Brand Strategy

Standing out amid a massive chorus of competitors is a challenge for any company
in today s business climate. Want evidence? Look at any magazine, TV show or surf
the Internet. The number of offers and sales pitches one receives on a daily ba
sis is simply staggering and increasingly ineffective. It s no wonder, then, why b
usinesses are seeking new and more effective ways of increasing the influence of
their brand strategy in the marketplace. A strong brand strategy can increase t
he awareness of a company and its offerings in such a way that establishes stron
g feelings and reactions and a favorable view towards the company as a whole. To
create this sort of brand awareness in your market, it takes skillful Brand Strat
egy know-how.
Successfully out-branding your competitors is a continuous battle for the hearts
and minds of your customers. The proposition your brand strategy makes must be
very compelling, attractive and unique among competitive offerings. The proposit
ion must also be consistently reinforced throughout all phases of an organizatio
n, from senior executives to customer service, research and development, busines
s development and even your business partners.
What entails a comprehensive and effective Brand Strategy process? That s a much lon
ger answer than what we have space for here, plus it varies from industry to ind
ustry, but here are some very basic guidelines about what makes a good Brand Str
ategy.
Brand Strategy what s the big deal?
Brand Strategy is nothing new. Yet, the expectations consumers have for a produc
t or service they buy is stronger than it s ever been. This is why companies inter
ested in long-term success must create the most promising, targeted brand experi
ence possible.
Whether you know it or not, you already have a brand, and your customers are hav
ing a brand experience when they interact with you, whether it be with your produc
ts and services or the people in your company. In order to craft this brand exper
ience in a calculated way that is beneficial for your company, you must have a st
rong understanding about what exactly a brand is.
Brand is the Alpha and Omega
In other words, brand is the totality of your company and its business.
A brand is the sum of the good, the bad, the ugly and the off-strategy, says Scott
White, one of the nation s leading branding consultants and a valued expert compa
nies like Sun Life Financial and Franklin Sports rely on. It is your best and wor
st product. It is your best and worst employee. It is communicated through award
-winning advertising as well as those ads that somehow slipped through the appro
val cracks and sank anything riding on them. It is your on-hold music and the de
meanor of the receptionist who puts that valued client or prospect on hold. It i
s the carefully crafted comments by a CEO as well as negative buzz by the water
cooler or in chat rooms on the Internet. Brand is expressed through written, aud
io and visual content. It is interpreted through emotional filters every human b
eing has where anything can happen. Ultimately, you can t control your brand. You ca
n only hope to guide it.
The Road to Branding Success
Building on the inherent values of a brand should be the core of any branding st
rategy. If they re not clear, get a good grip on them first. Is the brand about ho
nesty or integrity? Quality? How about excellent communication and customer sati
sfaction?
Knowledge of a company s values, at least in a literal context, is typically an in
ternal matter; yet, those values become evident to everyone in contact with the
company, from customers and prospective customers to business-to-business relati
onships and employee relations. Consistency is the key here. If members of the o
rganization aren t accurately representing the values of the brand, steps must be
taken to rectify the chink in the armor. And unlike a brand s key business proposi
tion, values should never change even though the landscape in which the company
operates and even its products may.
Winning brand strategies starts with top-notch research
With values set, a brand proposition is ready to be established. Objective and c
omprehensive branding research are the keys here. At a minimum, both must be don
e to establish clarity on the brand s strengths and weaknesses, the target audienc
e and the competition. If possible, branding research should also be done on the
brand s industry, its history, the status of the market and possibilities for fut
ure expansion.
Your target customer will determine your success
If it s only possible to do one body of brand research, discover as much as possib
le about your target customer. Find out who they are and what their needs and de
sires are. Make it your mission to get as detailed information as possible on th
eir age, gender, income, shopping habits (online and off) and anything else of r
elevance you can determine. If you re targeting a business market, these criteria
will differ, depending on the industry. Understanding your target market and wha
t they want is key to developing a winning brand. Knowing these things should al
so give you an idea for what communication medium and content would work to enga
ge your market.
Other research you might want to do is find out what your competitors offerings a
re like. How do your offerings stack up? What can a customer get from your produ
ct that they can t get from anyone else? Find out these things, and you have the s
eeds for a winning branding strategy, not to mention great fodder for an ad camp
aign.
What does your brand promise?
The brand statement, often called the brand promise or proposition, is a derivat
ive of branding research. It states the benefit of buying and using your company s
products or services. For clothing, it could be about style or comfort. For a c
ar, it could be about safety or reliability. Whatever it is, it must be clear, e
ngaging and presented in a context relevant to the customer. One example of an e
ffective brand promise is that of BMW s. It s stated right in the company s tagline: T
he Ultimate Driving Machine.
Your promise should be golden
If your company s products and service don t live up to their brand promise, new cus
tomers will become lost customers and loyal customers might leave, too. Simply p
ut, your deliverable, what ever that is, must follow through on the promise in fac
t, it would be best if it actually over-delivered.

Your promise should be unexpected, but welcome

Don t reuse something a competitor has already promised even if it works for your
product or service, and don t be vague in trying to position your company favorabl
y against your competitors (such as saying you re the best pizza in town. ). Be speci
fic because specific is exponentially more memorable. Besides, people expect you
to be good. Otherwise, they wouldn t give you their business.
Hearts and minds first, wallets later
Creating a positive emotional association in your market for your product or ser
vice is key. It can create want and desire by the mere mention of your brand, pr
oduct or service name. Needless to say, that s powerful. For instance, the mere me
ntion of Ben & Jerry s conjures up images of numerous unique premium ice cream fla
vors and with the anticipation for your favorite (in my case, Cherry Garcia). Su
ch positive emotional associations are built over time through good branding pra
ctice and a time-tested relationship between you and your customer based on intr
igue, trust, understanding and support.
To create a brand promise that creates such emotional connections, it should be:
1. Grounded in the brand s core values
2. Clearly relevant and engaging to your target market
3. Able to create some sort of positive emotional attachment beyond just being go
od
4. Repeated internally and externally within your organization
5. Adaptable to the business climate
6. Continually reinforced
7. Consistent across advertising and marketing mediums
8. Known and echoed by business partners
Scott White, president of Brand Identity Guru Inc., is a highly sought-after bra
nding consultant and speaker. He has conducted hundreds of proprietary Pump Up Yo
ur Brand workshops to companies of every size from large multi-national public co
mpanies to one and two-person shops. If you re interested in having one, contact M
r. White at 617.504.2305 or via email at swhite@brandidentityguru.com.
Follow these links to learn more about brand strategy, branding, along with bran
d design.
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