance to see brand inhibitors turn into brand champions.

Rex Whisman

Chief Strategist

BrandED Consultants Group

Don't Forget LinkedIn as Part of Your Brand Strategy

On the one hand I am probably stating the obvious for many of you, but a number of people still do not appear on LinkedIn when I search them out in hopes of connecting. For some they are not sure what the value of LinkedIn is or do not think it is cool enough. I know I am often guilty of not including LinkedIn during my social media and brand conversations because I assume everyone is already there.

But low and behold I will meet someone and then try to connect with them on LinkedIn so we can stay connected, and boom, no one home. Even though Facebook, Twitter and YouTube seem to get all the props, and rightfully so. LinkedIn is arguably the most business-friendly social media site. If you are a professional and do not appear on LinkedIn, there is a good chance you are diluting the brand that you work for. Especially if you are in a leadership position.

Become a brand champion, get on LinkedIn. Demonstrate how your personal brand aligns with your organization's brand, and how others can do the same. If someone wants to be your brand champion, let them. There are advantages of that site and they are making improvements all the time.

Rex Whisman

Chief Strategist

BrandED Consultants Group

At Starbucks Managing a Brand is a Lifetime of Work

I am periodically reminded of this famous quote from Howard Schultz, Chairman, Starbucks. I often remind others of this quote. I anticipate I will use the quote this morning during a webinar with over 70 PK-12 school educators when we talk about best practices in brand + social media. Why? Because it captures what branding is all about. Branding is not a campaign. It is not a logo. Branding is not an event. Those are solutions and channels to communicate the essence of your organization. Your brand.

Branding is the process of aligning our internal culture with our external reputation. That seems reasonable. Why is it so hard? Because most people and most organizations do not want to think in lifetime terms, they relegate branding to a campaign. Even a one-year process is too much for some to digest, even marketers. Sometimes mostly marketers. But for those who commit to the idea of a process and that process being forever, the chances of a brand being around forever is much more realistic.

Sometimes people do not want to think beyond the time frame that they anticipate being with the organization. Sometimes organizations do not want to think long-term because they want to make money today. Unfortunately strategic plans then go out the window. But, when organizations like Starbucks develop a brand strategy that engages their employees first, customers second and investors third, they are able to effectively recruit and retain brand champions. When this happens they just might be around during our lifetime, and beyond.

Rex Whisman

Chief Strategist

BrandED Consultants Group

Events Like Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday Do Not Make a Brand

Saturday, November 26 had been designated as Small Business Saturday. A tip of the hat to small businesses in the United States. A time when we remember that there are more small businesses and more people working for small businesses than larger ones. As a small business owner I take pride in what I do and respect others who have started from scratch. It is a challenging, but rewarding process. Anything good should be.

But having a Saturday or any other day to pay homage does not make or break a brand. A sustainable brand is based on your mission (purpose), core values (guiding principles) and stakeholder engagement (working with our brand champions). One reason that many large and small businesses do not survive is because they begin and end with the bottom line. Of course that is a part of the process, but never forgetting who you are, what you stand for and getting your employees and customers involved helps ensure success.

Despite our down economy and the fears that it brings, this is a great time for everyone to go through an introspective process and understand what is important. If that means starting a small business great. If that means staying with a large business bravo. It is all about aligning your internal culture with your external reputation. That is branding. An event the day after Black Friday, two days after Thanksgiving and two days before Cyber Monday is not. 

Rex Whisman

Chief Strategist

BrandED Consultants Group

Thanks Brand Champions!

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of my family, friends, colleagues and clients who have made this a special year. I enjoy being your brand champion, and hopefully the feeling is mutual. I would especially like to thank those of you who have helped out and been patient with me over the last month as I recover from my knee injury. I really appreciate that. Enjoy your time on Thanksgiving and have a wonderful day with those who are special in your life.

 

Do Reality Shows Enhance or Dilute Brands?

This week I read that Southwest Airlines is in the process of developing a new reality show. You might recall that several years ago SWA provided viewers with an insiders view on Airline. Now comes word that they are going to give it another go. If memory serves me the show met with mixed results. Perhaps SWA was ahead of its time back then. I never saw Airline as I had not yet become a brand champion of SWA. I do not believe SWA had yet started flying into and out of my city at that time. Now that I am a convert I anticipate I could be a regular viewer. My gut tells me this show will enhance the SWA brand.

Another reality show that comes to mind for me is Hard Knocks on HBO. The latest series got inside the New York Jets training camp. One could argue that show enhanced the Rex Ryan brand and created celebrity status. I think many new Jets fans resulted. Another HBO series 24/7 takes an interesting approach leading up to a boxing match or hockey game. I think these types of shows help brands recruit new champions and retain existing ones. Although I am not a regular viewer shows like American Idol and Dancing with the Stars do the same. Other interesting shows are The Biggest Loser and The Amazing Race.

Like anything else, taste and professionalism often take time. It is called brand building. That is the case with reality shows. Many early entries were simply dumb. Some still are. Many now have a brand strategy and understand how to create value. Could a reality show enahnce your brand?

Rex Whisman

Chief Strategist

BrandED Consultants Group

Super Committee Fails to Deliver on Brand Promise

As soon as I heard that the committee charged with fixing financial woes in the United States was branded Super, I knew we were in trouble. That is a lot to live up to. Usually when we see or hear the word super, we think of associations like fantastic, undeterred, one-of-a-kind, winner and others too numerous to mention. When that terms is rested right next to the word committee, it does not feel right. Almost oxymoronic in tone.

That said, like many, I was optimistic that the twelve member committee would reach across the aisle and get the job done that they were asked to do, and that they accepted. Now, most of us are not surprised that the people on the committee were not super man or woman after all. They are politicians in Washington, DC who do not understand their brand and do not seem to know how to effectively recruit and retain the brand champions we all wanted to be.

Let us remember that the overarching brand is the United States of America and that the sub-brands whether they be Democrat, Republican, Independent or others, should serve to deliver the brand promise of what the USA stands for, not what self interests or lobbyists stand for. We should all be champions of the USA brand and work towards delivering on that brand promise.The problem is that most political parties do not have a brand strategy to support the USA.

Rex Whisman

Chief Strategist

BrandED Consultants Group

Don't Forget the Value of Your Brand's Verbal Identity

The story that we tell and the story that we rely on others to tell about us is more important than our logo. Many people will nod their heads in agreement but very few organizations put that way of thinking into practice. Because a visual identity is more tangible than a verbal identity and most organizations have invested in a brand standards manual, the visual identity often gets the most attention.

With the growing importance of word of mouth marketing and the increasing embracement of social media, story telling is taking center stage. If we do not have a narrative to help guide our conversation and ensure that others can effectively tell people in their network our story, how can we expect to recruit and retain brand champions? Without a narrative, how can our brand be sustainable?

Yes a logo is important. Yes my organization helps others develop visual identities. But, even when it has a high cool factor, a visual identity is not as important as a verbal identity. One other point, a logo is not a brand.

Rex Whisman

Chief Strategist

BrandED Consultants Group

Make Sure QR Codes Enhance the Brand Experience

Most organizations are jumping on the QR code band wagon. Like other technology there are those who are early adopters and there are those who lag behind. Most are in the middle. Once the masses think it is safe to go outside they get in the game. That is where we seem to be with QR codes. But, just like every other "trend" the process goes through several steps.

The first step should be to determine whether or not a technology fits your brand strategy. Will it effectively connect with your brand champions? Do you have the resources to optimize the use? How best can we deliver messages that support our brand? How does it align with our strategic priorities. These are just some of the questions that should be asked when making decisions on technology. Most organizations lack a brand strategy, so that is actually the first step.

There should be some study of how other brands are using the technology and some expeiementation to understand how it works and how it can be used to support your brand. By studying others and learning the technology you will have your aha moments about how to make use of the technology for your brand. Unfortunately most brands one day decide to jump in with both feet without a strategy. Or put their toe in the water and never get in the game. With QR codes it is the same. Mostly the former.

Most brands develop a QR code that sends users to some site that makes no sense or to a corporate website that cannot be read on a mobile device. If you are going to send me to a website, make sure it is a mobile site and enhances my experience. Or send me to a video that provides additional information and me wanting more. A great example of how to use a QR code is The Zappos Experience by Joseph Michelli. In each chapter of the book, the reader can scan a code and is directed to a video that supports the chapter.

If you are going to use QR codes have a plan. Your chances of recruiting and retaining your brand champions will be much greater. Otherwise you have just diluted your brand big time.

Rex Whisman

Chief Strategist

BrandED Consultants Group