Stand Out!: Building Brilliant Brands for the World We Live in (Issn) 9781951527525, 9781951527532, 1951527526

Table of contents :
Cover
Stand Out! Building Brilliant Brands for the World We Live
Dedication
Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
CHAPTER 1: The Origin and Nature of Branding
CHAPTER 2: What Are You Thinking?
CHAPTER 3: Building Brilliant Brands
CHAPTER 4: Branding in the World We Live in
CHAPTER 5: A Final Thought: The Beauty of Branding
Bibliography
Word Wizard: Grand Summary
About the Author
Index
Ad Page
Back Cover

Citation preview

STAND OUT! BUILDING BRILLIANT BRANDS FOR THE WORLD WE LIVE IN BR IA N Mc G U R K

Stand Out!

Stand Out! Building Brilliant Brands for the World We Live In Brian McGurk

Stand Out!: Building Brilliant Brands for the World We Live In Copyright © Business Expert Press, LLC, 2021. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means— electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations, not to exceed 250 words, without the prior permission of the publisher. First published in 2021 by Business Expert Press, LLC 222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017 www.businessexpertpress.com ISBN-13: 978-1-95152-752-5 (paperback) ISBN-13: 978-1-95152-753-2 (e-book) Business Expert Press Marketing Collection Collection ISSN: 2333-8822 (print) Collection ISSN: 2333-8830 (electronic) Cover image licensed by Ingram Image, StockPhotoSecrets.com Cover and interior design by BrandCreate Ltd, Dublin, Ireland and S4Carlisle Publishing Services Private Ltd., Chennai, India First edition: 2021 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America.

To begin with….. Standout is everything for brands and particularly so for new-to-market brands. A brand is essentially a relationship of relevant and unique added value for the customer. Branding is not a science; it is not an art; it is a process.

For my wife Shirley and children Andrew, Kathryn, Sarah, and Niall. For your care, counsel, and constancy. This is the shout-out you so heartily deserve having been conscripted unwittingly as stalwart supporters, sense checkers, and sounding boards along the way. Thank you. Love you. This is for you.

Abstract “Stand Out!” is a book about branding and its evolution, practice, and power in today’s digital age. It presents the “why-do” and the “how-to” along with a passionate philosophy on transforming business through brand-centered change. It spells out a sequential, easily understandable, proven brand-building process. It is a key reference text for anyone interested in brand development, leadership, innovation, and sustainable business growth. Reader understanding and enjoyment are enhanced by ample presentation of supporting tables, charts, case examples, expert tips, real-life experiences and pull-out quotes, as well as a helpful “word wizard” glossary at the end of each chapter explaining business terms and expressions used. This book democratizes branding: It makes branding—its history, theory, and practice—easily accessible and actionable. “Stand Out!” ­replaces the mystique of brand strategy with the magic of brand transformation…. it makes it exciting and fun and puts that power directly into the hands of the business masses. It is a practical handbook for getting started with branding or for strengthening an existing brand management system. It gives the reader the confidence, permission, and skills to get branding now!

Keywords brand development; brand equity; brand experience; brand performance; brand forum; brand proposition; brand strategy; brand values; branding; branding process; business transformation; creativity; design; destination branding; digital branding; digital marketing; emotional values; employee engagement; employer branding; graphic design; identity design; market research; marketing; marketing communications; millennials; organizational values; place branding; qualitative research; website design

Contents Foreword................................................................................................xi Acknowledgments..................................................................................xiii Introduction.......................................................................................... xv Chapter 1 The Origin and Nature of Branding...................................1 Where Did Branding Come from?.................................1 What’s the Buzz?............................................................3 The Nature of Branding.................................................5 Chapter 2 What Are You Thinking?..................................................11 Who Do We Think of?................................................11 Can We or Can’t We? Will We or Won’t We?...............14 Who Do You Think You Are?......................................19 What Do You Think You’re Worth?.............................23 Chapter 3 Building Brilliant Brands..................................................35 The How-To from the Get-Go....................................35 Brand Transformation is a Structured Process..........36 A Word about Money.............................................42 Mandatory Modern Marketing Media....................43 Living the Brand Experience...................................44 Putting Design in its Rightful Place........................45 Doing Branding in the Digital Age.........................47 How Do You Know They Get It?............................56 Tools of the Trade—Research and Insights...................60 Tools of the Trade—Creativity and Innovation............63 Building a Brilliant Brand Book..................................74 Building a Brilliant Website.........................................76 Chapter 4 Branding in the World We Live in...................................91 The Age of Dynamism.................................................91 Brand Experience—A Two-Way Commercial Force.....94 Be a Brand Expeditionary............................................98 Aspiration and Inspiration—The Importance of Purpose..............................................................100

x CONTENTS

The Power of Branding—Magnetism or Hypnotism?...........................................................104 From Nations to Destinations—The Branding of Places.................................................................107 Chapter 5 A Final Thought: The Beauty of Branding......................117 The Beauty of Branding is Not Skin Deep.................117 Bibliography........................................................................................123 Word Wizard: Grand Summary............................................................125 About the Author.................................................................................137 Index..................................................................................................139

Foreword It has been a total delight for me to read Brian McGurk’s engaging and revealing book on building brilliant brands for the world we live in. Drawing from the author’s 30 years’ career as a brand and marketing practitioner, Stand Out! allows readers access to the latest innovative approaches, real-life case examples, and new brand models and reveals the how-to and why-do of brilliant branding in today’s digitized world. Stand Out! is a page-turner; it transcends the heavy reading so typical of the business book genre and does so with energy and zeal. It takes the reader skipping easily and enjoyably through great detail and insightful processes, reflecting the author’s passion and belief in this fascinating business discipline. Unpicking the intricate nature of branding for the digital age, the author sets out credibly to bring not only branding to business but also brands to the masses. In the face of today’s dynamic marketplace, Stand Out! delivers what it promises and more. It challenges and guides brand planners and practitioners to stay fully relevant, ready, and resourced to deliver an outstanding, world-class brand experience. Stand Out! demonstrates why and how brand power can command lifelong customer loyalty in the face of the economic highs and lows, disruptive trends, and new competitive strategies of our digital age. In doing so, the author makes the case persuasively that branding is today, more than ever, an essential strategy for achieving and sustaining profitable business success. Roisin Isaacs Channel 4 Secret Millionaire London June 1, 2020

Acknowledgments To my many clients, colleagues, and consulting collaborators over the years, it has been a great pleasure and privilege to work with you and to learn from you. Together we have created and built great brands. I thank you all. To Róisín Griffiths and Janet French, my gallant “beta” readers and fellow travelers, thank you for volunteering, for your generous time and expert counsel, and for improving the text beyond measure. Likewise a huge thank you to Cal Kerr and Miguel Horta Pardal for your professional support with the design of charts and diagrams, tables and models.

Introduction I had no intention of writing a book—that was until my wife, my sister, and a business colleague pressed me to do so, all separately and independently of each other and, curiously, all within the same three-week period in late 2017. I got the message! As it happened, I had recently completed three decades of business consulting—mostly self-employed—the initial 10 years spent in marketing and the latter 20 in branding. As you will see if you read the book, this does not mean I was or am a designer. I am not. But then you don’t need to be a designer to be in branding. That alone is something of a surprise for many people. In fact, as this book demonstrates, design is simply one element of the branding process and merely one building block—as vital as it is—for creating or developing a powerful, profitable brand. So, I invented a new word: I’m a brander! This book lifts the lid on the world of the brander and the art, science, and practice of branding for today’s digital age. Digital has really churned things up in the last decade and thrown down many a gauntlet to professional marketers, executive managers, business leaders, and company owners on how to build and sustain new and existing brands in these dynamic and disruptive times. Above all, this book is a happy and joyful testimony of the opportunities that are possible and the success that is achievable through focusing the energies, talent, and resources of an organization on the adventure and advantage of building a brand. The key thing is to “stand out!” Differentiation cannot be left to chance. It must be meaningful, ­relevant, distinctive, competitive…. it must be transformative…. it must be compelling. In Stand Out!, I set out the origin, purpose, and process

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of branding and uncover tips, tools, and techniques learnt along the way from decades of experience and professional practice in fantastic companies with wonderful people. Brian McGurk Dublin May 13, 2020

CHAPTER 1

The Origin and Nature of Branding Chapter Overview There’s so much talk today about branding but often scant regard for its origin, history, and unique characteristics. This, I’m sure, is because once a marketing concept or name becomes part of the common speak of the business vernacular, then we take it as read that everyone understands its merit and meaning, its nature and nuances. Who is not guilty of using business buzzwords and jargon that may be generally accepted by your business fraternity but in similar measure may also be generally misunderstood? This, too often, is the case with branding, and sometimes the exponent is as culpable as the entrepreneur, the professor as the practitioner, the creative as the client. This chapter tackles the inertia that can exist in coming to grips with the essential meaning, raison d’être, and components of branding as a powerful business strategy; it aligns readers with its underlying background and philosophy; and it sets the scene for deeper exploration and fuller understanding of the power, practice, and process of market-beating brand development in today’s world.

Where Did Branding Come from? There’s a lot of talk about branding and along with that a lot of confusion about what it actually means but first of all let’s look at where this intriguing word originated from and what it means today. I always somehow knew that the word branding came from the act of marking cattle as an identifier of ownership, which I expected was a countermeasure to cattle rustling. I thought that this was the brainchild of some large cattle rancher in the U.S. Wild West and something that was important

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to identify different livestock when herds were on the move. Well, I was partially right. As Table 1.1 highlights, the act of marking livestock with fire-heated irons to identify ownership has its origin way back in ancient times, to 2700 BC to be precise, when the ancient Egyptians first heated irons and pressed them against the hides of livestock to mark animals as a proof of ownership. Interestingly, the actual word “branding” comes from the old Norse/ancient Scandinavian term brandr, which means “to burn,” which consequently led to the creation of the word “branding” to refer to the use of branding irons to burn a mark onto the hide of livestock. “Branding” comes from the old Norse/ancient Scandinavian term “brandr,” which means “to burn.” This of course is where the words “brand mark” originate from—a phrase that remains very much in use in present day marketing and design terminology. Furthermore, the meaning of “brand” was later registered in a dictionary in the year 1552 where it was defined as “an identifying mark made by a hot iron.” Today, many of the oldest brands in existence are to be found in the alcoholic drinks sector, originating in the 17th and 18th centuries. Seeing as alcoholic drinks are nonperishable, they could be distributed across great distances and over a long drawn-out timescale. As such, these products needed to carry a distinguishing name or symbol so they could be identified with their owners, and attributed with their owners’ quality standard and processes, even when being distributed far from their original place of production. Consequently, among the oldest brands today are Bushmills (1608), Twinings (1706), Guinness (1795), Schweppes (1798), and Ballantine’s (1809). What we see here is that the practice of branding was established for a very practical reason—the identification of a product (livestock) as a proof of ownership—and as the product was increasingly distributed farther Table 1.1  The Origin of Branding Date

Notable Event

2700 BC

The Ancient Egyptians invented branding irons.

1552

The word brand is mentioned in a dictionary.

1608

Through a 1608 license to distil, Old Bushmills Distillery in Ireland claims to be the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world.



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afield it was necessary to identify the source, provenance, and ownership of the product with the producer. As, over time, competitors came along and increased in number, this also placed a greater imperative on owners to “brand” their products—to give them a distinguishing mark. In this way, “the brand mark” became identified with the owner–producer and this declared and protected the owner’s interest in the product (in this case livestock). But what do you do when there are many players offering the same or similar produce and they each have the same approach to branding their livestock? That’s where branding—the branding iron approach— becomes ineffective and a more sophisticated marking system is required to distinguish products and services. And what about products that you need to identify ownership in but by virtue of their nature or ingredient you simply cannot brand with a hot iron? Enter the logo. Logo, logotype, logo device, brand icon, brand mark—all these words denote a more sophisticated, nuanced, crafted, and therefore more differentiated, creative, and powerful means of marking one’s ownership in a product or service— a more indisputable and indelible means of branding your product. All of a sudden, the branding iron has been replaced by the brand identity as the logo achieves visual differentiation in the market and attributes the rights and qualities of the product or service to a specific owner, distributor, producer, or manufacturer. But this is where the point of inflection comes. The modern understanding of the concept of brand is not restricted to the basic functional attribute of the visual identification of a product or service to identify a specific owner’s interest. “Brand” and “branding” have come to encompass so much more than the functional—they have come to stand for values, emotions, personality, and a value-adding proposition. Where the original branding of animals was carried out to physically differentiate livestock and to indicate ownership, the role of branding today is to convey a unique competitive proposition and supporting points of difference: what we call corporate or product values.

What’s the Buzz? There’s a brilliant buzz about branding—and I don’t mean buzzwords— I mean the real buzz that brands are generating everywhere. Everyone’s “talking brands” and talking about branding. It’s as if there are no products anymore as everyone prefers to talk brands—they prefer to describe

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their product as being a brand: people who run businesses like brands; people who buy from businesses like brands. On the one hand, businesses that own a true brand possess something which is established, desired, identified with, and is in some way outstanding: This may be due to performance or it may be due to price but whatever its source, it stands out from the competing products on offer. Yet a product and a brand are not the same thing. They are not merely interchangeable words, or they shouldn’t be. As such, a brand is worth more than its constituent product components, features, and benefits. It also possesses a higher level of appeal among the customer audience. In short, customers prefer it to any alternatives. This preference, loyalty, goodwill is worth money to a business. It’s called brand equity. On the other hand, people (customers or consumers) who buy a brand are buying trust. They believe that what they know or perceive about this product is true and that they can trust the product to deliver on their performance, quality, and value expectations. And this is the buzz about branding—that a brand is not just the sum of the product and service components produced. It is not just the physical attributes—not even if the product has smart packaging, a beautiful logo and a cute tagline. No, the brand is not made up of just that. The buzz about branding is that it brings us into the emotional dimension. A brand has emotional values. And because people identify with these emotional values, people become strongly loyal and proud to be identified with the brand’s customer cohort—other like-minded consumers who buy into these values too. That’s why “75% of what makes a brand great has nothing to do with the product or service delivered!” The statistic (mine!) may be moot but the point is clear: that when you have people who buy into a set of values that support a product or service, then, and only then, have you created a brand. But these values may not just be emotional in nature; some will also be resolutely functional. These are the more rational, quantifiable points of difference that a product offers, such as being faster, bigger, cheaper…, and while they are powerful, they are usually quite easily copied by competitors. These are often key to building a brand in the short term but are unlikely to provide a reliable competitive advantage that is sustainable over time. But this is where the buzz of a brand lies, in its functional and emotional values by which a



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product or service is transformed from a set of merely physical attributes into an emotional connectional experience: a felt experience; a human experience. In A Framework of Brand Value in B2B Markets, Leek et al. (2012) strongly emphasize that in a B2B context, brand value facilitates the progression from goods and services value, which is predominantly associated with functional benefits, to relationship value, which is closely associated with emotional needs. These customers are not just satisfied but also affirmed by engaging with a product to derive and enjoy its associated brand experience. The buzz about branding is this full, multidimensional, value-based customer experience. The buzz from branding is emotional, exciting, energizing, dynamic, and transformational. BUSINESS SPECTRUM

Business activity/ functions

Economic value output

BRAND SPECTRUM Employee brand engagement

Customer value perception

Market positioning and brand experience delivery

Figure 1.1  The relationship of a brand to the business enterprise

The model in Figure 1.1 sets out the integrated nature and reach of brands within the overall internal–external business environment. It shows how a brand interfaces and builds on from the primary production, manufacturing, and functional activity (the business spectrum) required to offer a product or service. The model illustrates that brand perception, engagement, and experience (the brand spectrum) begin internally with the employees of the organization. This identifies employee brand belief as a key success factor for marketplace credibility and sustainable competitive advantage.

The Nature of Branding I say that branding is two words not one. So I often depict it visually as “brand(ing).” Why so? Well, “brand” is the idea and “ing” is short for communicating it. So often I have found that people are on different planes when it comes to interpreting the meaning of branding. What are people thinking when they utter the word branding? What are the

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pictures in their heads? Classically, the first thought is “logo.” A brand is a logo they say. A business owner may say “I have ten brands in my ­portfolio” when in fact he does not. He may indeed have some brands or he may have none. People often like to use the word “brand” instead of “product.” It sounds better, more market oriented, more professional, more planned. But of course, a product does not constitute a brand. A brand is much more than the product or service components delivered. In addition, branding to some folks means design, and of course this in itself is not inaccurate since design is certainly a vital stream of brand communication activity. But design, in the form of a graphic, product, or digital design, is nevertheless just one area of brand communication albeit so very essential and influential. So, branding is not only about design but it is also about all and every form of market and in-company communication channel, messaging, and imagery. I often say that branding is essentially about two things: words and images. That’s in the design sense. On reflection I would also add a third: channels. Now, with branding being about words, images plus channels of communication, it encompasses not only the design but also the marketing of the brand. This raises the specter of strategic planning and the need for a “brand strategy” that directs messaging, imagery, and channel choices while being responsive to competitive trends, changing customer needs, and new communications technologies. In The Meaningful Brand: How Strong Brands Make More Money (Hollis 2013), the nature and scope of branding is captured in the discussion of the creation and marketing of a meaningful, experiential brand; Hollis identifies clarity of purpose, effective delivery, resonance, and differentiation as the key drivers of customer experience, with enhanced brand performance linked to positive financial outcomes. So, we can see now that the nature of branding is way beyond commonly recited minimalist thinking such as “logo design” and brings us into the realm of deep analysis and strategic definition work around the brand proposition, functional and emotional values, and brand personality attributes. The nature of branding is complex, and more so than is commonly understood. It encompasses the tools of research, strategy, design, copywriting, market communications, and in-company engagement. It is born out of entrepreneurial passion, disruptive ideas, and



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exciting innovation and is nurtured through skillful creativity, effective storytelling, and disciplined brand management and communication. The genius is in the detail? No, the genius is in the idea, followed by devotion in the detail, and discipline in the customer experience delivery. Brand(ing): ideas, devotion, discipline.

Key Takeaways Branding has evolved over almost 5,000 years from functional differentiator to emotional experience. A brand is much more than the product or service components delivered. Let’s rehearse it one more time: A brand is much more than a logo! Branding is not just about design. It’s about all and every form of market and intracompany communication. Customers are not only satisfied by brand consumption but become part of a definable purchaser cohort—a community of brand loyal, values-ascribing consumers. The integrated nature and reach of brands encompasses the business spectrum activity of primary functional production to the brand spectrum added value of emotional engagement and experience. The Word Wizard Expression

Explanation

Attributes

Key characteristics, features, or qualities

Brand

Uniqueness you know, want, and trust

Branding

The visual expression of a brand’s innate idea, proposition, and uniqueness

Brand equity

The commercial value of a brand due to its power in the marketplace as a result of customer preference, loyalty, and goodwill toward the brand

Brand experience

The full and combined benefits and effect in functional and emotional terms of using or consuming a brand

Brand personality

The style, attitude, and nature of how a brand behaves

Brand strategy

The plan that guides what the brand is to stand for in order to achieve relevance and competitive differentiation in the market (continued)

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The Word Wizard Expression

Explanation

Customer cohort

The type and grouping of customers who purchase the brand and subscribe to its values

Emotional branding

The intangible experience that a brand provides that connects with customers at the nonphysical level

Engagement

The extent to which a customer or an employee believes in and gets involved with the brand both physically and emotionally

Equity

The difference between what something is worth (an asset) and what is owed on it (debt and liabilities)

Functional

Physical attributes and benefits

Goodwill

The positive attitude toward the brand in the market; the extent to which it is held in high regard

Logotype

The identifying mark or logo that attributes ownership, provenance, and quality to a company, good, or service

Points of difference

All and any ways in which the brand, its delivery, and consumption experience is unique or different from competing brands

Portfolio

A catalogue or suite of brands, products, or services

Proposition

What the brand stands for, believes about itself, and promises to the customer

Provenance

The place of origin that authenticates or supports a brand’s quality claims

Tagline

A copywritten line that is incorporated into a brand identity to support and qualify a logo or a written brand communication

Values

What a brand or a business supports, promotes, and stands for as its essential ethics, priorities, and points of difference in both functional and emotional terms

Experience What brands do you associate yourself with?: Does it matter, for example, what brand of car you drive? Anybody love their car? Think it’s important to your personal brand image? I believe that the brand of motor car you drive is usually regarded as a very personal but public statement; it says something about the driver. I remember­—at a funeral no less—helping out a friend of mine whose car had broken down. I jest not! It was a battered-up Volkswagen. It wouldn’t start.



The Origin and Nature of Branding

He was in such a fluster that when I managed to get his car started, I didn’t leave him to it but just remained in the driving seat so I could drive him and it straight out of the cemetery! We had to crawl so slowly through the departing throng, many of whom knew me well. The car was hot; I lowered the window (at least it worked!); a topnotch medical consultant whom I knew personally saw me driving this archaic cruiser and leaned in through the window to say “Brian, what’s this? Get yourself a big-man’s car­—you’ll never look back!” I shuddered with embarrassment as the car spluttered on. He, of course, had no idea I was just lending a helping hand to a friend in need and that this was not my own personal vehicle. Nonetheless, this “brand experience” did me absolutely no good whatsoever! (Or maybe did me a lot of good but in a different way!) It was a chastening brand experience. Expertise “Brand” and “logo” are not the same thing: A brand is emotional; a logo is visual. A brand has values; a logo has design. Expertise Think purpose before presentation: Don’t think so much about what a brand does or should look like—its presentation. Think more about what its underlying purpose and added value is or will be to the end customer. Expertise What does your brand stand for?: When someone tells you that their brand stands for “quality, service, and value”, take this as a sure sign that they don’t actually know what their brand stands for at all! In my experience, this is the default go-to definition of those that like to say they have a brand (they may well have, of course) but yet have never audited that brand, defined that brand, positioned that brand, or purposefully communicated that brand. “Quality, service, and value”… there’s nothing wrong with those three wonderful words except for one thing: Everybody reaches for them like some sort of magic marketing mantra—everybody, that is, who doesn’t understand their brand or know if they actually have a brand! And when everyone is defaulting

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to these as their own proprietary brand differential, well then, everyone is claiming the same uniqueness, the same points of difference, the same market experience. If branding is about one thing, it’s about “standout.” And claiming that your brand stands for “quality, service, and value” is simply to join the group, follow the crowd, or mimic the meaningless! “Quality, service, and value”—three fantastic attributes, but to get any brand standout and market distinctiveness out of them, you’ve got to at least unpack them, slice them, and dice them, and search for individual interpretation, unique relevance, competitive difference, some meaning grounded in business and market reality. Else, all that “quality, service, and value” bring to the business table is a confident sound bite and a belief in sameness and commoditization, which is, after all, the very opposite of what branding is about. “Quality, service, and value?” … when you hear this glibly recited, you know it’s time for someone to get real, and to get really close to what’s uniquely great and outstanding about their brand … that is if they actually have a brand! Example Brand talk may not mean what you think: A multioffice law firm working in two different territories and national jurisdictions contacted me for help with “creating a brand.” Their introductory written brief stated they were (and I quote) “very aware of the importance of getting the right brand created” and that they were “currently compiling ideas for a website and building a brand.” On paper, their aim seemed very clear and the scope of the job all-encompassing. After much Q&A, it was even clearer that what they actually “wanted” (and just wanted to pay for) was simply a review of their already drafted website “content” and my recommendations for improving it to deliver brand impact. And by web “content” it turned out they specifically meant web “copycontent”—i.e., purely a review, verification, and development of their own copywriting efforts to date. Clearly, “creating a brand” meant something entirely different to this family law firm than it did to me. Nevertheless, an exciting overhaul of “the story” was drafted, crafted, and delivered to everyone’s great satisfaction, and in good time for the launch of a new business website.

CHAPTER 2

What Are You Thinking? Chapter Overview This chapter focuses on the relationship of branding and brand-related decision-making at the individual company level and the thinking and perceptions about brand that persist out there among different stakeholders. It challenges the sacred cows about what a brand is and where a brand can or cannot be built. It discusses the culture and conditions for brand development and the different dynamics and perceptions working both for and against a positive brand investment decision. The chapter proceeds to identify overarching considerations and questions that lie at the heart of an agile brand development strategy including brand perception, brand architecture, and brand equity management. It unpicks the nature and types of brand values, how these build rapport with consumers and reputation in the marketplace, and how they can be modelled to summarize a brand’s uniqueness and its supporting proposition.

Who Do We Think of? Experience shows that most people in business think firstly of the brand as a boardroom possession—as something that has its home in the boardroom. Nothing could be further from the truth. The truth about brands is that they reside in the minds of people outside of the business, be they general consumers, business customers, or trade distributors. Brands do not reside in the boardroom and branding does not mean simply a company logo or a brochure design. Much of my work in brand development is frequently to, first of all, put in place, and get alignment on, some fundamental principles of branding: that companies do not own brands, consumers do; that brands

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do not exist or live mainly inside an organization, its offices, or boardrooms but are externally focused. Companies do not own brands, consumers do. Having said that, “living the brand” inside organizations is an essential condition of credible, sustainable brand strength in the marketplace. The first brand believers need to be nurtured inside the company and this advocacy of the brand proposition and values needs to be evident to all those looking in on the organization and at its staff behavior, and not just at its marketplace communications. Everything must align. People must believe. Messaging must reinforce. Behavior must demonstrate a culture centered on the brand values and underlying proposition. In Living the Brand; How to Transform Every Member of Your Organization into a Brand Champion, Ind (2007) focuses on this brand culture goal; He lauds the importance of empowering and motivating people around the brand, explaining that employees have become primary brand definers and brand ambassadors as it is they who are translating the organization’s strategy into reality and interacting with consumers as new brand ideas become articulated and embedded in the organization. So what and who should we think off when we consider brand development? We should think of a hierarchy of audiences and think of them in a certain priority such as: (1) customers; (2) staff; (3) m ­ anagement; (4) suppliers; (5) business leaders; (6) company stakeholders; and (7) company ownership (the ultimate legal brand owner). In Figure 2.1, culture is presented as a living and dynamic force, which is orbital in nature as it revolves continuously around a set of key company audiences. It encompasses deeply held values and beliefs that are evidenced and nurtured by the activation and alignment of specific internal brand behaviors. It informs the messaging direction and storytelling of the brand that reaches out to all people with a stake in the business both internally and externally. This has a behavioral effect through increasing brand awareness, understanding, and commitment across the employee base with, in turn, the follow-on impact of strengthening the business culture to enable the delivery of an authentic and distinctive brand experience.



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CULTURE Values + Beliefs

BEHAVIOR Activation + Alignment

1. Customers 2. Staff 3. Management 4. Suppliers 5. Business Leaders 6. Company Stakeholders 7. Company Ownership

MESSAGING Direction + Storytelling

PEOPLE Internal + External

Figure 2.1  Developing an orbital brand culture

The implications of this understanding of brand ownership as being externalized and customer-centric is that the company leadership team must not regard well-honed and crafted internal strategy documents, diagrams, and definitions as constituting an indicator of brand power. On the contrary, the real worth of any brand is spontaneous, unprompted perceptions of the brand among the existing customer audience and target customer population. The extent to which they “get it” and can do so immediately is the extent to which you have a brand at all. Ultimately, this represents the degree of brand equity that you possess and which you can then reflect in a calculation of company financial value deriving from a brand’s uniqueness, consumer relevance, and market power. Similarly, a pretty business card or a professionally designed PowerPoint presentation does not mean you have a brand. To prove you have a brand you must talk to people who are in the market for your products and services and ask them what they think, what they believe, what their experience is, and what expectations they have of your business and your brand differential for the future; you must look for and quantify what emotional takeaway they have from using your products or services. Their spontaneous responses, objectively researched, will determine whether or not you have a brand in your portfolio and the strength of that brand relationship with consumers in the marketplace.

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Can We or Can’t We? Will We or Won’t We? In my career as a brander, I have worked with national and international companies of many types and of all sizes including centrally in their head offices and regionally in their subsidiary companies. These businesses are diverse, including large- and medium-sized enterprises (LMEs), smalland medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) companies. They range from industrial saw-grit manufacturing to convenience forecourt retailing, fresh food growers to e-waste processors, international financial services to vehicle body-shop providers, logistical services companies to country destination branding, from political parties to airports, and national telecom operators. It’s a diverse client list differing by business type, size, geographic reach, culture, and decision-making process. What does not differ is the branding question: Should we or shouldn’t we, can we or can’t we, will we or won’t we? … and by how much! The point is that the question of branding and its focus and its level of investment is commonplace among what I call “brand believers.” These are those organizations and their executive teams, regardless of size or sector, who believe in “brand” as a business and profit driver. Brand believers understand that brand is key to their continued strategic growth and sustained business success because it drives understanding, loyalty, competitiveness, margin, and repeat purchase. The thing to stress here is that there is no such thing as a commodity. Or there needn’t be. Bread and water have (famously) been branded, and the battle for consumer share of pocket across all sectors is unrelenting. In the B2B space, however, it can sometimes make sense to operate on a commodity basis. This is where a small number of near-monopolistic organizations may work together on the basis of open and transparent transaction contracts. Here I am thinking of the production and supply of national utility ingredients, such as yeast, for example (I challenge you to name your own national brand of yeast—the yeast that leavens your vital daily loaf of bread!). But is this truly a commodity exchange? Perhaps not. In fact definitely not, because while the product is a commodity, the set of close commercial and personal relationships that strongly bind suppliers and buyers in utility sectors such as this surely constitutes a deep B2B brand relationship. This question of differentiating a commodity is



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considered in The New Strategic Brand Management: Advanced Insights and Strategic Thinking (Kapferer 2012). Here a commodity market is described simply as one where no player has invested enough in differentiation and, specifically, where no one has thought of a new “value curve” (a specific set of utilities deliverable by a brand) for a well-delineated target market. It can be done! The experiences, perceptions, and beliefs held by the buyer of such commodity products do indeed constitute a brand relationship between at least two people (seller and buyer) and their closely interdependent companies. Such commodity trading is ultimately based not just on the terms of contract but on understanding, trust, and performance as well as on innovation and customization around the buyer’s needs, operational conditions, and environmental challenges. This too, therefore, constitutes a brand relationship although it may lack the color and creativity of the communications that brands otherwise enjoy and depend on for generating mass market or targeted sector awareness and appeal. Figure 2.2 defines the five separate stages of increasing maturity in the migration of a business from being commodity based to being brand based. It identifies the main driving characteristic of each stage (from price to performance); these represent the prime source of relevance, power, and effectiveness of each stage to buyers in the market.

Maturity Increases

Stage of Maturity

Main Driver

Commodity/ Generic product

Price

Personal Relationships

Friendship

Values and Principles

Ethics

Emotional Connection

Esteem

Brand Understanding and Loyalty

Performance

Figure 2.2  Commodity to brand migration

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So, need there be any such thing as a commodity? Based on the above criteria, the answer must be no but in reality much depends on the decision-making criteria of the product owners. Do they see a commercial opportunity in explicitly investing in brand relationships and branding and does their assessment of the risk variables permit them to do so? Therefore, can they or can’t they consider a branding strategy to drive business development and growth? If “yes we can,” the question that arises is will they or won’t they? However, the question of “will we or won’t we?” is naturally the normal starting point in the brand development decision-making process for the already brand invested or brand intent, be they companies, public bodies, or individual entrepreneurs. The dynamics behind how this decision is made greatly influence the decision outcome and whether a brand strategy is developed and implemented to take advantage of available market opportunities. Amazingly, many companies in fact say “no” to brand investment for one major reason: They cannot see past a myopic money metric—­ therefore, they see brand development primarily as a cost rather than an investment. They see brand development as a bolt-on feature to the business rather than as a core business driver and profit generator. In such cases, brand is typically regarded as being for “big companies” with “deep pockets” and “money to burn,” allowing management to retreat into siloed thinking about what the company is about, what makes the company great and what the customer relationship with the company and its products is founded on. As a result, the potential to build valuebased relationships with the marketplace is missed. Otherwise, such brand relationships would deepen brand relevance, recognition, and resonance and, in turn, ensure the maximum return on the value-added services of an organization for its constituent audiences, stakeholders, and shareholders. Figure 2.3 expresses a set of five sequential conditions which must be met for a company to establish a brand as a commercial success—­ including demonstrably achieving an attractive financial return for the company from its brand investment. To understand a brand’s commercial potential, it is necessary to have a full and accurate idea of the uniqueness of the business/product offer and



What Are You Thinking?

1. Relevance It distinctly satisfies defined needs

4. Repetition Its repeat-purchase proves and builds brand loyalty

2. Recognition Its relevance is communicated and understood

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3. Resonance Its value-offer and performance is tried, tested and demonstrated

5. ROBI: Return-on-Brand-Investment Its financial impact due to customer loyalty and market share gains (as specifically attributable to the brand)

Figure 2.3  The five R’s to brand commercialization

what special value it brings to the market, and how that will be achieved. This means understanding its relevance—how it distinctly satisfies defined customer needs; achieving recognition—how its relevance is to be communicated and understood in the market; gaining resonance—where the value offer and its performance is tried, tested, and demonstrated; experiencing repetition—generating growth in repeat purchasing thereby proving and building brand loyalty; and receiving a strong or satisfactory return-on-brand-investment. Many business owners, managers, and management teams are myopic about what the full proposition of the business actually is today and how that proposition changes and transforms people’s lives and lifestyles in the marketplace (or has the potential to). The idea that “big companies” can afford to do this and therefore hold strong positions in the market is more often fanciful than factual, more often self-serving than sensible, more often instinctive criticism than informed critique. Ultimately culture plays a key role here in reflecting and influencing how the company both sees itself and behaves in the execution of the business purpose and in the communication of the business proposition and values. Culture in this sense is the accumulated self-belief and behavior patterns of an organization in the operation of its business both internally in the company and externally in the marketplace. Culture is the accumulated self-belief and behavior patterns of an organization in the operation of its business both internally in the company and externally in the marketplace.

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Business leaders need to understand this relationship of culture to values, to identity, and to communication and messaging. Only then can management assess to what degree the company is delivering on its core purpose, doing justice to its mission and living up to its obligations and opportunities. Only then can decision makers measure the extent of the gap between brand potential and brand performance, and thereby the scale of the opportunity, indeed of the need, to invest in the development of people’s expectations and beliefs. Only then can the leadership team be astute and effective in working to align internal and external company perceptions and aspirations. Only then can the business set out on a course to build brand reputation and relevance, to take up the brand potential available to it, and to put the customer experience and the company promise at the very center of the business strategy. Figure 2.4 identifies a three-phase evolution from being a productbased company to becoming a culture-based one. It shifts the company’s focus from benefits to beliefs to behaviors. It shows brand ­­opportunity increasing as the business moves from delivering a product-based experience (intrinsic benefits) to a values-based experience (explicit beliefs) to

Endemic Community, Peer Group and Individual Behaviors

Brand Opportunity Increases

Explicit Rational, Emotional and Personality Beliefs Intrinsic Components, Features and Customer Benefits

Product-Based Experience

Values-Based Experience

Culture-Based Experience

Figure 2.4  From product to culture: Closing the gap between brand potential and brand performance



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a culture-based experience (endemic behaviors). The achievement of a values-based and culture-based organization closes the gap between brand potential and brand performance and, accordingly, brand opportunity increases. Companies that champion brands are those that seek to bolster and build on the company purpose by achieving a differentiated and defendable brand position in the market. They do this by evolving the business from delivering a product-based experience (selling features and benefits) to a values-based experience (establishing beliefs) to a culture-based experience (influencing behaviors). The more dynamic and fast changing the marketplace, the more critical it is to plan an agile brand strategy and to communicate distinctive brand meaning and position. When a company, a business, an institution, or an entrepreneur commit to being brandcentered, the first question to be answered is “who are we?”

Who Do You Think You Are? This question lies at the very heart of branding and brand development. It is one of the greatest privileges and pleasures of my work as a brander to partner business owners and leaders in deciphering and defining the essential purpose and proposition of a business: by purpose I mean the raison d’être of a business—what is it trying to achieve and what value is it trying to add?; By proposition I mean how is it communicating its purpose and uniqueness to the market? Businesses, small and large, local and international, can and do lose sight of the unique proposition they have to offer the market. Moreover, as markets today are increasingly dynamic, and with change being the new constant, the importance of regularly revisiting the organization’s purpose and proposition is ever more essential to market relevance and competitive position. It is always exciting to look at what an organization stands for—this is a discussion that always focuses minds! The three great ponderables of business should always be your brand purpose, your brand proposition, and your brand points of difference. The three great ponderables of business—brand purpose, brand proposition, brand points of difference.

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Why such a focus on “brand” you may ask. It’s because business is all about the brand, meaning it’s what people inside and outside the company believe about your business and how you do business that defines your reputation and is critical to their interest, loyalty, and their making any purchase decision in favor of your company. Perceptions are always the reality in the market, and beliefs determine your brand truth in a customer’s mind. You (the brand owner) may disagree with market-held beliefs about your business but this simply begs the question of what message you are communicating internally and externally to align your brand proposition with entrenched market beliefs. Clearly, the key issue here is knowing the reality of what the market believes about your business and brands, and how and to what extent this matches with your own defined proposition out to the market. Of course, where the business is the brand—by which I mean where the products and services provided all carry the same company branding/identity—then the perception of the business is equal to the perception of the business’ brand and vice versa. In this case, there is only one brand—the business/ company-level brand. In contrast, where the company has a portfolio of brands, then both the corporate and all product (or service) brands are in play. These exist and operate in a more complex interrelationship of brand debits and credits depending on brand strengths/weaknesses, successes/ failures, resonance/dissonance, and compatibility/contradiction. In the case of multiple brands, the company’s brand power is the summation of the values, beliefs, and loyalty accruing to the entire brand set—which constitutes the company’s brand equity. Operating a portfolio strategy for brand positioning and brand management is necessary here to maximize the credibility and strength of the company’s brands in the marketplace and the related asset value of those brands on the balance sheet. Brand architecture is the name given to this interrelationship of brands and subbrands where a company decides on the nature of the relationship between its product/service brands and explicitly plans the degree of synergy or separation within this relationship. By way of example, classic popular models of alternative brand architecture systems are known as monolithic/umbrella, endorsed, free standing/product, and hybrid. Let’s now discuss each of these.



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A monolithic (or umbrella) architecture is used (e.g., Fedex, M ­ itsubishi, Amazon) when the decision is to apply one single name across all categories of products and services. This system is used when a brand name and identity has acquired general/marketwide prominence and appeal ensuring that its level of recognition and familiarity delivers a strong brand promise across multiple and often unrelated market categories. An endorsed architecture is used (e.g., Virgin, 3M) when subbrands are linked to the corporate or parent brand by visual endorsement/signoff. In this approach, the subbrand is the dominant brand. This system retains the power of the parent brand (via its endorsement) to the benefit of the product brands, endowing them with reassurance on quality, reliability, prestige, and so forth. A free-standing or product architecture is used (e.g., Unilever, P&G) when each product or service is individually branded but the parentbrand presence is effectively diluted or deleted. Typically, this architecture is used by large multinational corporations that possess extensive stand-alone brand portfolios, with each brand targeting different customer types and needs. A hybrid architecture is used (e.g., Coca-Cola) when there are a variety of approaches in play—from an umbrella/monolithic strategy in one brand category (e.g., Coca-Cola original) to a recessive sign-off endorsement strategy in another (e.g., Fanta or Sprite). These branding variations allow different products to be brought to the market in different ways to reflect the different relationship and support requirements of each brand in its own specific market. Figure 2.5 exhibits these four common types of brand architecture. To summarize, these illustrate the differing parent-brand/subbrand relationships and their related branding systems: monolithic (one brand—the parent brand—covers all); endorsed (the parent brand signs-off all); free standing (the parent brand and the subbrands are all separate); hybrid (a mixed approach—the parent brand can also be used at the subbrand level). So, having a clear sense and definition of your unique brand proposition—as an organization, as a purveyor of products and services and as a portfolio of brands and subbrands—provides the vital answer to the question of “who do you think you are?” This question is key to your

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Figure 2.5  Four commonly applied brand architecture systems

internal staff motivation, to your external market image, to your customer expectations, to your purpose and place in the world as a business and corporate entity. It is your very raison d’être for commercial existence. Another way of thinking through “who are we?” is to ask ourselves the question “what do we stand for?” What does our company stand for? What does our company “brand” stand for? What do our product brands stand for? And how do all of these relate? And what do they add up to



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in the marketplace and internally inside our company? Because, just as a brand does not “live” in the company boardroom (it lives outside in the minds of the public), so the brand champions do not typically just sit at the boardroom table but are definitely to be found (to the extent that they exist) anywhere from the center to the far reaches and outer margins of the company. A great place to start out on an exercise of brand exploration is to firstly look and listen deeply inside the organization asking the questions: What does our brand stand for today? What is our core differentiating proposition? How are we relevant? Who do we think we are?

What Do You Think You’re Worth? Let me say directly, a brand is all about value and not just about “values.” So a key strategic question for any brand owner is “what do you think you’re worth?” Because it is not only enough to have a clear fix on the proposition that your brand makes to the market, you also need to assess the degree of relevance of your proposition to prospective buyers. A brand is all about value and not just about values. It is vital to determine how effectively your brand values (points of difference) are understood in the marketplace and how credible, relevant, and appealing they are to your target audience. Figure 2.6 highlights the importance of maximizing the overlap between the inherent values and defined proposition of a brand and the

Brand ‘X’

Market ‘Y’

Values + Proposition

Preferences + Needs

Area of overlap shows extent of relevance of brand ‘X’ in market ‘Y’ and relative size of the target sector.

Figure 2.6  Looking for the overlap

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identified preferences and needs of the target audience. Planning for a strong overlap is a strategic priority and, from the outset, places the emphasis on market understanding as much as on leveraging innate values and culture. The extent of the overlap determines the size of the brand’s available market opportunity. Your brand offer is your proposition plus your values. How good a match is there between the brand and its market audience? How well is the brand regarded and how much loyalty is generated? How well is the brand positioned in people’s minds? The commercial value and monetizing capacity of your brand will be a function of this relationship with your market audience plus the outstanding merits and position of your brand relative to competitors. Ultimately, the asset/monetary value of your brand is a direct function of its power in the mind of the marketplace. The stronger a brand is perceived to be by the market, the more competitively powerful it is and therefore the more commercially valuable it is. Clarity and relevance of company purpose, brand proposition, and brand values are determinants of market appeal and market value. Emotional connection between the brand and its customer audience is key here to maximizing and sustaining market power. Critically, getting the right balance between the functional product/service values and the inherent emotional values is vital to brand performance and to ongoing market success. Thinking bigger by thinking emotionally is good for brands and thereby good for business. The brand encapsulates the bigger thinking and communicates it to the market: The bigger the idea, the bigger the brand power, and the bigger the value of the brand in the eyes of the customer. In my experience, so many companies undervalue themselves because they have underestimated their brand power and fail to see their latent brand appeal. In short, many brand owners think they’re not worth very much at all. They so often have lost sight of the core value-adding experience, which, although their product and service delivers it, is lost in translation or, more frankly, is either undercommunicated or not communicated at all. Brands are all about experience. Experience is all about emotion—or at least emotion is a superb enabler and creator of experience. Far too often, most companies fail to manage their brands well for the singular reason that they have lost sight of the excitement and



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uniqueness of their underlying proposition. Companies too often think product and product information to the detriment of experiential appeal and an emotional relationship with the customer. You touch a product but you experience a brand, or at least that is their potential. Thinking bigger and building brands go hand in hand. Brands are all about experience. Experience is all about emotion. Brands have the latent potential always to deliver an emotional experience to customers. This emotional experience is an added benefit that most if not all people within the defined target customer peer group will value. So the game of brand positioning is not just played with products and services but most importantly with emotional experiences. Indeed, I say that “75% of what makes a brand great has nothing to do with the product or service delivered!” The statistic may be a moot one but the point is clear: that the real and major power of a brand resides not so much in its functional, product feature-based offer but in its emotional and psychological connection with its consumer. Of course, as Figure 2.7 illustrates, a great brand will deliver an emotional experience that is founded on, has an authentic relationship with, and is always true to, its underlying product and functional values. Product is great but brand is greater—with greatness being measured by the level of trust the customer develops via the purchase and consumption experience. In Brands and

A Great Brand Experience

Emotional Values

Product Features

Functional Values

Figure 2.7  Emotion is central to a great brand experience

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Branding (Clifton 2009), the argument is made for making the brand the central organizing principle of a company where leaders must take a holistic view that the brand transcends the marketing function to be no less than a rallying cry for the whole organization. This means that the product cannot simply be mass produced, quality assured, and packaged but that a differential customer experience must be delivered based on a strong, attractive relationship between the customer and brand. In addition, Clifton found a direct correlation between the strength of the customer relationship and profitability, with the key drivers of relationship strength being: trust (that the brand will deliver); commitment (a feeling of emotional attachment); alignment and mutuality (a continually rewarding experience based on mutual respect, shared values and expectations met). In addition to this, and akin to emotional appeal, is the market-fit generated by a brand’s personality. The personality values of a brand—its behavioral style and characteristics—are also defined within a competitive brand strategy. A brand strategy comprises three core areas of thinking and ideas: rational values; emotional values; and personality values. Rational values (also called functional or tangible values) are product based— they promise attributes in the vein of “bigger, faster, cheaper.” Emotional values are psychology based and promise attributes such as, for example,

Emotional Proposition: “Be the Best Parent in the World”

Functional Proposition: "Persil Washes Whiter"

Figure 2.8  Comparing a functional and emotional proposition



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“peer group identification, lifestyle, aspiration.” Figure 2.8 illustrates this using washing powder as a handy example: a function-based proposition would be that “it washes whiter” than all other brands; in comparison, an emotion-based proposition would be that it shows you care more and are “the best parent” in the world! Personality values are tone of voice and behavior based such as “youthful, energetic, enterprising.” The power of personality is vital to deepening the personal relationship of the brand with its customer/consumer and in so doing achieves loyalty, peer group adoption, and greater competitive advantage Figure 2.9 summarizes the role of, and relationship between, the brand values and the brand personality, and for purpose of clarity gives examples of some possible value words. The model shows rational, emotional, and personality values, which, once defined, will then be summarized within the model in a brand essence definition (of ideally up to three words). The brand essence is the ultimate thumbprint of the brand and represents the shorthand for what the brand stands for. A supporting brand proposition statement will then be written to be faithful to the brand essence and its

Figure 2.9  Defining a brand: values, personality, and essence

related values set, but it will be more expansive and all-encompassing in description and strategic direction. The power of a brand, and the consequent worth of a brand, derives directly from this interaction between brand proposition and distinctive values on the one hand, and market appeal and adoption on the other. By

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implication, market adoption reflects competitive strength and sales gains and thereby market-share success. The following equations illustrate this brand↔market relationship and how it achieves brand power and financial equity for the brand owner both at a single brand level and at an overall company level (multiple/ accumulated brands). The equations in Figure 2.10 show that brand power is created by the market adoption of relevant propositions and distinctive values but that brand equity is a function of market adoption, market size and brand loyalty, and thereby sustained consumer advocacy and profit-generating repeat purchase. The Equation of Brand Power Distinctive Values

+

Relevant Propositions

×

Market Adoption

=

Brand Power

=

Brand Equity

The Equation of Brand Equity Market Adoption

×

Market Size

×

Brand Loyalty

Figure 2.10  The equation of brand power and the equation of brand equity

Figure 2.11 underlines that companywide brand equity is the accumulation of brand asset value at corporate, subbrand, and product levels. Corporate-level accounts for the asset value of the overall company (parent) brand itself; subbrand level accounts for the asset value of the specified and planned brands within the subbrand architecture of the organization; product-level brands account for the asset value of any Company Brand Equity

=

Corporate Level Brand Value

+

Sum (SubBrands’ Brand Value)

+

Sum (ProductLevel Brand Value)

Figure 2.11  Accumulated brand equity equation

product or service brands that may have developed at the product level as individual market offerings outside of the subbrand structure.



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Once achieved, retaining a profitable brand leadership position (mass market or niche market) or a brand-led market segment reputation will require ongoing brand management of brand messaging and communications. Doing so effectively will build brand worth and commercial value as a separate, specific, and accountable financial asset on the company balance sheet.

Key Takeaways Companies do not own brands; consumers do. Brands are externally focused. A brand-centered culture is orbital in nature: It revolves around a set of key company audiences and encompasses a set of deeply held values and beliefs that are evidenced by specific internal brand behaviors. There is no such thing as a commodity—or there needn’t be. And B2B products and services are definitely brandable. Brand relevance is not dependent on the number of customers that a business has. Brand opportunity increases as a business evolves its focus from product-based intrinsic benefits to value-based explicit beliefs to culture-based endemic behaviors. The three great ponderables of business are: your brand purpose, your brand proposition, and your brand points of difference. Why? Because, ultimately, business is all about the brand! Brand architecture planning and management is vital to maximizing the credibility and strength of a portfolio of brands over time and their balance sheet asset value. A core question in branding: What does our brand stand for? A great place to start exploring this question first is internally with the employees. A great brand will deliver an emotional experience that is founded on, has an authentic relationship with, and is always true to, its underlying product and functional values. The extent of overlap between the values and proposition of a brand and the preferences and needs of its target audience determines the size of the brand’s market opportunity, commercial value, and monetizing capacity.

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Expression

The Word Wizard Explanation

Asset value

The understanding of brands as being business assets with their quantifiable monetary value for inclusion on the company balance sheet

B2B

Business-to-business

B2C

Business-to-consumer

Brand advocacy

Commitment and loyalty toward the brand

Brand architecture

The strategy, structure, and nature of the relationship across the brand set and specifically between the master/parent brand and subbrands

Brand believers

Those who believe that a brand is an effective business and profit driver

Brand-centered/ centric

The organization of a business around promising and delivering a brand values- and culture-based experience to its customer base

Brand champions

Those within the employee base who are instinctively and outstandingly disposed toward, and passionate about, the brand

Brand differential

The uniqueness or points of difference that a brand stands for

Brand loyalty

The ongoing customer trust that a brand enjoys

Brand owner

The ultimate legal owner of the brand (in the company)

Brand performance

The effectiveness and competitive power of the experience that the brand delivers

Brand position

The understanding that a brand commands about its particular customer relevance and competitive uniqueness

Brand positioning

The process of establishing or strengthening brand relevance in a defined market in order to develop and maintain a specific reputation and competitive position

Brand set

The range or portfolio of brands that an organization possesses and markets

Branding strategy

The plan for expressing a strategic brand innovation and its supporting visual identity in the market

Branding system

The means by which the visual identity of the brand is organized and managed across diverse design applications

Consumer advocacy

The consumer’s commitment to, and public support for, the brand

Culture

Organizational culture is the values and set of behaviors that are expressed, endorsed, and engrained among employees and suppliers. Brand culture is the commitment, over time, of people (in-company and in-market) to a set of defined brand values and behaviors

Inherent values

The underlying core values on which a brand is based

LMEs

Large- and medium-sized enterprises

Market segment

A specific category of customers within the market who have comparable needs and demands—they possess identical or similar requirements, expectations, or desires

Monetizing capacity

The extent to which a brand or business can make money



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The Word Wizard Explanation

Niche market

A relatively confined, select, or specialist customer grouping or sector of the market

Peer group adoption

Acceptance and regular use or consumption by a primary, influencing social group of people who have similar interests, age, background, or social status

Portfolio strategy

The active planning and management of a set of brands for customer relevance, market strength, competitive advantage, and business growth

Principles of branding

Underlying truths and rules relating to the effective application of branding as a system of communication and business growth

Rational values

Also known as functional values, these relate to physical, practical, non-emotional elements of a brand’s offer

Resonance

The extent of the market reach and impact of a business activity or brand innovation

SMEs

Small- and medium-sized enterprises

Value-add

The total additional benefit that a brand provides to the customer

Value offer

The unique and total product value and customer experience that is promised or offered

Experience I’ve been Googled: I walk by Google’s offices in Dublin’s Docklands regularly, often dashing past their main entrance doors en route to a meeting in the wonderful Marker Hotel. I’m always struck by the emphatic expression of the Google brand and its distinctive colors, and the pride that goes with parading these on the public pavement astride their two large revolving entrance doors. Google’s brand colors are presented right there on their own pavement furnishings which activates the Google brand experience for all comers. This display is matched by the use of minimalist elemental design finishes and environmental visual imagery inside their voluminous reception area. In contrast to this eco-minimalism, six gigantic floor-standing colored letters tower above visitors—G O O G L E—beginning at the reception and trailing off into the distance. What has all this fastidious fashioning of the visitor’s arrival experience got to do with “Googling” something? Everything! Google is exhibiting an orbital brand culture

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that is constantly working, cycling, communicating—letting no opportunity pass to make their brand statement, to promote their brand values. “Arrival” is such a major touchpoint for employees and visitors alike (isn’t it always!) and Google makes the most of it. Everyone is brought into the Google brand experience just by being there. The impact? It all looks and feels and is so creative, so consistent, so confident—so cool! Expertise Be big and brave with your brand: Think big and brave about your real business purpose and your potential impact on people’s lives… because branding, on its own, will never make up for a small vision, narrow thinking, or poor ideas. Example What makes a brand a brand?: I remember consulting for a Germanowned international leader in fibre manufacture and struggling with the senior sales team to get some depth of understanding on what their brand stood for. You know the territory: No one knows what the company brand really stands for and everyone’s running for cover quoting the three magic words—quality, service, and value. The problem with these is that every business defaults to these when they haven’t gone and defined their brand truth. Then, leadership rears its wonderful head: Into the meeting strides the German CEO—he earwigs the discussion for a minute and then suddenly challenges: “What is (company name)?” Answers were of course few and uninspiring, and at best product focused. The upshot of this intervention was a brand strategy assignment for yours truly to mine the market for a brand reality check and some precious brand truths. By standing up for his brand, this business leader made a step change happen in the brand understanding of management, in its competitive positioning in the European marketplace and ultimately in the brand equity valuation of his company. This eventually set the company up for a very lucrative sale when the market was right, and for a spectacular return-on-brand-investment. He cashed in! Having a brand and investing in it dramatically built this bottom line and paid big dividends for the brand owner.



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Example Culture takes courage: A company specializing in batch manufacturing of diverse products for national markets was fixated on its products to the detriment of its corporate image and brand power. In fact, it lacked brand power altogether. Highly systemized and protocoled, this innovative company had more of an engineering culture—it valued and understood technology and efficient production more than marketing, and certainly not brand strategy. It could do things well but not tell things well. It didn’t think big enough or long enough about the combined offer and appeal of its cross-company competencies and creative capabilities. Yes, it did market communication, but no, it didn’t do brand communication. The opportunity, once recognized, researched, and validated led to only one conclusion—a complete restructuring of the company around collective (and unifying) brand values and competencies rather than individual product and service offers. It also meant a courageous retake on, and reboot of, the company’s engineering culture to shape it into a brand-centric culture. Competence, culture, and communications then all aligned to reposition the company and its offer and appeal to a bigger and wider customer base including in new market sectors and territories.

CHAPTER 3

Building Brilliant Brands Chapter Overview This chapter describes the brand-building process from the ground up. It sets out the key stages and steps of a sequential methodology for brand creation and development. It presents an essential, practical “how-to” of branding and then goes further to explain the relationship and fit of this process with brand investment, marketing media, living the brand internally, and design. The chapter unveils and discusses the importance of specific research approaches, tools, and techniques in keeping close to the customer, their brand experiences, needs, and expectations.

The How-To from the Get-Go Branding a company or its products and services is a powerful and proven persuader of stakeholders, market players, and consumers about the ingenuity, credibility, passion, and purposefulness of an organization. But, in its fullest sense, branding is a complex activity that embraces a multiplicity of principles, skills and processes, and the scope and diversity of the components that constitute branding seem to be ever growing. Conversely, and in view of this, ironically, most people underestimate the scale of the components of the branding process today and frequently default to the idea of branding being merely about design, and specifically “logo design.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Readers of this book will already be familiar with my one-liner that “brand(ing) is two words not one” with “brand” being the idea and “ing” being short for communicating it. And so it is that branding in its fullest sense encapsulates a very wide range of processes, skills, creativity, and communication methods to

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transform an idea into something interesting, innovative, and potentially inventive. Brand Transformation is a Structured Process Branding is the process that does justice to the blood, sweat, and tears of the people who daily congregate around the product and service creation of an organization and its marketing and communication activities. In other words, branding does justice to the work of the organization by adding vision, design, and communications expertise to maximize the promise and attractiveness of the offer in the marketplace. I define a brand as “uniqueness you know, want, and trust.” This means that a brand is all about uniqueness, or at least differential and distinctiveness; but that remains impotent until the market knows about its existence and understands its unique offer; once the consumer accepts the brand’s proposition (it must satisfy some innate consumer desire or need) and buys into the product offer, then brand performance and the associated value for money experience will determine repeat purchase and frequency. Such repetitive purchase behavior both expresses trust and builds trust, with increasing brand loyalty creating economic brand equity and a consequent return-on-brand-investment for the brand owner. A brand is uniqueness you know, want, and trust. As shown in Figure 3.1, the value and power of branding is to define that relevant uniqueness and present it creatively through words and images to ensure market awareness, understanding, belief, and preference and, through trial and repeat consumption, to garner trust, advocacy, and customer loyalty. This is brand transformation—or business transformation through branding—and such transformation creates, offers, and leaves in its wake “an experience”. More often than not, this brand experience is very emotionally based delivering consumer self-esteem through lifestyle and peer group association, or just by the consumer personally feeling better rewarded, affirmed,



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Brand Uniqueness

Trust and Loyalty

Trial and Consumption

Words and Images

Awareness and Belief

Figure 3.1  Business transformation through branding

discerning, happier, astute, “with-it,” savvy. Anticipation of, and planning for, this emotional experience in the marketplace is the responsibility of brand strategy development and the in-house or external change agents or consultants who lead and facilitate this brand thinking early on in the brand development process. These folks think big because big does justice to the people—the talent—in the organization, its innovativeness, and its defined company purpose, corporate mission, objectives, and valueadding offer to the world. So, brand strategy development is early stage in the branding process, while design and communications follow later in what will be the brand transformation journey. But these are the headline highlights only. We will now look in detail at the continuum of process and creative stages that make up this brand creation, development, and branding journey— which translate a manufactured product or service with its ­feature-based offer into a market-transforming, image-building, reputation-­reinforcing customer, or consumer-centric brand experience. So, from the ­ get-go … let’s look at how to do branding, how to build a brand.

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Firstly, ask yourself some initial exploratory questions: What does/will our brand stand for? What is our brand’s proposition? How is our brand different or distinct from direct competitors? What are our brand’s values … its rational and emotional characteristics? What is our brand personality like? What three words would summarize our brand’s greatness, its very essence? Wow! Isn’t that a great start! This is exciting stuff and can, as you see, waste no time in delving deep into the heart of the matter, namely what your brand power is or can be! Answering these introductory questions immediately focuses the mind and raises other vital considerations about your own personal belief in brands (there are two types of people in the world: brand believers and brand cynics!); the importance of brands and branding to your business; the strength of your existing brand/s; who is it all for anyway; the impact of brand building internally on your people; the size of the latent opportunity that presents from engaging in brand development. Now that you are sensitized to the importance and nature of brand development, a structured approach to creating and building a strong brand is imperative. Here is a structured approach to planning your brand’s development by addressing these priority focal points for action, starting with the customer: Focus on your customer Focus on your business Focus on your brand Focus on your naming Focus on your identity Focus on your strategy Focus on your goals Focus on your messaging Focus on your priorities



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Under the following headings we will now look at the key i­nformation/ core questions that each of these vital areas of enquiry suggest and that will require to be addressed in order to develop a robust brand-building plan: Focus on Your Customer A structured approach to focusing on your customer will address these priority areas: Who is your customer? Why do/will people buy from you? Who are your competitors? Why do/will people buy from them? What do you want the customer experience to be? Focus on Your Business A structured approach to focusing on your business will address these priority areas: Why are you/your company in this business? What drives you? What business are you really in? Focus on Your Brand A structured approach to focusing on your brand will address these priority areas: Do you actually have a “brand?” Why do you say this? Why do you want to build your brand? What do you want to happen to achieve this? What does your brand stand for today? What are its current values? What is its proposition to the market? What is its personality or tone of voice? What one single word would you choose to describe/define your brand?

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Focus on Your Naming A structured approach to focusing on your naming will address these priority areas: Does your brand name match your business/brand goals today? What naming strategies/types are in evidence among competitors? Does your brand need a supporting tagline? Or a recrafted one? How widely known is your existing brand name? Does it concisely convey or reinforce your brand proposition? What is the “tone of voice” of your name? Are your naming, taglines, and messaging styles interconnected? Is your naming strategy monolithic (same name on all brands/businesses)? Is your naming strategy endorsing (company name used as a sign-off only)? Focus on Your Identity A structured approach to focusing on your identity will address these priority areas: How does your brand present visually today? What does it convey? What are its visual strengths? What are its visual weaknesses? Where is your identity applied? Focus on Your Strategy A structured approach to focusing on your strategy will address these priority areas: What will your brand stand for in the future? What will be its rational and emotional values or points of difference? What type of personality will it have? How will it behave? What behaviors will be associated with it? What will be its brand essence (choose up to three words)? What will be its proposition to the market (summary customer promise)? Which product features will authentically support the brand?



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What brand architecture structure will govern your portfolio? What market channels and media will you use? Focus on Your Goals A structured approach to focusing on your goals will address these priority areas: What is your relevant brand unique selling proposition (USP)? What is your key market/competitive positioning? Who is your core customer audience/target? What are your market communications goals? What are your organizational change goals? What are your identity development goals? What is your financial ambition: your return-on-brand-investment goal? Focus on Your Messaging A structured approach to focusing on your messaging will address these priority areas: What will be the overall brand message/proposition for your market? What will this overall message actually say? What will you say to current customers? What will you say to new targets? What will you say to internal staff? What will you say to business suppliers? Focus on Your Priorities A structured approach to focusing on your priorities for action will ­address these priority areas: Decide on your own priorities for action (from the above list of focal points) Rank these priorities (e.g., from 1 to 10) Decide on timing allocations for completion of actions Decide on budget allocations for completion of actions

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A Word About Money Let me say a word here about money. I often hear it said that branding is very expensive and requires “deep pockets!”—that to build a brand costs a fortune. I want to challenge this. For a start, brand believers spend money on brand building as an investment rather than a cost. Like any other capital investment in the company, you have to invest at the necessary level and using the necessary channels that will make a business-winning difference in the market. Putting that aside, most companies, large and small, are of course already spending on business communications, much of which is directed to the market, for example, websites, newsletters, product packaging, retail environments, videos, print magazines, etc. These existing promotional media can and should be the first to receive the inspiration of the new branding ideas, messaging, and imagery. The ongoing spend on such media should be utilized to incorporate the new brand thinking and iconography, thus platforming the new branding using existing budget allocations already committed to existing communication channels. This is what I call “taking up the slack,” which means that the new brand collateral is simply integrated within existing marketing activity, thereby availing of existing budget allocations. Of course, where the brand strategy is to build a new brand relationship in new global target markets, then a corresponding budget allocation will be required and its return-on-brand-investment will naturally be determined in advance. For many if not most companies, the big ticket spends of national television, radio, outdoor campaigns, and press advertising are not relevant. But for all companies today, certain branding and communications are universally required by the modern customer or buyer, namely websites, social media messaging, printed and digital marketing collateral, and general corporate livery and stationery items. Indeed, many companies are business-to-business (B2B) only and have no need whatsoever of mass-market communications or consumer-level branding. Clearly, a global business with a global(izing) brand and global audience in the B2C space will need to be in a position to make the appropriate global financial investment. The vast majority of companies do not. In fact, with some 95%+ of all businesses being in the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector, the marketing and related branding spend of these



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firms will strongly correlate to the relative scale of the enterprise and their market goals. Typically, brand spend is a very affordable investment for excellent return as it has the potential to transform the business inside-out (company branding) or by product category (product or service branding). Competitive pressures, of course, also influence decisions on brand investment as companies are subjected to varying levels of competitive threat in traditional markets or as they compete afresh in new market territories. In contrast, market-controlling monopolistic companies operating in purely commodity product areas are not likely to be much interested in brand development or branding investment but such organizations are scarce to say the least.

Mandatory Modern Marketing Media A word also on the increasingly popular, even mandatory, forms of market communication today: Any business either rebranding or refreshing its brand—be it B2B or B2C—needs to seriously consider a number of key platforms of communication, namely website, social media, video, photography, and in-company branded collateral. It needs to be said that any company that takes its brand seriously and wants to convey clearly and effectively its personality and what is special about its business, needs to invest in these media in particular. The point is that, today, the visual image is more powerful and sought-after than ever, and digital communication is now de rigueur and a minimum passport factor to catch the attention of what I call the “i” generation (the image generation). Today, people do not read, they look. The visual image—graphic, photographic, static, or moving—is faster, more fetching, and more fascinating, and is increasingly pushing text (or “copy”) to the margins of brand and market communications. In short, brands today have to tell stories and to tell them visually more so than typographically. What does this mean? It means get your visual act together and go brand and refresh your spaces and places, your customer communiqués and your marketing collateral. Folks outside the company prefer to look rather than read, folks inside the company are exactly the same. That’s why branding is so important to your people inside the company, to your executive teams, management groups, staff workplaces, internal communications and meeting rooms. Branding here

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is about staff motivation and morale, it’s about creating awareness and understanding of your brand among your people, it’s about nurturing brand champions inside the organization and having everyone—all your people everywhere—on the same page when it comes to talking the brand to customers, prospects, suppliers, stakeholders, and peer communities. It’s about ensuring that, at every customer touchpoint around the company, your brand is fully and faithfully delivered in both word and deed and, crucially, through supportive on-brand visual imagery. Living the Brand Experience The importance of congregating your people around your brand values and proposition to deliver a distinctive customer experience is hard to overstate. Ultimately, the delivery of a recognized brand experience in the market is where the real return-on-brand-investment lies and where the company will achieve its greatest reward. This brand goal can only be fully achieved, however, when that experience aligns with the beliefs and passion of committed company personnel and teams throughout the entire reach of the organization, including divisionally, departmentally, and geographically dispersed. “Living the brand” inside the organization, be it a small, medium, or large enterprise, is a compelling and vital opportunity for any company, which has invested in brand development and which has a new, fresh, and exciting brand proposition to share with employees and management alike. Such brand innovation deeply galvanizes the employee–company relationship and the critical sense of pride, professionalism, and fraternity that comes from being part of not just a commercial business but of a corporate community. In doing so, it delivers clarity, credibility, and competitiveness based on a common understanding, a common passion, and a common goal—to deliver an authentic and differential customer experience that is recognized and cherished in the market. Bringing the brand to life internally and creating brand champions inside the organization is the immediate and priority implication of a rebranding exercise for many organizations—or it should be! This requires the practical deployment of “living the brand” internalizing strategies across (often complex) organizations to align employee teams and cross-company departments around groundbreaking new brand visions,



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future propositions, innovative values, and digital engagement. In summary, “living the brand” means: • Bringing the brand to life across every company–customer touchpoint • Employees knowing how to take the brand on board—i.e., knowing what is expected of them to personally deliver the brand experience • Behavioral change at an individual and team level so that the business is empowered to operate in line with the brand vision • Compliance with brand standards—i.e., consistent adherence by all employees to clear brand values-based standards, actions, and communications • Management of the “moments of truth” in delivering the brand experience—i.e., ensuring that the company is managed so as to deliver the brand experience at all critical points of customer interaction Putting Design in its Rightful Place It is important here to pay homage to design, and by that I mean graphic design. There was a time when design was the full extent of the branding story and was the lead thought in communicating a business. Design has of course been around forever, long before professional marketing or its much younger associate, branding—at least in a formal sense. Indeed, it is only in recent decades (surprisingly!) that marketing, never mind branding, has come of age, and so design has left its mark (of course!), and indelibly so, on the thoughts and perspectives of the global business community. Even today, the first thought in people’s minds about branding is often that one is talking specifically about design, and in particular logo design. This is as unfortunate as it is understandable. Design is millennia old; marketing is decades old; branding feels like just years old—the new kid on the block, still. If you don’t believe me, ask around. Because of this, I so often hear business people ask, “What is a brand?” In that moment of uncertainty lies the brander’s opportunity and the first thing to do is to put design in its place vis-à-vis branding and brands. Because the hesitant even embarrassed questioner will often quickly default to the more

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confident qualifying statement of “You guys are about logo design, aren’t you?” And I’m probably talking here about 90 percent of the businessowning and general executive community! So, treasuring design as we do, it is important that we put design squarely in its rightful creative place. Rather than being the be-all and end-all of the branding offer, design execution does not typically become operational until the latter stages of the brand development process when research, strategy, values, and brand propositioning work are completed, core messaging framed, and competitive market position defined. In comparison, branding can ultimately be said to be about two things: words and images. Here, branding means the strategic prioritization, interrelating, and preplanning of those visual assets to deliver the right message with the right visuals to the right customer. As regards design on the other hand, here we mean the creative interpretation, association, graphic development, and visual execution of the set of core brand principles, values, messages, and imagery directions that the strategic brand planning process has already identified and validated. Branding can be said to ultimately be about two things: words and images. Design, therefore, is the end game of the branding process, which provides the vital creative bridge between the brand strategy and its subsequent market communication. Of course, market communication is a very broad canvas indeed, comprising as it does today a vast and growing array of media, platforms, channels, tools, and techniques. As part of the ongoing communications campaign, design will be further commissioned to deliver visual brand guidelines to support and protect brand representation in diverse applications and environments, and then to go create the visual brand experience in each of those environments, be they either physical/traditional or social/digital media and communications. In her book Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Entire Branding Team, Wheeler (2012) champions the role, scale, discipline, and responsibility of the design process in reducing a complex (brand) idea to its ultimate visual essence. She stipulates that the discipline required is unending, taking skill, focus, and patience as the designer creates and jettisons a multitude of creative ideas before finally reaching and validating a preferred identity solution.



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Design is essential and delivers the final, visual manifestation of the brand proposition and personality. Whereas traditionally, print and televisual broadcasting were the main outlets for graphic design execution, today the tables have truly turned and digital is now the first thought: the digital application of design to deliver an authentic brand experience for customer appeal and competitive positioning advantage. With that in mind, let’s consider the role and power of branding in the digital space and the implications of “doing branding in the digital age.” Doing Branding in the Digital Age We live in an age of changes: Technology is evolving at a speed never seen before. The world is changing—the way we communicate, the way we work, the way we interact are all changing, and of course the relationship between individuals and organizations is also dramatically changing. While in times past the only communication channels were TV, radio, outdoor advertising, print media, and one-to-one direct communication devices like phones, today technology allows us to communicate worldwide in just a click … and for free! We record videos from our phone, share them on our social media feed and let anyone who’s interested know exactly and instantaneously what we’re up to. Today, we work from our tablets and buy groceries from our laptop. We announce all life’s milestones online and we use mobile apps to pay our bills. There is a continuous revolution afoot and organizations worldwide are changing the way they communicate with their customers, with their employees, and with their prospective recruits. The key is the ability to connect, rather than to talk. Connectivity is a key driver of personal success and self-esteem and, naturally, young people have grasped this and embraced its principles and peer group power. Young people today have a very different approach to communication from their parents. They share a lot about themselves in the digital space. Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube are just some of the platforms that “millennials” and post-millennials use to express themselves, to connect, share, reach out, and find out what is happening in the world. The digital space is the lens through which young people in particular view the outside world. Interestingly, while their trust

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in formal information (newspapers, advertising, politicians) is low, they do hold in high regard what their own peers do and think—they are proud to associate with, and they aspire to emulate, the people they come to admire. Young people in this generation seek to live life very much based on doing what they are interested in. They therefore don’t seek a regular 9-to-5 job that simply pays the bills. They want excitement and interest in their lives and this includes in their working lives. They don’t want to be told what to do or how to think; they want to make up their own minds. They don’t respond well to the one-way conversation of traditional advertising where organizations talk in monologue about themselves and expect customers or potential employees to simply buy-in. Two-way dialogue is the name of the game, where they are personally engaged and part of the conversation, where they get to share, to “like,” to comment; in summary, they don’t want to listen to the establishment … they do want to connect and coexist with their cohort of peers. This behavior has even brought into question the very relevance of brands and branding in the digital age—whether fundamental changes in consumer interactivity due to new digital communication tools have changed branding practices or just branding opportunities. In Future of Branding in The Digital Age (Olsen 2018), the basic question is raised about whether brands and branding are still relevant in the digital age. In considering three major brand challenges today: digital consumer journeys; big data; and online brands, Olsen asserts that these challenges do not reduce the importance of brands, but do, in many ways, shift the practice of branding, and provide brands with new opportunities. Doing branding in the digital age is clearly a whole new reality for today’s marketers and branders, and it is ever challenging due to the speed of technological innovation and the blurring of the meaning of the language of digital communications in our everyday speak. The brand winners will be those who “get it” and are showing leadership in volatile business times and in the face of dynamic market changes. With this reality in mind, and with a sense of the turbulence caused by the innovative and incessant international digital revolution, I went of course to Eastern Europe, to Latvia! I was invited to Riga to present and share ideas at the Baltic ­Digital Marketing & Social Media Conference, the focus of which was the globalization of digital marketing and its relationship with brand strategy



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development and communication. This made me think deeply about the nature of digital and the nature of branding and the remarkable and unrestrainable power of both in today’s dynamic, relentlessly changing marketplace. Branding as a philosophy and strategy is so powerful on its own that, when I reflected on it, the very concept of mixing branding and digital together seemed to me to be high octane: a form of creative chemistry, the effect of which leads to exponential opportunities on the one hand as well as thought-provoking ramifications and responsibilities on the other. Where, I mused, could the power of branding be more seismic and transformative than in the hands of digital technologists! With branding and digital having become such recent chummy bedfellows, the sheer combined power of both is likely to have a quantum effect on consumers’ relationship with, and trust in, corporate enterprises and consumer brands. So, with that in mind, let’s now explore the principles, power, and potential of digital branding in some more detail. From the outset, I believe that there is a lot of merit in reminding ourselves firstly what digital is and what branding is. Because these two words are so often thrown together in our business conversation, and often I believe too casually. As a brander, I am fascinated with the use of words and the meaning of language. And two words I am of course intrigued by are: digital and branding. What do these words actually mean? What does digital mean? What does branding mean? My view is that “digital” is a catchall word that is firmly rooted in technology and binary communication. Yet “branding” is a philosophy of winning the hearts and minds of the customer through emotion, personality, values, and distinctiveness. ‘Branding’ is a philosophy of winning the hearts and minds of the customer through emotion, personality, values, and distinctiveness. Is digital branding therefore an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms? This interrelationship between technology on the one hand and branding on the other is what I want to unpick a little. So now for a definition of digital: The dictionary definition of the word “digital” is as follows: “(of signals or data) expressed as a series of the digits 0 and 1, typically represented by values of a physical quantity such as voltage or magnetic polarization” (Lexico); and another is: “composed of data in the form

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of especially binary digits: digital images, a digital readout, a broadcast employing digital communications signals” (Merriam-Webster). Wow, so if this is what digital means, what has it got to offer branders, branding, and brand development? To make progress, let’s quickly remind ourselves what a brand is: “A brand is uniqueness you know, want, and trust” and check out what is branding: “Brand(ing) is two words not one: “Brand” is the idea and “ing” is short for communicating it”. Branding, therefore, is the craft and skill of communicating an emotional idea. Surely, therefore, “digital branding” as an idea is indeed a contradiction in terms? One element (digital) is fundamentally a technology made up of binary numbers and the other (branding) is essentially a philosophy about uniqueness and emotional appeal. So, how can this fusion of digital and branding be a marriage made in marketing heaven, as it seems to be?

At Baltic Digital Marketing & Social Media Conference From left to right: Solvita Kabakova (BIG Media), Polle de Maagt (Social Media Specialist), Brian McGurk (BrandCreate), Piers Schmidt (Luxury Branding)



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What we need to do is to stop and think about what we’re talking about when we use the words “digital” and “branding,” why the alchemy of both these philosophies are powerful persuaders in the world of marketing, and what the future might look like given the state of flux and morph that the worlds of “digital” and “branding” are experiencing. To start with, let’s glimpse back to the beginning and consider how old the Internet is. In 2019, “www”—the World Wide Web—reached the grand old age of 30. Tim Berners-Lee invented the Web in March 1989. Although initially for university and military use, the Web quickly became the enabler of intercompany and interpersonal information and messaging, and so the world of digital communication and connectivity was born. As Pomerantz (2015) states in Metadata, “Not content with merely inventing the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee later went on to articulate a vision of a “web of data”…this data would also be capable of being processed by software, so that applications could perform tasks on behalf of users. Berners-Lee and colleagues wrote in 2006 that their vision was then unrealized, and it remains so today”. Further, in 2009, Sir Tim famously stated that “the Web as I envisaged it, we have not seen it yet. The future is still so much bigger than the past.” (Silva/Phys.org 2009). And boy how “marketing” has jumped on the “www dot” platform, has capitalized on digital and has recognized the potential and the power of digital communications. Via digital connectivity, brands, and marketers can now reach not only whole target markets but also specific groups and individuals, with a persuasive offer, an invitation to transact, a reliable delivery promise, and secure payment methods. So, marketing has made the most of the digital revolution, and branding has taken advantage of the developing marketing infrastructure to build brand standout, relevance, competitive position, and business value. The point is that digital and branding are inextricably linked—but not because of technology! The real winners have been able to see past the technology hype. They recognize that in a digital world—with digital being the ultimate commodity of binary-numeric-based ­communication—“the brand” can piggyback on the power of this instant information and connectivity. And it does so with relevant branded messaging and marketing offers that appeal to targeted buyers and consumers across diverse demographics and geographies. In a real sense, branding proves the value

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of digital, or you could say digital delivers brand performance and breakthrough. Whatever perspective you take, it has to be admitted that digital today is center stage not only in electronic communications but also in marketing communications, and that this will increasingly be the case. Clearly, the business and brand winners of the future will be increasingly digital dependent, and exponentially so. To evidence the presence of digital in our changing business landscape, some statistics available (source: Mist Media) at the time of writing are that every single second that passes there are: • • • • • • • •

48 hours of video uploaded to YouTube 570 websites created 3,600 Instagram photos shared 47,000 apps downloaded from the App Store 100,000 tweets 684,000 Facebook shares 2 million Google searches $270,000 spent online

So, every second, globally, there are millions of searches and hundreds of thousands of marketing shares and messages being sent, all seeking information, attention, and a service response. But in a sense, aren’t we therefore simply saying that brands and marketing are dependent on communicating, which is merely a universal truth. It seems self-evident that the important thing in the commercial world is not that technological innovations will continue to change the face of digital communications, but that marketers and branders will be the whole raison d’être for the change in the first place—that “brand” success not “digital” prowess is the point of the exercise. In the face of such exponential innovation, clearly the challenge of the digital revolution is the nature of the digital experience it delivers. It is “the experience” that people need and want. It is “the experience” that brings meaning and value to the obvious and overwhelming power of digital transformation. My take is that digital does not change the world, it merely changes the processing of data and the mobility of information and thereby the means of message communication. Branding, as the



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central fulcrum of marketing, is what makes sense of market communications and therefore makes sense of both information technology and digital, and their exciting and relentless development. In short, brands use digital to add value to people’s lives and thereby “digital branding” does indeed change the world! In this way, this is for sure a marriage made in marketing heaven, creating worldwide online brands such as Amazon, YouTube, eBay, Netflix, Spotify, Uber, and so many others. But this raises the key question of what essentially is it that makes these digital or online brands a success and why have they become hits with consumers all over the world? The answer is not “technology” or “World Wide Web” or “social media” or indeed “digital.” The answer is much more profound than this; the answer is “experience,” which, if it is to be wow or amazing or even just plain relevant, needs to be directly and resolutely connected to, and delivering on, an underlying and authentic “proposition”—one that offers a solution to an ongoing need. As Steve Jobs said: “You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work back toward the technology— not the other way around.” This firmly and clearly puts technological and digital innovation in its proper place, and that place is secondary to the customer experience and the brand proposition. “Proposition” is at the very heart of, and is the driving guideline for, the customer experience and the brand. The proposition is the strategy that is behind the relevance that is behind the experience. And the strategy encompasses a unique set of brand values: rational values, emotional values, personality attributes, and the brand essence. It is this combination of values and proposition that defines the customer experience, or at least the “customer experience goal”. Technology must always recognize this and respect it. In brief, digital, technology and social media, important as they certainly are, are all innately proposition dependent; they are tools to deliver a customer experience; they are merely a means to an end, not the end in itself. And typically, that end is a brand end. It may be a cliché now but, as the saying goes, “it’s all about the brand, stupid!” because it’s all about “uniqueness, you know, want and trust”—a unique or differential, standout customer experience. The proposition is the strategy that is behind the relevance that is behind the experience.

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Of course some brands are what we might call digital dependent (the likes of the social brands: Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp, for example) but others are less dependent on digital connectivity—they use “online” more as a shopwindow for a business whose product or service is not totally “in the ether” but is ultimately about physical delivery (the likes of the Telcos or the airline brands are cases in point). Whether any businesses today are zero-sum plays when it comes to digital marketing (i.e., they don’t do it) is a moot point but the fact of business life is that digital has galloped out into the business world and made a land grab on communications planning, deployment, budgets and advertising, and, of course, recruitment. Yet at the very least, in all cases, the digital/technology smarts and innovations have to be translated and interpreted for human understanding and relevance—therefore, no sooner has the new-kid-on-the-block technology platform been invented and road tested, but there’s a mad dash to brandbuild, else the technology entrepreneur’s latest world changer will be left sitting on the sidelines as a might have been, with the conversation being around what if this and what if that! In his thoughts on digital transformation and exponential change, futurist Gerd Leonhard (Change2 2017) emphasizes some intrinsic themes and fundamental realities, namely: • Disruption is the new normal, so winning or losing are happening faster than ever; • And what’s your response? Are you driving change or are you being driven by it?; • And also that human-only traits cannot be digitized or automated anyway, such as creativity, imagination, intuition, emotion, ethics; • So, we need to go beyond technology and data to reach human insights and wisdom; • The future is in technology, but the even bigger future is in transcending it. Wow! The whole thinking here is about the purpose of exponential digital growth and its place and ultimate effect on human civilization. In this space, Leonhard has much more to say. As reviewed by Swearengen in Technology Vs Humanity: The Coming Clash between Man and Machine (2017), Leonhard postulates that, almost everything will soon be perceived or defined as a service because everything will be digitized,



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automated and “intelligized,” with huge economic impact. Swearengen summarizes as follows: “Leonhard believes we must: (1) put our collective human flourishing first and above all other concerns; (2) allow uniquely human things such as imagination, chance, mistakes and inefficiencies to continue to matter even if they are undesired by or incompatible with technology; (3) fight the spread of machine thinking, i.e., not change what we stand for and need as humans simply because it might make it easier for the technologies that surround us; (4) not be tempted into preferring technological magic (i.e., great simulations of reality over reality itself ) and getting addicted to technology; and (5) not prefer relationships with screens and machines over those that we can have with fellow humans.” In short, the power of digital may be fascinating, intriguing, alluring and even cool … but it will remain unmarketable and therefore unavailable and inaccessible without authentic brand proposition and sound brand strategy behind it. The delivery of sustainable digital innovation to the market requires that a brand strategy is developed in parallel to communicate the unique proposition, values, and benefits to a waiting world of disposable income, image consciousness, and discerning buyers. The message is: build your brand position alongside your digital technology or else tread with extreme caution into the merciless and unforgiving marketplace. The power of branding in a digital world is that digital depends on branding to position the USP of the new technology so it is seen to be accessible, desirable and consumable and, crucially, relevant and value-adding for the product and service brands it supports. To sum this up, digital is great for business and for changing the world—such as Uber has done through ride sharing by transforming our experience of personal mobility and catching a cab. It can only do so, however, and be fully exploited through the wisdom and insights of brand strategy, and through the lens of the brand proposition. Recognize that and you can set out to build a successful, self-propagating and sustainable business (for yourself, your company or your clients). Being brand-centered, you can expect to build a business that adds value, that is recognized and that is rewarded by loyalty, profitability, and repeat purchase. Being brand-centered, such a business is best placed to move with

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the times and to sustain and grow on into our changing and morphing and innovating future—which is of course the future of the world and, therefore, the future of business. So what will the future of business be like? Well, it will of course be centered on digital communications but be dependent on brand propositions and emotional experiences. The future of business will be increasingly about the relevance of brands to individuals, market sectors, and mass markets. The future of business will be about a continuous convergence of the power of digital practice and brand philosophy for the benefit of producer and consumer alike. The future of business will be about a continuous convergence of the power of digital practice and brand philosophy. How Do You Know They Get It? Research, research, research! Research is the wingman of branding. It lies fairly and squarely at the heart of the branding process. Think about it … deep customer insight is fundamental to strong, sustained, profitable growth. By its very nature this must be true. But what delivers new insights and a deep understanding of the customer? In a word, “research.” And in the brand world, seeing as we’re mostly preoccupied with emotional experiences, the initial insights and understanding are usually to be gleaned via qualitative rather than quantitative research. In the paper Brand-Building and the Elements of Success: Discoveries using Historical Analyses (Miller 2014), the efficacy of qualitative methods is proclaimed in researching the experience of corporate brand building in a successful long-established firm across two distinct entrepreneurial and professional management eras in its history. The research used original historical qualitative material in exploring core branding questions. Qualitative research is by its nature exploratory and semistructured— pursuing relevant ideas and comments as they emerge. Moreover, my philosophy on the brand consulting process is that research drives insights that illuminate thinking and stimulate dialogue thus creating a sense of shared ownership of the brand journey. More specifically, deep interrogation, active listening, and empirical analysis informs blue-sky thinking,



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rounded insights, and open-mind meetings that generate dynamic dialogues, working partnerships, and shared ownership of the brand’s development by the consulting and client teams alike. This is fundamental to a robust approach to creating brand and communication strategy. While imagination, logic, and creativity must of course be valued in developing client strategies, it is also vital that the process is evidence based and solidly grounded in a full and accurate understanding of the relevant customer constituency—and especially of that specific audience which is the key target for a particular brand communication. While much has changed in information gathering, especially with the emergence of new communications and socializing technologies, much also remains the same. In particular, good market research depends on effective listening and observation and, indeed, on enjoying finding out how people really deeply think and feel. The best approach is to combine objective and exploratory interviewing with evidence-based reporting and documentation, followed by higher-level analysis and insight generation. The goal of this work is to deliver key information, new insights, and the clarity of vision necessary to take strategic marketing and commercial decisions with a high level of confidence. Research is, above all, a listening exercise and there is nothing compared to the information, insight, and confidence that comes from in-depth research and real-life engagement with the right interviewees, in the places where they work and in the homes where they live. You may be tempted to think at the outset of a brand development program that you know how people’s minds are working, but until you actually talk with them, and ideally in their own workplace or domestic environments, you really cannot be sure. Surprising insights are so often a key part of, and the real value contained in, the final research experience and output. And why is insight so important? Because it identifies what singular and penetrating need our target customer has that our brand can seek to satisfy better than any other brand around. To gain such penetrating insights, research is essential. It will identify all relevant, actionable customer needs as well as assessing the extent to which these needs are being met and satisfied by any other competing brands. These are the basic principles of straightforward qualitative information gathering. On top of that, it is important to enjoy exploring new

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perspectives and ways of looking at things. Curiosity is definitely a great driver of exploring new horizons. Thorough and nuanced research conversations (qualitative research) on relevant market topics and customer issues will provide the basis of subsequent brand and communications strategy, digital planning, and design and messaging development, ensuring that all is inspirational and creative as well as being firmly grounded in market and audience realities. The consumer focus group is a well-proven mode of having these qualitative research conversations where we get face-to-face with the target audience in full, flowing discussions that will range where they will, albeit guided by some flexible but directive topic framework and facilitated by a professional group moderator. These groups usually have a duration of 90 minutes for standard groups or 120 minutes for extended groups and typically involve eight participants. Group design will determine whether it is best to hold homogenous or mixed groups—therefore whether the people recruited for the group will all be from the same sociodemographic classification or from different classifications, or whether they will be one gender or mixed gender, customers only or customers plus rejectors, clients and/or prospects, one region or multiregion. Focus groups may be carried out in truly diverse locations from specialized purposely designed research rooms with built-in viewing facilities and catering services, to offices, boardrooms, hotels, and other hospitality and community venues, all depending on the client’s research goals and the nature and specific demographics of the audience being researched. Specialized dedicated facilities are usually more expensive to hire but would typically provide a large see-through/one-way mirror and audio–visual facilities so that client staff can observe and listen in to the live research conversation (always with the full knowledge and prior permission of the participants themselves) but without distracting in any way the functioning and progress of the group discussion. In qualitative research, face-to-face discussions are really essential for assessing participant interaction within the group, for the observation of body language and for ensuring that all participants can share their experiences, perspectives, perceptions, and beliefs fully. This up-close and personal form of discussion ensures depth of research and insight whereas online research and survey-based approaches, while of course capable of a much broader research reach, are by their nature



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more geared to measurement of known criteria than to depth of insight and understanding of nuance. Likewise, the one-on-one face-to-face interview (also known as a depth interview) is a highly effective research tool for qualitative research purposes, although due to its depth and personal nature, it is necessarily limited in reach. Nonetheless, this form of interviewing is a powerful and rapid deliverer of deep personal insights and is very often used to complement other forms of research, which are planned to occur in parallel. Of course, the personal interview can be carried out by telephone or Skype call/video or via similar social media platforms to broaden its reach, and this is a common and effective (although still necessarily time consuming) strategy for widening such qualitative research surveys. In addition, brand workshops are another popular, powerful, and proven tool for exploring and understanding brand uniqueness and opportunity. Such workshops are frequently used with internal company management teams to examine brand values, personality, and proposition. Furthermore, they are effective in aligning company executives, staff, stakeholders, and owners with their brand truth while also highlighting the dichotomy that often exists between internal company brand beliefs and what customers actually believe in the market. The learnings and value gained from such workshop programs reinforce the importance of investing in the brand or brands of the organization to gain insights, strengthen market position, improve competitiveness, maximize business potential, and secure future prosperity. Achieving a strong sense of companywide ownership of the brand development process is a key goal and a major asset for any brand owner or project leader. This is achieved by involving in the research process the relevant decision-making and influencing parties and stakeholders. It is these players who will ultimately come back to the table later in the process to question, challenge, support, or reject defined research and brand insights, strategic recommendations and plans for development, action, and budget allocation. Research and investigation therefore constitutes a crucial engagement phase of any brand development process as it brings so many key audiences and stakeholders into the frame, it spells out the terms of reference of the project to one and all, and its listens deeply to personal, indeed intimate, opinions, perceptions, and stories relating to the research objective and the brand-building goal. Great research makes,

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therefore, for great engagement of management and staff within the organization and more than sets the scene and conditions for understanding, acceptance, support, and for the investment decisions that must follow. Only then can the brand reality be defined, the development opportunities framed, and the brand development goals agreed and achieved. An inclusive and representative research framework sets this in motion and enhances the chances and extent of companywide internal brand endorsement and related financial investment.

Tools of the Trade—Research and Insights Brand development is a coherent and creative process. In addition to the previously discussed general and popular research techniques, I want to unveil here some key tools and processes (sequential in nature) that can be utilized within a robust brand development program in relation to brand discovery, definition, insights, strategic positioning, and brand communications planning, namely: • • • • • • • •

Deep immersion Giant desk Fresh discovery Open-mind meetings Outside journeys/world dialogues Internal brand fora Brand roadshows Idea-generation sessions

Deep Immersion This is a definitive step into full project commencement where initial work is carried out to agree live project objectives and parameters post the completion of the formal project proposal (or tendering process). This step is to guarantee full alignment from the outset on the scope of works, and project priorities and emphases—in light of current and upto-date commercial realities, requirements, organizational change goals, and evolving business and marketing/c-suite executive expectations.



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Giant Desk This is a specific approach to carrying out all-encompassing, comprehensive desk research. It works to inform the project team in a focused, nimble, and accelerated manner to efficiently bring all team members and project stakeholders to alignment on the realities of current brand status, market intelligence, and information gaps and requirements. A “giant desk” approach verifies the extent and relevance of the existing insights and knowledge resources that are available to the brand team and sets goals and agendas for focused information gathering during the subsequent “fresh discovery” project stage.

Fresh Discovery The fresh discovery methodology is a preliminary face-to-face interviewing activity that ensures that the brand team gets sensitized early to what knowledge, beliefs, and perceptions are held internally by management and staff. It adds fresh internal perspectives, knowledge, and insights to that gleaned from the previous “giant desk” research findings. This exercise identifies the tone of the internal perspective and reality in relation to brand values and the standing and positioning of the brand portfolio or brand architecture. This interviewing activity is carried out across the full reach of the company’s brand architecture and its constituent businesses and service organizations, inclusive of all relevant stakeholders. Open-Mind Meetings Open-mind meetings are an interrogation activity which take a globalized, objective and insight-driven view on the brand’s (and brand portfolio’s) SWOT realities (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats). This defines and determines the client’s brand situation, issues, gaps, and opportunities for repositioning or rebranding. This exercise is planned and carried out in view of predefined and agreed organizational goals and business objectives, including needs and priorities around talent recruitment and retention.

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Outside Journeys/Outside World Dialogues The “outside journeys” methodology achieves a clear and definitive understanding of external perspectives—the uniquely fresh perspectives of the outside world—by instigating and managing “outside world dialogues”—namely, group discussions which generate new ideas ­ through “new eyes.” The insights and ideas achieved here can only come from applying a new lens to a brand’s positioning, realities, and challenges by virtue of taking a resolutely outside-in perspective on brand performance and potential. Internal Brand Fora Central to process delivery is the organization and facilitation of internal brand fora. This workshop-based forum tool complements the external “outside world” dialogues and journeys, broadening and deepening the research methodologies already carried out. An internal brand forum values free-flowing open discussion and active listening. It deeply explores, investigates, and defines existing internal/pan-organizational beliefs and perceptions that are pertinent to the standing and expectations of a brand or brand portfolio across its own management and personnel base. The internal brand forum format “bottoms out” the extent of employee support and understanding that exists for the brand as well as internal expectations and desires for its future direction, development, and communication. Brand Roadshows An increasing feature of brand engagement work is the delivery of marketwide “brand roadshows”—where clients have widely dispersed employee/staff bases that require direct inclusion and a full briefing and Q&A on the rationale and plans for repositioning or rebranding the organization. Such experiential brand roadshows need to be expertly planned, supported, and equipped to facilitate and align with the design and implementation of a client’s broader brand communications and tactical activity programs.



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Idea-Generation Sessions A key tool in brand strategy development is the moderation of idea-generation sessions/workshops to include internal and/or external stakeholders, customers or personnel, as befits the brand’s particular environment and context. The net objective of idea-generation sessions is to develop brand propositions and to determine how these could be communicated. These sessions seek radical shifts in understanding and goal setting; they seek a break with traditional ideas and prevailing thinking about the limits and boundaries of the brand experience, possibilities, and opportunities ahead. Features of the format of idea-generation sessions typically include an eclectic range of mind-opening and deep-listening exercises and stimuli. While workshop sessions are bespoke in design and planning, some typical workshop components include: visual stimuli, one-on-one brand conversations, table exercises, table discussions, table presentations, team task setting, “what-if ” exercises, brand–leadership role playing, feedback and insight sessions, projection and immersion techniques, and brand feature probing. John Scully, former CEO of Apple, was famously a great supporter and exponent of such idea-generation techniques, and is quoted as saying that: “Only through a radical shift in our thinking can we succeed in this new era. It calls for nothing but a complete break with the tradition-bound ways of the business leaders and managers of the industrial age.”

Tools of the Trade—Creativity and Innovation Regarding creativity and innovation, two principles are worth reflection, namely: “Discovery consists of seeing what everyone has seen and thinking what no-one else has thought” (Albert Slent Gyorgi) and “Innovative ideas come from insightful people, not insightful research” (Booz Allen Hamilton). It is, ultimately, people not processes that deliver excellence in creativity and innovation. That is why it is the individual members of the presiding project team that are themselves key to creativity and the creation of innovative brand propositions, messages, values, follow-through brand expressions, and transformational customer experiences.

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Having said that, adhering to a multidimensional process approach is essential for achieving robust, fully informed and innovative brand development. Such a multidimensional approach would encompass perspectives from the inside, the outside, the tangible, the intangible, the present, and the future: • The inside perspective: takes into consideration what the client company wants to achieve, what its vision, mission, and goals are, and what degree of change or transformation it can endorse; • The outside perspective: determines what will motivate and drive relevance and provide a believable story that brand stakeholders, customers, and business audiences can endorse; • The tangible perspective: identifies the rational and functional aspects and values of the brand and any associated brands or subbrands; • The intangible perspective: identifies the emotional aspects and values of the brand/s and the emotions and stories that are generated; • The present perspective: specifies what is available now to offer or include in any proposition to the target audience; • The future perspective: anticipates what can be developed, what is planned, and what is possible, given future consumer/target market needs. To ensure that creative-thinking skills and ability successfully result in maximum brand innovation outcomes, a range of core creative methodologies should be applied. The list below presents a set of specific processes and tools for developing and presenting innovative brand solutions in response to a business’s brand challenges, opportunities, and goals: 1. Insight development techniques 2. Need-states tools 3. Interactive creativity workshops 4. Core values generation 5. Messaging and brand fora 6. Heroic journey touchpoint process 7. Visual interpretation of findings



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Insight Development Techniques Presented here is a set of eight exploratory activities and techniques that should be prioritized for implementation with consumers and project team members to generate creative insights and brand hypotheses: Explore Consumer Thinking Explore the consumer’s understanding of how a particular product or service will function and benefit them, and investigate the prepurchase perceptions upon which a decision to purchase is made. Understand Consumer Expectations Define the boundaries of the consumer’s expectations of the product or service and the potential to exceed these through product or service innovation and communication. Assess Risks and Gaps Determine the risk of disappointing the consumer through identifying any potential weaknesses or actual gaps in product or service provision, which would be a deviation from established expectations about performance. Identify Unfulfilled Needs Achieve an understanding of the latent unfulfilled needs that consumers possess and which represent opportunities for brand strategists and manufacturers to supply. Identify False Beliefs Identify and make explicit any false beliefs or expectations that the consumer holds about the product or service in question and prioritize these for future communications management and consumer education or awareness.

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Apply Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs The product or service in research or under development is assessed according to the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs model to determine its extent of satisfaction of the intrinsic needs of the consumer and to clarify potential scope for higher-level benefits through innovation or messaging development. In Motivation for Buying Branded Items: A Cross Country Application of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in Consumer Decision Making, Asamoah et al. (2011) present an instructive example of the application of Maslow’s theory to brand buyer decision-making and underlying motivations. Challenge Beliefs and Benefits Deep probing of the insights, beliefs, and promises of the product and service offer and proposition is undertaken to verify and validate product benefits against need-states, and to check consumer expectations against the level of service-delivery experience planned. Develop Hypotheses and Present Constructs Develop hypothetical brand propositions and present these in consumer construct diagrams. Figures 3.2 and 3.3 show construct diagrams that are generated to explore and develop the propositions of consumer brands, in these examples a male deodorant and a national airline. They include insights on consumer anxieties and Calm & collected

CONTRADICTION NORM t

d

Good looking

d

e sir

an br

ec eff

e

ed

Ordinary looking

th

CONTRADICTION

NORM

Exciting extrovert

Figure 3.2  Hypothetical brand construct diagram (a male deodorant)



Building Brilliant Brands Feeling balanced and at one

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The airline which makes you feel most at home

NORM

CONTRADICTION

CONTRADICTION

NORM

Air travel

Disoriented and discomforted

Figure 3.3  Hypothetical brand construct diagram (a national airline)

concerns—i.e., the possible “contradictions” to what consumers expect to be “the norm”—and help discover and define the relevant opportunities that a brand has for competitive repositioning. Need-States Tools Need-states tools are techniques that help identify, describe, and develop an understanding of consumer need-states that exist within a target market. Such tools delve deeply into the conscious and subconscious needs and trends that drive consumer choice. For example, exploratory visuals, such as those presented in Figures 3.4 and 3.5, can be used to assess and define deep, emotional buyer needs and feelings. In Table 3.1 and its associated photoset (Figure 3.4), a particular brand’s image is represented by personality characteristics and symbols related to four core value categories (i.e., Outward; Inward; Affinity; Individuality). Together, these value categories constitute an overall consumer needs framework based on: Outward versus Inward orientation; and Affinity (belonging) versus Individuality. This is expressed in visual form in Figure 3.4. Similarly, the photoset in Figure 3.5 is a tool to explain the real feelings associated with the same brand by visually representing its emotive power with consumers (under the same four value categories). Table 3.1  A Consumer Needs Framework for Brand Image Analysis Outward

Inward

Affinity

Individuality

Activity

Comfort

Receptivity

Assertiveness

Passion

Protection

Positivity

Dominance

Aggression

Peace-Loving

Team-Play

Single-Mindedness

A Rabbit

A Sheepdog

An Elephant

Symbolized by: A Tiger

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Figure 3.4  Personality photoset to analyze the symbolic level of a brand image

Figure 3.5  Emotive photoset to express and explain real feelings



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Interactive Creativity Workshops Consumer-based creativity workshops allow for a combination of focus group research as well as team-based creative thinking. In these moderated sessions, consumers express their deeper motivations, needs, expectations, and concerns, and demonstrate how these might be satisfied. These creative-thinking workshops are also invaluable when participants from two or more subsegments of a target market are represented so that their differing views can be explored and assessed. The use of stimulus materials and activities within the workshops ensures that consumers are able to identify relevant creative possibilities as they interact with a range of processes such as storytelling, collage building, vision meditations, and role playing. Above all, it is important to get consumers and project team members out of fixed and opinionated thinking and into the realm of possibility and creative thinking. To encourage this, a workshop will usually be designed so that participants can experience a range of differing discussion and sharing formats including one-on-one interactions with fellow participants, participant pairings, small group discussions, and plenary sessions as well as one-on-one meetings with the project researcher or lead moderator. Core Values Generation This tool brings to life an expression of core brand values and personality via paintings, poetry, mythology, film, literature, and legend to enable focus on desired aspects and to demonstrate the types of relationship a brand or message or proposition is offering or can offer. These use both visual imagery and written depictions of core values. They can be used for a range of purposes: • to decide on the core values essential to a new brand proposition or message • to communicate to design agencies so that they can easily understand the nature and depth of the values • to research those values that are important to consumers and the extent of their meaning • to make a first cut at defining those critical values which a brand has stood for over time

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Examples of some core value expressions are shown in Figure 3.6. Passion

Integrity

“The moment we decide to fulfil something, we can do anything” (Greta Thunberg)

“When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful” (Malala Yousafzai)

Empathy

Transformation

“I feel that the capacity to care is the thing which gives life its deepest significance” (Pablo Casals)

“Every success story is a tale of constant adaption, revision and change” (Richard Branson)

Figure 3.6  Generating and expressing core brand values

It is common to also develop “values stimulus boards” that use words and imagery to help stimulate discussion in consumer research groups and interviews. Some examples of stimulus boards are shown in F ­ igures 3.7 and 3.8.

Figure 3.7  Example brand value stimulus board (experience)



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Figure 3.8  Example brand value stimulus board (freedom)

Messaging and Brand Fora The essence of good messaging and proposition development is in its close relationship to the core features and benefits (the added value deriving from those features), and its understanding of what to convey in terms of values, relationships, and personality. Brand fora enable brand researchers and strategists to understand and define the “now story” for consumers today and what scope exists for the development of storytelling into the future, depending on how the brand’s supporting features, benefits, and uniqueness may evolve over time. A brand forum is a workshop-based approach and is founded on the premise that there is a wealth of knowledge about the values of the company, sector, or brand associations retained within the memories, stories, and experiences of company management and key stakeholders. Interactive group processes tap into this knowledge to build an understanding of what is fundamental and meaningful about what is on offer. The process works best with a brand forum team of some 10 to 20

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participants drawn from an industry sector or from different functions within an organization, its external agencies, and relevant suppliers. The processes and materials used in these brand fora/workshops are designed to provide the stimulus needed to detach from engrained paradigm thinking and to transition participants into the realm of distinction and creativity. Subsequently, strategic marketing models and frameworks can be developed and used to collect and structure new thinking and to assess the relevance of newly generated ideas for translation into business development and brand planning. Heroic Journey Touchpoint Process This tool uses a depiction of “a hero’s journey,” as defined from universal human mythology, to help consumers quickly identify their key touchpoints, expectations, and concerns. Its value for brand communication is based on the premise that storytelling can be reduced to a series of fundamental narratives, stages, and character archetypes. In short, the hero’s journey presents the universally expressed mythology of a hero who goes on an adventure and, in the face of a decisive crisis, wins a victory and then returns home transformed. Using the hero’s journey as a template for deep personal discovery, consumers can choose from a pick-and-mix bag of selected visuals to demonstrate the importance they attach to specific brand features, offerings and supports at each point in their real-world consumer journey experience. Participants are briefed in advance on the key stages, and the meaning of each, that make up the mythical journey. The journey proceeds as follows: • The hero’s journey begins in the ordinary world • The hero then departs from the ordinary world on receiving a call to adventure • With the help of a mentor, the hero will cross a guarded threshold, leading to a supernatural world, where familiar laws and order do not apply • Once there, the hero will embark on a road of trials, encountering tests along the way • The hero is sometimes assisted by allies



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• As the hero faces the ordeal, he encounters the greatest challenge of the journey • Upon rising to the challenge, the hero will receive a reward (a boon or gift) • The journey continues through a metaphorical death and resurrection • The hero must then decide to return with this reward to the ordinary world and will face more trials on the road back • Upon the hero’s return, the boon or gift may be used to improve the hero’s ordinary world, in what is called the application of the boon A popular summary of the structure of the hero’s journey presented in Joseph Campbell’s book The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1993), is its adaptation by screenwriter and author Christopher Vogler (The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (2007)) into the 12-stage Hero’s Journey sequence depicted in Figure 3.9.

Ordinary World Return with the Elixir

Call to Adventure

Refusal of the Call

Resurrection

Meeting the Mentor

The Road Back

Crossing the Threshold

Reward (Seizing the Sword)

Ordeal Approach to the Inmost Cave

Figure 3.9  The mythical hero’s journey

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Visual Interpretation of Findings On conclusion of research findings and recommendations, effective and accurate visual interpretation in support of written findings is mandatory for presenters (be they internal managers or external consultants) in order to achieve the necessary impact, ease of understanding, and management team adoption of key brand findings, issues, and priorities. The presentation of findings should be supported by the following: • Diagrams and charts: to readily communicate interconnecting issues; • Creative visual concepts: to readily communicate customer needs, values, and aspirations; • Video clips: research focus groups and individual interviews can be filmed, with selected excerpts utilized to enhance and reinforce management feedback and insight presentations.

Building a Brilliant Brand Book The term “brand book” is often used in the branding industry as the name for a brand guidelines manual. It governs and constitutes the “go-to” ­reference text for anything to do with the brand’s design application or visual communication. A brand book contains brand identity guidelines to ensure consistency and integrity of application across all its graphic, digital, social, film, environmental, and print media uses. It should be noted that a “brand book” is technically different from “brand identity guidelines” as the latter is restricted to visual identity guidelines for brand design applications; in contrast, a brand book includes not only the visual guidelines but also references the brand strategy and the values, personality, and proposition that the visual design is expressing in graphic form. It may also include a statement of the company’s mission, vision, and purpose. A brand book, by definition, should be the central oracle and key source for referencing the strategic thinking and rationale underpinning a brand as well as being the definitive guideline on how to design and apply the brand’s visual identity accurately and consistently. The tangible



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(design features) and intangible (tone of voice) elements of a new brand (including its personality) are valuable assets that will ultimately determine the brand equity or worth of a brand. Given the necessary investment in developing a new brand strategy, designing its consequent visual identity elements, and then launching these in the market, it is vital for the brand owner to also invest in protecting the future use and application of the brand elements at and post brand launch. A great brand book will be pivotal to ensuring that the brand is always portrayed authentically and accurately, and that it delivers a consistent, credible, and connected brand presentation and experience for the customer. Classically, a brand book will commence with a restatement of the core brand values, brand essence, vision, and proposition that has been researched, developed, and approved as the purpose and objective of strategic brand repositioning (or rebranding). This would be followed by the presentation of the brand identity system and its usage and application guidelines for creative direction. While the repertoire of possible branding applications is truly universal, guidelines will normally encompass, as a minimum, logotype, font-type, color direction, physical layout, typical design applications, design mandatories (application do’s and don’ts), use-of-imagery, and copywriting guidelines on style of messaging and brand tone of voice. Inevitably, guidelines are of course bespoke to each company or organization, nevertheless the standard range of brand book elements would typically include the following: • An overview of the brand vision, goals, proposition, competitive position, and target customer • A statement of the brand essence, rational and emotional values, and personality • A brand messaging framework—including examples of “tone of voice” • Identity/logotype usage—where and how to use the logo, including minimum sizes, spacing, and mandatories/do’s and don’ts • Color palette—primary and secondary color palettes with color breakdowns for print, screen, and web applications • Typestyle—specific font/s to use and details of the font family and default fonts for web use

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• Image style/photography—examples of the style of image and photographs that work well with the brand • Stationery applications—the design of items such as business cards, letterheads, compliments slips, showing how the brand logo and fonts are to be correctly applied on standard company stationery • Internal forms and presentations design • Electronic documents design • Design layouts and grids • Advertising and digital templates • Promotional applications—e.g., in-store giveaways • Social media platforms and profile page applications • Marketing/brochuring/flyer collateral and layout options • Website design and layout • General signage/specifications • Exhibition stand design and banner displays • Retail environment and point-of-sale design • Merchandizing applications • Uniforms and outfits design • Livery and building applications • Receptions, offices, depots design • 3D fixtures/external assets/equipment locations branding • User guidance—the provision of supporting information and advice regarding the editing, application, and control of brand representation

Building a Brilliant Website A website is nothing less than a shop window for the brand, allowing the entire world to come visit your business day or night. It is the first-stop for all and any interested parties into your business and brand world and, like all first-time visits, first impressions really count. In today’s hyperactive world where opportunities can be fleeting and need to be grasped as and when they occur, the website design plays a crucial role in determining whether or not a site visit will translate into an enquiry and whether an initial enquirer will become a live business



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prospect or customer. Much depends on the website. Much depends on its messaging. Much depends on its visual presentation. There are of course a plethora of ways of laying out and presenting your website. Many websites are built on standard off-the-shelf software packages that provide preconfigured page layouts and development tools for speed and ease of development. Others are created as bespoke, custom-built, one-off designs that are unique to the company and that provide a unique visual experience to the site visitor. Both approaches have definite and different advantages but if you want your website to present and behave differently than all other sites in your sector, then a bespoke web design is the way to go. Often the very mechanics and structure of a website instantly betray its standard nature even though imagery and messaging are customized. The decision on the uniqueness of your brand presentation starts here. Whether you opt for an off-theshelf design package or you go bespoke, the vital requirement is to design your website to deliver an immediate and unique brand experience for your company and to convey the uniqueness of your brand proposition and business offer. The website is a powerful platform on which to get your brand message and personality across to your key audiences, indeed it is an essential one. The aim here is to make the most of this branding opportunity, thinking of your website as a unique place to experience your brand rather than just as a necessary online source of business information relating to your company and what it does. The design of a website is a rare opportunity to “think brand first” and to design toward a specific brand experience goal that achieves instant standout from competitors. Such an approach will allow a faithful and credible delivery of your brand values and business philosophy and will convey a sense of the innate creativity of your company and the passion and personality of your people. While much can be achieved with standard web design software, clearly a bespoke approach of building a website “from the ground up” allows so much more flexibility in the creative approach, so much more license in visual expression, and total control over ease of site navigation and the visitor experience. Control and creativity in website design leads to credibility and competitiveness through differentiation from other market players in terms of the brand proposition, personality, and passion for what you deliver.

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Control and creativity in website design leads to credibility and competitiveness. While it is important that a website contains all relevant information about the company and its product or service offering, its real potential power is to demonstrate the personality of your business and in so doing build your brand image. Every website should do this, else it’s a wasted opportunity. In previous times, the printed company brochure was the absolute requirement for every company in order to provide general brand and business information. Today, the website plays this role as a minimum but provides so much more opportunity for customer communication and immediate brand impact. This brings us to another decision that every company needs to make: is our website to be a brochure site or a dynamic site? A brochure site is exactly that: a static website that has been created to show, online, the content of what otherwise would be a hardcopy brochure for general distribution. A dynamic site, on the other hand, provides opportunity for interactivity by the visitor. This ranges from the visitor simply clicking on an on-site video, to connecting with the company’s social media activity, to buying a product or service online. This latter “e-Commerce” engagement is at the most dynamic end of online activity where the visitor comes onto the site to browse and buy goods and services from the ease and convenience of their own keyboard, tablet, or smartphone. With the development of virtual reality software and viewing equipment, websites are certain to further evolve into 3D visual experiences promoting the company’s unique set of brand values and culture and its distinctive added value for the customer. A brilliant website must always be designed from the user experience perspective rather than from the company information perspective. The fact of the matter is that in our digital world people are increasingly information saturated and thereby time starved, and this impacts directly on their attention span and message focus. In short, people don’t read anymore. They don’t have time to linger over verbose business messages and expansive company information. They will click as quick as blink and it is imperative that management recognizes this and responds accordingly. What’s the answer? In a word, imagery.



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Branding is about two things: words and images. In a fast-paced electronic visit environment such as a website, while messaging and written information is necessary, it must be very carefully planned and measured, and definitely balanced with attractive and compelling imagery. There needs to be an emphasis on the visual, on imagery, be that iconography, photography, or illustrations, with such visual imagery needing to reflect and reinforce key aspects of the brand proposition and values. Too often, lots of written verbage brings comfort to company managers but merely confuses visitor audiences. Less is more when it comes to wordage; more is less when it comes to imagery. Clearly, the answer is to get the balance right recognizing of course that business visitors need the right information easily, speedily, and even enjoyably. Less is more when it comes to wordage; more is less when it comes to imagery. A website should be attractive, efficient, and relevant to your target market audience. Make it functional but make it fun! Why would anyone want to come back to a website that is a chore to navigate, a bore to look at, and is patently underinvested in? An unloved site speaks volumes about the effort being put into the market image and the customer relationship. It conveys a frame of mind that is not customer oriented—it shows that the company does not understand today’s marketplace, the modern buyer expectation, or the growing power of digital in communicating pride in the brand. It even brings into question the company’s appreciation of its own B2B or B2C brand/s. That is how critical the website is in our digitized commercial world. It is indeed the shop window for the business and the brand, and first impressions still make all the difference in the world and to the world. And a word on the use of color. Color use can be a great and easy differentiator from competitors. It is not enough anymore to look at your peer group of direct competitors and say that your website looks as good as theirs, or is of a similar standard to theirs. Today the game is about difference and particularly about brand difference, so be clear and confident about your brand personality and style and make sure to choose a color suite for your website which strongly, courageously conveys the truth and

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aspirations of your company and its brand journey. Underpin this with a distinctively recognizable brand logo shape or mark (for example Nike and Adidas) and you will have a truly ownable identity in the market. Color denotes self-confidence and creativity. A website is not the place to be demure or fainthearted. Quite the opposite, a website is the place to show your true colors in every sense of the word. Show your confidence; show your creativity; show your competitiveness. A bright, colorful and image-led website is a powerful statement of reality and intent, of success enjoyed today and bright prospects for tomorrow. It is an essential platform for making a proud and passionate brand statement to instantly entice and directly persuade current and future customers. So, let’s take an overall look at how a website design program generally proceeds. Here are key sequential steps en route: Identify Stakeholders From the outset, it is important to identify and involve all key decision makers and stakeholders—those who will be in a decision-making position later in contributing to and approving the final design. Interrogate Requirements Become fully conversant with the project objectives and target audiences so as to be in a position to comprehensively define precise user requirements. To achieve this, information needs to be gathered either by questionnaire or by face-to-face meetings, and outcomes cross-referred and interrogated to verify and confirm the key purpose of, and requirements from, the website. Plan and Structure the Site Develop a sitemap plan to determine and structure the information architecture that the new site will need. This stage also includes detailed content information gathering and organization. Create Master Templates These templates are designed as the master-page layouts that will be used and reused for multiple pages that are to present similar content types. The design and use of templates reduces the time required to design and develop the website. Crucially, template pages



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also ensure that the integrity of the site is guaranteed into the future as more content is created and placed into the site over time. This step identifies the number of different types of website-page templates required. Create the Wireframe Create a summary schematic that depicts the initial skeletal framework of a website for planning purposes, showing how the website elements will be arranged. The process of wireframing is the subdivision of project deliverables into smaller, more manageable components. During this stage, the positioning and layout of content on each of the different template pages is finalized. The website architecture is set and an intuitive user-flow process is planned to determine ease of site navigation. Design the Website Based on the page-template layouts approved during the wireframing process, pixel-perfect pages are designed for all device types. This will typically design the presentation of the unique user experience for a number of pre-agreed screen sizes, for example: mobile; tablet; desktop; supersize desktop. During this stage, the “on-brand” look and feel of the site is created to be strictly in line with the company’s brand identity guidelines. Optimize the Website The website is now designed and optimized to be responsive to suit the visual characteristics and technical constraints of each relevant communication platform. “Mobile-first” responsive design is a priority here to ensure that a website is optimized for usage on smartphones and tablets as well as for desktop, laptop, and large-screen computers. Implement Content Following completion of responsive web design, all agreed final written and visual content is entered into the website, making sure that it is fully proofed and formatted for maximum site performance and brand effect.

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Debug and Test for Performance Rigorous testing and debugging is undertaken during the development and content implementation stages. This monitoring and debugging activity includes both public-user and administrator-panel testing. Verify and Sign-Off Following a full verification of the scope of the work completed against the project brief and objectives, the final project sign-off of the completed design and creative deliverables completes the website design process. Launch the Site Frequently a “soft launch” follows final sign-off, with the new website being initially launched to the final server to allow for testing of the live version in advance of any PR/public audience announcements. The new website is now live and proudly delivering the company’s brand experience online.

Key Takeaways Taking a structured approach to market research, brand strategy, identity design, brand messaging, and communications is imperative to creating, building, or repositioning a strong brand. It’s not all just about logo design! A great place to start brand development is by thinking about the customer: Who is your customer? Why do they buy from you? Who are your competitors? Why do people buy from them? What do you want the customer experience to be? Interrogating the brand—the essential questions: What does your brand stand for today? What are its current values? What is its proposition to the market? What is its personality or tone of voice? What is the brand essence? It’s not about deep pockets: For most companies, big ticket traditional marketing spends are not needed; for all companies, (thrifty) digital media-based marketing spends are essential.



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Your current promotional media (and existing budgets) are the first place to platform new branding strategies. Integrate new brand collateral into existing marketing activity (and spend). Don’t forget to look deeply inside the company: credibility demands that the brand beliefs and passion of the company personnel align closely with the brand experience promised and received in the marketplace. Great research makes for great engagement of management and staff in the process, and sets the scene for in-company understanding, acceptance, and support of future brand investment decisions. A brilliant website will always be designed from the user experience perspective rather than from the company information perspective. Digital technology is increasingly empowering brand communication but if the brand experience is to stand out, it needs to be delivering on a differential proposition—one that offers a unique brand solution to an ongoing consumer need. What will the future of business be like? … it will be centered on digital communications but be dependent on brand propositions and emotional experiences.

The Word Wizard Expression

Explanation

Blue-sky thinking

Fresh unconventional thinking that welcomes and generates free-flowing and diverse ideas on prospective opportunities, solutions, and strategies to set new innovative approaches and market benchmarks

Brand behaviors

The behavior, activities, and interaction of those responsible for planning, producing, and promoting the brand

Brand collateral

The professionally designed suite of materials that constitute the full set of visual elements that support a brand’s communication across all of its marketing applications

Brand essence

The ultimate thumbprint of the brand’s meaning; the distilled (typically three word) shorthand for what a brand stands for

Brand forum

A discussion-based in-company workshop session that deeply explores, investigates and defines pan-organisational beliefs and perceptions (continued)

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The Word Wizard Expression

Explanation

Brand guidelines

The go-to reference document comprising, as a minimum, guidance on a brand’s design application and visual communication. It may include brand strategy and values as well as company purpose, vision, and mission statements

Brand philosophy

The accepted understanding of the strategic place and power of a brand in achieving and sustaining successful business development

Brand portfolio

The range of brands that an organization possesses and markets

Brand principles

The underlying truths and rules relating to the effective planning and achievement of brand growth and success

Brand standards

The standards of belief, behavior, and communication that align with the underlying strategic proposition of a brand, its market promise, and customer expectation

Brand workshop

A facilitated executive or stakeholder group session for the purpose of practical engagement and interaction focusing on one or more brand topics, issues, or opportunities. The objective is to identify, define, or validate value-adding ideas, possibilities, approaches, and innovative brand solutions

C-suite

C-suite refers to the chief senior executives of an organization. Typically their titles tend to start with the letter c, such as chief executive officer (CEO), chief financial officer (CFO), chief operating officer (COO), and chief information officer (CIO)

Competitive positioning

The different proposition that a company makes in the marketplace to achieve competitive advantage; the difference of a company’s market offer relative to competitors

Constructs

Models that present subjective ideas or theories based on understandings gained from experience, personal insights, or research

Core brand principles

The essential truths and rules relating to the effective planning and achievement of brand growth and success

Corporate livery

The visual design and physical presentation of a company’s identity to include its corporate logo, business stationery, vehicle livery, offices and buildings signage, and online branding

Customer segmentation The division of a customer base into discrete groupings for the purpose of understanding their relative importance and different buying needs, and for defining strategies to improve customer satisfaction, service experience, and brand communication Customer touchpoints

The places and points in the buying process where the customer directly interacts with the company



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The Word Wizard Expression

Explanation

Demographics

Socio-economic characteristics and statistical data relating to a population and its particular sub-groups

Depth interview

A personal, one-on-one, face-to-face or telephone interview

Design collateral

All visual applications of the design and manifestation of the brand’s identity

Design execution

The creation of designs for identity development or brand and marketing communication

Digital age

The era of digital mass communication

Digital branding

The implementation of branding strategies and messaging by means of digital communication platforms

E-commerce

Electronic commerce and specifically online shopping

Empirical analysis

An analysis based on actual research observation or real-life experience as opposed to theory or logical deduction

Focus group

A specially selected group of people who, under the supervision of a professional moderator, are directed to focus on and respond to a specific research objective

Iconography

The use of visual imagery and symbols

Marketing collateral

The suite of design applications of the brand’s identity for the purpose of presenting the brand and its product and service offer to the market

Market positioning

The market sector or customer grouping for whom the brand is recognized to be highly relevant

Millennials

Also known as ‘Generation Y’, Millennials are people born from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s whose birth cohort had reached early maturity by the year 2000 - by the new millennium

Moments of truth

The critical points in the customer buying process and in the delivery of the brand experience which will determine the success or otherwise of the sale, ongoing repeat purchase and customer loyalty

Need-states

The specific set of needs that at any point in time encapsulates the functional, emotional and psychological demands and desires of a consumer or a group of consumers

Norms

The set of standard beliefs, behaviors or communications that characterize typical activity or normal practice

Nuance

A subtle difference in behavior, expression or interpretation

On-brand

To be in alignment with the brand values and proposition

Paradigm thinking

Thinking that is in accordance with an accepted basic concept of theory, belief or practice (continued)

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The Word Wizard Expression

Explanation

Passport factor

An expected and unsurprising practice or activity in order to achieve a particular outcome

Peer group

A primary, influencing social group of people who have similar interests, age, background or social status

Personal interview

An interview that is carried out with one individual to establish personal experiences, opinions, beliefs and expectations

Qualitative research

Research that is directed (moderated) but unstructured in order to determine perceptions, beliefs, feelings, emotional values and deep-seated needs

Rebranding

The act of replacing an existing corporate or product brand by planning, creating and implementing an entirely new brand identity

Repositioning

The act of updating or changing the meaning and proposition of a brand for enhanced market relevance and competitiveness

Responsive web design

The design of a website so that it adapts to, and functions effectively on, mobile platforms

Tone of voice

The character and personality of a brand or a business that is conveyed through the use of words both spoken and written

USP

Unique selling proposition: the unique benefit or competitive difference that a product or brand offers to win business

Website architecture

The underlying detailed structure of a website that supports its visual design, information hierarchy, ease of navigation, and visitor journey experience

Wireframing

The creation of a summary schematic that depicts the initial skeletal framework of a website for planning purposes, showing how the website elements are likely to be arranged

Experience Expect the unexpected: Cautiously I climbed an unusually narrow staircase and entered probably the tiniest “office” I was ever in. The space design lavished on front of house to satisfy retail customers was definitely not repeated for management behind the scenes! I was on my very first marketing consulting project for PA Consulting Group and I was about to carry out my very first face-to-face market research interview as a consultant. I was flying solo for the first time! I was booted, suited and seated, and awaiting my first ever face-to-face interviewee … with TopShop in Belfast. Nervous but ready—I was



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delighted to have gotten the interview appointment with the senior store manager. I waited a short while, then the door opens and in he comes. I stand. We shake hands and introduce ourselves. Still standing, my first research interview about to begin, the store alarm is activated. The manager’s phone rings, he apologizes, takes the call and then looks straight at me and curtly says “bomb scare! We must leave the building!” My first interview is over before it had even started. We rush together, in single file, back down the narrow staircase and quickly I am out onto Royal Avenue while the store is checked for explosive devices. Expertise The digital dilemma: Don’t get confused between digital technology and market power. Digital power is not market power—it is merely potential power. Essentially, “digital” is just binary science not brand science. Its power is to deliver something superfast and super-­targeted … the question is what! That’s where brand comes in—it answers that fundamental marketing question. Expertise When all else fails, talk and take charge: It is said there’s three things you can’t take for granted to work in a live presentation: children, animals, or technology. I can vouch for the latter! What do you do when “the slides” let you down and darkness reigns on the screen? You know the situation: you’re all set to give a major presentation to a seminar audience in a city hotel conference room; you’ve got a perfectly designed set of compelling slides to see you safely through this high-­pressure group presentation; you’ve got them on laptop but, just to be sure, you’ve also been mindful to bring them on “a stick”; you arrive early at the hotel and immediately ask to see the presentation screen and setup; you learn that the equipment has been specially hired in for the event; you connect up your laptop to the system—nothing happens, no sign of life!; you try inserting the “stick” and rebooting the screen—still no success!; frustrated, you call on the hotel service manager to kick-start the system—she has no idea how to, she’s never used it before; time has frittered away and by now delegates are arriving in some numbers and the clock is ticking—the meeting start time is approaching fast;

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the client—this time the leader of a major political party—is present and begins to introduce you to senior personnel and key delegates, and conversations ensue which eats up more time; as yet there’s still no cooperation from the screen—the display remains black and unpromising; the meeting start time is now upon you; the room is now full to capacity and beyond—it’s standing room only; the party leader spontaneously begins the meeting—his cue: a sudden hush descends as all gathered are ready for proceedings to commence; you glance furtively back at the screen—still no slides showing!—nothing except a lonely flashing cursor on a large empty flat screen; the event has started and the leader hands over the meeting to you. What to do? Talk! Take the center of the room and talk! Q&A your audience; ask them questions, get them talking; engage them face-to-face, eye-toeye; facilitate the session—get them discussing and debating between themselves across the room; discover what’s on their minds, what are their hot topics; all the while using up time until the hotel service manager gets the screen to spring into life. The silver lining to this problem: You’ve taken charge of the meeting; you’ve taken the pressure off the leader; you’ve engaged with your audience fully and immediately and honestly; you’ve got them talking; you’ve quickly uncovered their key issues and expectations; you’ve impressed your client with your people-management and moderating skills; you’ve been accepted by the audience as the objective external expert, and then, at last, the screen lights up, the opening slide kicks in, you turn for the handheld slide controller and seamlessly go straight into the slide-deck … as if all was part of the plan. Your client—the party leader—smiles. To talk is to take charge. When all else fails, talk, and take the floor! Example A brand is not for show, it’s for everyone: I led a project for a global car brand with franchises all over the world. In one of their principal franchises, I was carrying out a brand audit and developing a customer service strategy in parallel. The showroom was to die for—beautiful, immaculate, polished—you could as they say lick the floor. It shone like the sun and customers were regaled with world-class CRM and received with great hospitality. What about the staff? A very different



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matter as I discovered to my great disbelief. Behind the scenes, the staff toilet facilities were disgraceful—indeed it was the worst toilet washroom I had or have ever seen. I mean it was unbelievable! And because the showroom environment was so very wonderful and meticulously presented and gleaming, the juxtaposition of that with the staff’s facilities was all the more shocking. Front of house versus back of house: incomparable! The statement this made about the values of the local organization spoke for itself—sales centered but not people centered. The statement this made to staff was clear: double-standards operating across the business; the behind-the-scenes support team not valued as much as customers; loyalty and commitment to the business not reflected in good, clean facilities; in short, staff are not worth it and don’t deserve to be looked after! This washroom experience alone was enough to prove that much needed to be done here to activate the brand promise as a joined-up 360˚ experience—to be employee facing and not just customer facing. Example Don’t skimp on research: Entrepreneurship, innovation, and passion are all well and good (and essential!) but they must be harnessed and informed by sound market research. It’s a basic lesson, and yet this true-life tale of woe is surprisingly not uncommon: Unidentified serial entrepreneur speaks: “I sold the tech business I had and left to chase my dream of setting up an innovative street-food restaurant, designing the space myself as well as all the branding collateral right down to the menus and napkins. I have always loved cooking and at last got my chance to get creative and hands on with food. I set the business up in a street with fabulous footfall, right beside the university. We opened early in the college year and quickly had a busy and thriving business. We were going well and were on target to hit our sales projections. But then the summer came and, suddenly, unbelievably, the streets fell quiet! Trade just evaporated. We stuck it out for 3 months and then, I got an offer from another restaurant in the steak and chips space—they had a few branches around which were flying high with evening customers. I tell you I was glad to be able to offload it in the end. I hadn’t at all expected the entire student body to just disappear like that so suddenly and completely!”

CHAPTER 4

Branding in the World We Live in Chapter Overview This chapter examines some of the forces uniquely impacting today on brand planning and on the design and operation of a modern branding strategy and delivery system. It takes a closer look at the essential nature of branding and brand experience and considers in more depth the implications these insights have on brand leadership in the world we live in. To heighten the discussion, the mission and vision statements of a selection of benchmark global brands are presented along with commentary on the role, types, and importance of brand and organizational value choices. Using destination branding as a case in point, the power of brand image at the global level is discussed and the role of brand proposition is emphasized as the driver of competitive and commercial market differentiation.

The Age of Dynamism We’ve often heard it said that change is the new constant. Well, today, we can say that dynamic change is the new new constant. Dynamism is the new reality and brands are very much a part of the expression of this new dispensation. While today’s dynamic era is fueled largely by the digital revolution, this allows one of the core characteristics of branding to display itself, namely that brands are, in essence, a shorthand form of ­communication— they communicate in a shorthand fashion that conveys the core message instantaneously (via branding/words and images) or in the shortest possible

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time. Consequently, the age of branding has come to align with the age of dynamism although the former precedes the latter in time. Branding as a commercial instrument really came of age in the 1990s (following marketing’s earlier inception in the 1980s) and since then has increasingly proven itself to be a powerful competitive strategy based on the uniqueness and self-belief of the producer and the engagement and discernment of the buyer. Branding, therefore, is empowered by digital communication which is well geared to distribute the brand message and to facilitate a coming together and a meeting of minds between the producer/product and the buyer/customer. Indeed, it is not just speed of communication that digital offers but of course volume of information, and this is a challenge for all businesses today as, in itself, it has a commoditizing effect on any business, marketing, or brand message. That being so, brands are well placed to make best use of digital by virtue of the fact that brands are excellent at self-diagnosing to clearly define and cherish their differential offer, their innate and distinctive values, their ownable and unique value proposition. Brands are brilliant at defining and delivering a singular message to the market about their uniqueness, specialism, and innovation. Digital therefore suits brands; brands therefore suit digital. This is a collaborative, symbiotic relationship which has very obvious and strong mutual benefits. This makes brands and branding particularly exciting in the age of dynamism because both professions—branding and digital—thrive on dynamism and indeed both constitute it and energize it. In a sense, they are made for each other, and they increase each other’s value, potential, and raison d’être. This shows how brands in fact make sense of information because, clearly, digital technology is purely a communication platform whose intelligence resides in the interconnectivity of the media it powers rather than in the message the media promotes. It is in the latter that brands show their true worth as they make full use of the new arising technologies and evolving channels to deliver value and a value message to the end consumer. Digital therefore suits brands; brands therefore suit digital. Ultimately, the power of digital is to connect brands to evermore niche and remote consumers while communicating effectively and no



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less instantaneously with the mass marketplace. Digital’s ever-increasing mastery of segmenting, servicing, and supporting the exponentially growing interconnectivity in the information marketplace makes it a prime and compelling partner for brands and branding, whose purpose is to communicate powerful propositions and customer experiences to mass market and niche targets alike. As this relationship between digital and branding matures into the future, there is likely to be a shift in the value transaction. Brands are likely to receive a greater weighting in the exchange relationship as they increasingly give digital commercial meaning and value, while digital gives brands communication channels and connectivity. Either way, brands and digital appear to be a marriage made in business heaven with both exhibiting a strong and growing interdependence that is sure to make for a long, deepening, and mutually rewarding coexistence and partnership. Watch this space! The age of dynamism is also the age of the video and it is worth highlighting the coming of age of online video and “live streaming” in this digitally developing era. Be it on websites or on YouTube or a plethora of current and up-and-coming social media messaging platforms, video has become a key staple of digital communications and therefore a key component of the age of dynamism. Websites today look and feel unfinished without a video experience on either the home page or the about us page and this is increasingly expected as a component of the latest sites. The ease with which video can be edited and truncated, sliced and spliced for social media promotion and target market channels, makes the video film and investment a multiuse resource for discrete and massmarket dissemination. In this way, video is a great means of profiling the brand message and making it accessible to a wide range of social platforms and networks as relevant to the brand’s proposition, market positioning, and business offer. For sure, the days of a video being placed only on a website or shown exclusively as part of a slide presentation or business meeting are long gone. The link between website and social media is so unified and immediate that a video is today a digital marketing resource first, and a discrete company promotional piece second. Of course, client and prized hot prospect targets will get the video experience immediately anyway, because they will receive marketing/email links and social media updates at the time of video launch and they will trawl the new or

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refreshed website where the video film is presented. There is today little or no compartmentalization in our digitally connected world—once it’s up, then it’s out! The age of dynamism has arrived. As a last point, it is important to consider the longevity of the video production and its sustained relevance to the company or product brand. In this dynamic and digital age, it is often wise to think “animation” (cartoon style) first rather than “film” (camera/photographic). Why? Because video film (like photographs) tends to date quickly and this will be accelerated by any change of people or premises where these have been specifically featured. Animation and illustrated approaches, however, protect against this as well as bringing an energetic, fresh, and modern character to the production, including the easy use of professional voice-over artists and exciting creative visual design along with the use of iconography and imagery. Furthermore, the outcome of an animated video is not subject at time of shooting to uncontrollable variations in, for instance, the quality of environmental conditions, lighting, visual backgrounds, unproven before-the-camera manager presentation skills, or personnel availability. The animated video is, therefore, slow to date, simpler to create, and easy and cheap to reedit and update over time. It is low risk and low cost but loses nothing in its energy and dynamism—in fact it enhances it. Great video—animated or film—has become a signature output of the age of dynamism whose application extends way past the company website into the realm of social media marketing. Where video was once the exception in business, today it is the norm. Where video was once about “the corporate video”—providing corporate information within a defined marketing system—today it must be about the “brand” message to an open, social media–based, interconnected market, and online stakeholder community.

Brand Experience—A Two-Way Commercial Force Branding is never done. It is never over. The end is never in sight. The journey of brand development, positioning, and repositioning is continuous, ongoing. Why? Because, look around you, everything is changing. Remember that a brand is “uniqueness you know, want, and trust”: It is essentially a relationship of trust that hinges on a uniquely relevant offer and emotional experience.



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Getting a close match between the brand experience, on the one hand, and the customer’s need and desire on the other, drives repeat purchase and consumer loyalty. I have captured this brand truth in a model (Figure 4.1) called “The 4 R’s of Brand Development,” which illustrates that “relevance drives relationships; relationships drive referrals; referrals drive revenue.” Understanding the difference between brand identity and brand image is vital to managing this relationship effectively to achieve a great brand experience and, with it, a sustainable profitable competitive advantage Yes, brand is reputation; brand is image, but that somehow seems to miss the point that brand strength is a snapshot of the state of health of the transactional relationship between a business and its marketplace. Indeed, the acid test is not so much what your customers believe about you but rather what your marketplace believes, because the marketplace is more than customers and loyal repeat purchasers, it also contains noncustomers: prospects and rejectors. Brand equity ultimately is the strength of the trust relationship that persists right across the relevant target marketplace, the amalgam of all relationships with the business not just its converted loyal camp followers. And it seems that brand equity is increasingly harder to achieve. In Improving Brand Equity: The Role of Product

Figure 4.1  The four R’s of brand development

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Innovation Attributes (Emerald Group Publishing Limited/Ed. Emma Steele 2015), the Author identifies a growing perception among consumers that brands and products are becoming increasingly more homogenous, with firms today facing an even greater challenge in making their offerings stand out from the crowd. Clearly, sitting back on one’s brand laurels saying “wow is us” is self-delusion in this age of dynamism where everything is exponentially changing. It is typically a short step from there to “woe is us” for those branded products, services, and companies who lose relevance and fall out of alignment with changing consumer desires and marketplace requirements. Branding, therefore, should not be either a one-off big-budget hit or a periodic candidate for review and refresh, but should be incremental. It should be incremental in its positioning and its communications. In its positioning because as the market changes and customer needs evolve, then the brand promise must adapt to suit and remain aligned. In its communication because the use of design, words, images, and visual presentation must remain, and be seen to remain, fresh, leading edge, innovative, insightful, and relevant. Consumers may be discerning but they are also discovering and they will reward intelligent leadership which demonstrates an understanding of their changing needs and those of their peer group. Today, “understand me” has become “understand us” as the power of peer group identification becomes embroiled with consumer self-esteem and where lifestyle choices are made within the frame of what “the group” embraces and expounds. In this sense, “brand” is not just about me but rather it is about me in the context of about us. Today, ‘understand me’ has become ‘understand us’ How do we know we are discerning, discretionary, or distinctive in our lifestyle and ways of living? Answer: brand allegiance, brand association, brand appeal. Rare indeed is the individual who sees himself/herself as a one person market. Rarer indeed is the company who can afford to produce for such a one-off customer. Commercial enterprise needs customers who move in droves, on which they can of course make a profit. Brands are a key way of defining the drove, the category, the reach of the peer group, and the central aspiration and emotional desire of the served



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market. The magic comes in competing to win the hearts and minds and pockets of the brand’s audience. This requires deep understanding, not just at one point in time but on a continuous basis in the face of ongoing dynamic change in human communication, lifestyle experiences, and future expectations. The brand, therefore, must understand the consumer and configure its product or service offer to fit the lifestyle, functional and emotional needs, and aspirations of its audience. But this is not just a blatant profiteering exercise based on listening to and responding to market needs. No, instead corporate and business enterprises have usually carefully considered and crafted their company mission, vision, goals, and objectives. These are set out specifically to steer the company’s business and endeavor in a certain direction, with the company purpose and strategic intent normally surviving from one leadership team to the next. Moreover, within these directives and guidelines, companies frequently define and embed a hallowed set of brand values. These values represent what the company stands for and, crucially, how it seeks to behave. In other words, companies and businesses are not divorced from ethics, principles, philosophies, or being values led. To the contrary, they are frequently values driven and, more often than not, they are closely wedded to a cherished set of brand behaviors and goals, which, explicitly expressed or not, resolutely determine and govern the very nature and limits of the business’ development and actions in the market. In short, companies have values, and these values—these corporate brand values—dictate and govern the impetus, nature, and reach of the company’s business development activity. They do so to deliver an honest and holistic relationship of trust and authenticity to the market and into the commercial relationship and value exchange with customers. At play here is, therefore, a two-way commercial force of, on the one hand, satisfying understood customer desires and demands but within, on the other hand, the established framework of a company’s allegiance to a set of defined and ratified business values and propositions. In this way, market meets brand, customer meets product, trust meets experience, transaction meets value. In this way, market meets brand, customer meets product, trust meets experience, transaction meets value.

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This is not a no-rules, free-for-all encounter, and quite aside from government regulations and protections, the brand owner, the corporate entity, the commercial enterprise recognizes it is in an open and fair exchange not only of goods and services but of relationship and trust. In the long haul, this relationship will be sustained not by short-term profiteering but by recognition and respect of shared commercial values; it will be based on the maintenance and maximization of common interests in a transaction of growing trust through an exchange of increasing value.

Be a Brand Expeditionary There’s nothing else for it, there’s no halfway house to building a brand, be that from scratch or acquired, it demands total commitment, fresh proposition, new vision, and relevant and invigorating values. It’s exciting. It’s about transformation. It’s about exploration, vision, and commercial adventure. You gotta be a brand expeditionary. It’s an attitude as well as a process which energizes, and does justice to the blood, sweat, and tears of everyone in the organization who gathers to create value and to bring that to market day in and day out. And, crucially, building a brand motivates people involved with the business both inside and out. As such, it’s great for morale as well as for margin! But what does it take to be a brand expeditionary? The ingredients are leadership, vision, and passion. Let’s look at each of these. Leadership is vital in brand building. As a brand is the antithesis of a commodity, the very essence of branding is to communicate uniqueness or difference. A brand thrives on standout, and being outstanding is a leadership strategy. By its nature, a brand is about difference, specialization, and innovation and these require strong leadership from the top of organizations to foster them both externally in the marketplace and internally in the company. This means change, and change brings risk, and managing risk takes courage, and courage is, and has to be, a leadership trait. To go on a brand journey is to reposition a product, service, or even a business as a new offer (a new brand) or in a new way (an existing brand) that is relevant and motivating. This means bringing people with you on the journey of change and development, be they management, staff, customers, suppliers



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or other business stakeholders. It means leading people. It means leading by example—by word and by deed—to champion a new brand proposition, to create brand awareness, understanding, and behavioral change. It means fostering a new understanding and perception both inside the company and in the marketplace about the new brand offer, its differential values, and its competitive positioning. The business leader (and leadership team) must be seen and heard to articulate the brand meaning and to enthusiastically and confidently promote the brand to all stakeholders. The business owner, chief executive, divisional directors, and departmental leaders must firstly communicate the meaning of the brand internally to employees and departmental teams across the company and, to do this, they will need to have, and to present, a compelling and motivating brand vision. Leaders, therefore, also need to be visionaries—they need to offer a new vision of what the brand is or is to become, and its effect on the business and competitiveness of the company as well as on the value proposition and customer experience in the marketplace. A leader must have a vision for the future transformation not only of the product or service, but of the company or organization and of the market and customer value-add. A vision, however, is best communicated by a person (or people) with passion, a person who is energized by the aim and purpose of the brand and its unique proposition to, and potential in, the market. Another key ingredient therefore of effective leadership is passion—a passion which conveys energy for, confidence in and a firm belief about the goals of the innovation and innovative offering that is encapsulated within the brand’s proposition, personality, and rational and emotional values set. The leader must be a brand expeditionary, leading brand-based transformation from the front, and personifying and embodying the brand to all audiences. Passion is a kind of proof of credibility and potential as it displays self-belief and personal endorsement of new and exciting innovative thinking and development. In this way, the brand expeditionary is persuasive in positioning a brand with influencers, stakeholders and buyers, by championing the proposition, extolling virtues, reinforcing benefits, underscoring uniqueness, prehandling objections, neutralizing doubts and addressing any latent concerns or residual issues.

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Aspiration and Inspiration—The Importance of Purpose Let’s now refresh a little on popular tools that business and brand strategists use to direct the definition, framing, and communication of the strategic intent and purpose of an organization. I refer here to the ubiquitous company vision, mission, and values, and how these relate to the brand and its underlying strategic direction and brand proposition. It is these statements of purpose and priorities that set out a company’s aspiration (what it seeks to achieve) and inspiration (why it seeks to achieve it), which will be the benchmark for achievement and the litmus test for success in the future. The vision of the company is a look into the future—it sets the direction. It defines where the company wants to be and how it will behave when it gets there. The vision is no less than the future aspiration of the company; it’s the company dream, business ambition, and core development goal. By their nature, vision statements should be inspiring yet credible, concise yet compelling, aspirational yet confident, and always of course clear, unambiguous, and audacious. By comparison, the mission of the company is a statement of the present time that defines the mission that the company is now on, the nature of the business and its purpose today, along with the decisions currently in place on process and procedural aims, activities, priorities, and protocols. Examples of the vision and mission statements of a number of the world’s best known companies and brands are shown as follows in Table 4.1—and it is interesting for sure to see how these company statements vary in length, structure, and focus. It is also fascinating to see their own interpretation of what makes for a good mission and vision statement … feel free to agree or disagree! Now a word on values: Company values can be spoken about internally in two ways, reflecting two streams of in-company thinking, namely organizational values and brand values, as illustrated in Figure 4.2. Where a company is truly brand led and is building a brand culture, then the organizational values will align closely with the company’s established brand values. Such consistency will provide strong evidence of alignment of

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Mission Statement

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

To be one of the world’s leading producers and providers of entertainment and information. Using our portfolio of brands to differentiate our content, services, and consumer products, we seek to develop the most creative, innovative, and profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world.

To give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.

To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.

To empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

To inspire and nurture the human spirit—one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.

To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.

Supplying the range of vehicles, parts, accessories, and services to meet the requirements. Ensuring that products are of outstanding quality, value for money, and instill pride of ownership.

Brand

Apple

Disney

Facebook

Google

Microsoft

Starbucks

Tesla

Toyota

Table 4.1  The Mission and Vision Statements of Selected Global Brands Vision Statement

Toyota will lead the way to the future of mobility, enriching lives around the world with the safest and most responsible ways of moving people. Through our commitment to quality, constant innovation, and respect for the planet, we aim to exceed expectations and be rewarded with a smile. We will meet our challenging goals by engaging the talent and passion of people, who believe there is always a better way.

To create the most compelling car company of the 21st century by driving the world’s transition to electric vehicles.

To share great coffee with our friends and help make the world a little better.

There will be a personal computer on every desk running Microsoft software.

To provide access to the world’s information in one click.

People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what’s going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them.

To make people happy.

We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products and that’s not changing. We are constantly focusing on innovating. We believe in deep collaboration and cross-pollination of our groups, which allow us to innovate in a way that others cannot.

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Brand Values (Product)

Unified Brand Experience

Organisational Values (Company)

Figure 4.2  Align company values for a unified brand experience

business beliefs and priorities. This will counter any tendancy internally to tokenism or paying lip service to values and will ensure the delivery of a credible and recurring customer experience in the market. In this way, the company brand is united closely to, and in harmony with, the product brand portfolio, with ‘the brand’ being communicated at all customer touchpoints in and around the organization. As shown in Figure 4.3, these harmonized values are thus actively contributing to brand purpose and performance by building and unifying the brand experience and perceptions of target audiences. This alignment between organizational and brand-level values reinforces the position of the company’s products and services in the marketplace and maximizes the company’s brand uniqueness and competitive advantage. To clarify further, a statement of organizational values can often include broad commitments and generalized goals such as, for example, continuous improvement, investment in people, efficient performance, professionalism, quality of service, environmental consciousness, trust, clearly defined goals. Comparatively, a statement of brand values would be more searching and emotional in nature, comprising, for



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UNIFIED BRAND EXPERIENCE

BRAND VALUES: sustainability, innovativeness, integration, agility, personal service, friendliness, honesty, team working, discerning, refreshing, caring, partnership

Aligned Brand and Organisational Values

ORGANISATIONAL VALUES: continuous improvement, investment in people, efficient performance, professionalism, quality of service, environmental consciousness, trust, clearly defined goals

Figure 4.3  Specify values to align brand experience delivery with cross-company business goals

example, such attributes as sustainability, innovativeness, integration, agility, personal service, friendliness, caring, honesty, team work, discerning, refreshing, partnership. Related to this, Fisher et al. (2013) in Strategic Brand Engagement: Using HR and Marketing to Connect Your Brand Customers, Channel Partners and Employees adeptly addresses how to develop organizational values in line with corporate branding and admits the reality and impact of the traditional silos of HR, internal communication, and marketing. Today, more than ever, a new approach is required which breaks down such silos and tackles the contradictions and waste of resources that otherwise inhibit effective pursuance of a common business goal. Of course, value choices will vary hugely from one brand to another, from one business to another, from one sector to another. Indeed, value

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choices will also be significantly influenced by whether the brand is a corporate brand or a consumer brand as well as whether it’s a B2B or a B2C brand strategy. In summary, alignment of values is vital for a strong, unified brand purpose, positioning and communication, that will bring credibility, consistency, and cut-through (of message) in the market. In this regard, the function of the brand architecture of an organization (as discussed in Chapter 2) is to define, express, and govern a company’s decision-making around the relationships applying to its portfolio of brands. The brand architecture will, therefore, also determine the extent to which these brands operate in, and are managed under, a unified, a diversified, or a hybrid style of visual brand identity system.

The Power of Branding—Magnetism or Hypnotism? Given the extent of attention and effort that is paid to branding and brand development today, and the powerful convergence of deep consumer insights with new digital technologies and social media communications, the bona fides of branding may sometimes be challenged, and the question posed: to what extent is branding a form of magnetism or hypnotism? Behind this question is itself the admission that not all people are brand champions nor indeed even brand believers. Over the course of my consulting career, I have from time to time found myself confronted with a degree of client-level cynicism about branding and its intent and substance. The question is: is branding necessary, ethical, even commercially credible? Does branding work? Does it deliver? Is it more talk than truth? It would be easy to disregard such cynicism but the doubt that underpins any criticism is, I believe, a healthy challenge to the brand community to prove their case, demonstrate their delivery, and make sure that words and images translate into clear action and real experience on the ground. I have said previously that anything can be branded, the question then arises, should it? And maybe that’s where the rub is. We branders, or those of us who have worked with diverse brands in diverse organizations, have proven our ability to look beyond the obvious or the well-worn creative paths to seek the less obvious, discover the deep-seated idea, craft the powerful proposition, design the future brand identity, engage key



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stakeholders. This is what we do, so let’s get on with it, right? Well, yes and no. I recently critiqued an international energy company rebrand and concluded that the previous brand identity not only remained fit for purpose but offered a better and more effective expression of the nature of the business and its relevance to the modern energy consumer. It did the job better! The new identity was a step sideways if not backwards. Here, in my opinion, was a prime example of design for design’s sake. Nice visual skills, yes; a definite and interesting idea underlying the identity change, sure; but was it necessary to clarify, affirm, position, or present anew the business and the product? Not in my opinion. In short, where brands and rebrands just do not deliver any significant or discernible additional value, then they can and should be accused of being bearers of hype and hyperbole. And if such gets airtime, catches attention, and grabs initial market traction, then indeed this might qualify as brand hypnosis. So the onus remains firmly on brand professionals of all types and hues not just to be in the beauty business providing skin-deep solutions—and particularly where there are deep-seated strategic and commercial challenges to be addressed. The custodianship of the company brand or product brand must reside intimately with the consulting and creative agency who is partnering the client into a new brand era. Creative partners must respond to this responsibility by providing joined-up solutions that go way past creative allure to encompass market intelligence and nous, deep consumer insights, visual identity innovation, and real communications cut-through. Brand expression needs to become brand experience, and unique or differential brand experience will defy all critics including actual or potential brand cynics. The evidence will speak for itself and if it does not then we need to rally to resolve the reasons for lack of market resonance. Brands are about wow! If they fail to achieve this in their target markets then branders need to respond adeptly to review, reassess, and recalibrate rational, emotional, and personality values, and the brand essence and governing brand proposition, along with design and communication components, messaging, and imagery. Accusations of brand ineptness or irrelevance should be heard and countered with open-mindedness, understanding, strategic verification, and creative innovation where grounds for such are duly found to be warranted. Unless objective criticisms are tackled

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head-on, accusations of brand hypnotism may well stand and be deemed well grounded. This is bad news for all: the brand, the brand owner, the brand managers, the brand agency, the brand industry. And while objective brand challenges and criticisms are always to be welcomed, there is a danger of missing the essential point, reality, and opportunity of brands, which is that, by their very essence and nature, they are expressions of all that is great, unique, and creative about a company, its ideas, its people, and its inherent talent and competences. It is this very authentic nature of brands, their raison d’être and purpose, which makes them so exciting, aspirational, commercially desirable, and prolific in the first place. Brands are about wow! Brands are about vision, relevance, resonance, and competitiveness. They are about values, esteem, personality, and identity. As such, they can command some of the most loyal consumer bonds, compelling buyer relationships, and desirable human experiences. It is such deep associations and emotions that bring consumers way past awareness and trial, and into the realm of experience, enjoyment, and repeat purchase. This is what I call brand magnetism. It is where the inherent values and emotional connection with a product or service proposition gives a brand pride of place within the consumer’s purchase repertoire. Brands are conceived, designed, and built to be magnetic and to integrate emotionally into the lives of consumers and, in so doing, to deliver an experience and perception of all-round better value for money. Interestingly, many brands are so integrated into our purchase repertoire that they can become almost invisible to us and even taken for granted. Brands need to be on the lookout when the consumer vernacular integrates them to such a degree that they lose all standout and verbal recognition: Brands such as Hoover for example (e.g., “hoover the house” instead of “vacuum the house”) and Google (e.g., I’ll google it!” instead of “I’ll search it online”) need to beware. The line between user familiarity and verbal fatigue is a fine one. A relation of mine who was CEO at a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson in the United States once related grimly how in a meeting with a multinational photocopier client he handed over a paper document to his assistant, instructing him, within earshot of all,



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to “please Xerox that”! The client was a direct global competitor of Xerox. My relation was horrified at his tactless slip and never ever forgot the lingering embarrassment, fraught atmosphere, and sense of personal calamity that pervaded the meeting. So brands need to watch out for overfamiliarity where the brand’s end consumers or channel customers elevate the brand name to a position of a convenient category name or descriptor. In doing so, they can in effect commoditize the brand name to such an extent that a brand mention denotes merely a class of product, service, or business offering thus diluting brand meaning, recognition, standout, impact, and return-on-brand-investment. In such circumstances, rather than the issue being one of brand magnetism or hypnotism, the reality is more one of brand dilution and loss of distinctiveness.

From Nations to Destinations—The Branding of Places Think about it: cities are cities, countries are countries, continents are continents, and branding is about products, services, businesses, and companies, right? No, wrong! Let’s stand back a little and consider the great continents of the world. Even they, the great continental landmasses, have particular and different images, even reputations. Popular agreement has it that there are seven continents, namely: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia (some geographers list only six continents, combining Europe and Asia into ­Eurasia). What is the prime thought that comes to mind, the core association that you make, when you think about each of these continents individually? Maybe something like this: you might primarily associate Asia with technology, Africa with corruption, North America with wealth, South America with poverty, Antarctica with barrenness, Europe with quality, Australia with informality. You can make your own associations. Such immediate associations and beliefs of course constitute a brand meaning and, rightly or wrongly, form the image we hold of the geography of the place in our minds. It may be inaccurate, it may be misinformed, it may be sketchy, but whatever it is for each of us nevertheless constitutes the singular thought and prime idea on which we base our notions and assessment of each region. So, to the limited extent that we may have knowledge about the continents of the world, and albeit they

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may seem remote and detached in the routine of daily living, we still do nonetheless have some defined perception of, and therefore a brand relationship with, these landmasses, no matter how distant and tenuous that might be. So, even continents can be brands. As a European, I associate Europe with a quality of life, with fashion and design, with cultural and language diversity, with rich heritage, with literature and education, with economic strength, with safe and stable society, with developed legal systems. Europe and I get on just fine! I do not necessarily associate these points of difference, this set of values, with any of the other continents. My images of Europe and of being European are colored. Such perceptions also influence and underpin decisions about where in the world I will work, where I will live, where I will go on holiday,—and indeed where it is safe to do so—what products I will buy from each region, what brands I want to associate with, and to be associated with me. But, to be fair, folks rarely think about continents and generally hold scant information on their progress—climate change, unfortunately, being sure to keep Antarctica squarely on our mind map! Countries and nations, however, are much more present in our international consciousness as are particular cities and, to a lesser extent, regional and rural destinations within countries. Travel and tourism is of course one of the biggest and fastest-growing industries on the planet. It employs vast numbers of people in tourism planning, investment, infrastructure, and service provision and apart from the expeditionary explorer or the entrepreneurial adventurer, most travelers are either one of two types: the business traveler or the leisure traveler. As the typical business traveler is on a mission to a specific destination for a commercial purpose, he or she is most interested in and influenced by the business and product brand stature and competitive position of a client or prospect organization. In contrast, the tourist traveler or holidaymaker operates on a completely different set of criteria and brand influences and is, therefore, open to and dependent on a different brand strategy, messaging, and communications plan—one that is specifically relevant to his/her tourist–travel needs and requirements. In the case of the leisure traveler, the global business value of this consumer is huge today and represents a big lucrative prize for those that can woo and win the discretionary monies that holidaymakers bring and are disposed to spend. And who are the prospective beneficiaries of this valuable



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prize?—the nations and destinations whose brand is relevant, product ready, and effectively promoted to the prospective tourist at the time of their holiday planning and destination decision-making. In this way, a country benefits directly and fulsomely by having a developed or outstanding tourism brand (it stands out!). By having developed an already recognized brand position in the global tourism marketplace, a nation becomes a destination—if you like, its future destiny as a nation is to become increasingly sought-after as a priority leisure location for the enjoyment of a unique or different tourism experience. Destination branding—communication of the unique experience of a tourism or leisure destination to holidaymakers and travel planners—presumes that the tourism “product” already exists, is real and proven, or that it is in the throes of advanced design and experience development to satisfy the needs of the modern domestic and international tourist market. To ensure full authenticity and sustainability of the brand promise, Campelo et al. (2014) in Sense of Place: The Importance for Destination Branding declare that “fundamental for a destination branding strategy is to recognize the cultural characteristics of the place, understand the people who live in that place, and to appreciate how a shared sense of place is constituted and experienced.” They caution that “frequently, residents are left aside in the branding process leading to brands that communicate only tacit connections to, and simplistic understanding of, the sense of the place to be promoted. There is a void in understanding sense of place as it is experienced by local residents and its implications for an effective destination brand.” With this adamant advisory in mind to brand-build from a “sense of place,” let’s briefly consider some nations/countries that have become popular destinations for the global tourism consumer. According to the International Tourism Highlights report (2019 Edition) of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in 2018 there were 1.4 billion international tourist arrivals worldwide (equating to a growth of 5 percent on the previous year). In order of ranking by the number of international tourist arrivals (millions, rounded), the UNWTO identified the top ten destination countries in 2018 as: 1. France 89 2. Spain 83 3. USA 80

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4. China 63 5. Italy 62 6. Turkey 46 7. Mexico 41 8. Germany 39 9. Thailand 38 10. UK 36 Likewise, in 2018, according to The Most Popular Cities In The World report (2019 Edition) by WorldAtlas, the top ten cities in the world to visit were, in order of ranking by the number of international tourists (millions, rounded): 1. Bangkok 20 2. London 20 3. Paris 17 4. Dubai 16 5. Singapore 14 6. New York 13 7. Kuala Lumpur 13 8. Tokyo 12 9. Istanbul 11 10. Seoul 10 The power of brands has a compelling effect on the decision-making of tourists regarding which countries and cities they will visit. Let’s now consider the above countries and cities from a destination-branding perspective. What is their core brand proposition or image? Let’s briefly consider what spontaneous (unprompted) and immediate brand meaning these places might command in the minds of international tourist travelers today. If we were to choose just one word to indicate the main brand perception of each place from a browsing tourist perspective, what would it be? Let’s venture some suggestions:



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Place Perception Country One word France food USA variety Spain sunshine China exhilarating Italy fashion UK football Germany modern Mexico people Thailand exotic Turkey natural City One word Bangkok vibrant London historic Paris stylish Dubai luxurious New York shopping Singapore multicultural Kuala Lumpur architectural Istanbul ancient Tokyo imperial Seoul eclectic To whatever extent these suggestions are legitimate, this simple and spontaneous exercise indicates the surprising amount of differentiation that exists between places when it comes to thinking about what each offers, is experienced at and stands for—their unique brand propositions to the leisure tourist. Previously we considered continents and how even such vast landmasses carry brand impressions or associations. Now we see that countries and cities also have brand meaning and associations—albeit we are just using one word above to demonstrate how perceptions might differ from one country

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to the next, from one city to the next. When someone is actively considering, researching, and planning where they might spend their scarce, hardearned, and highly valuable vacation time, these perceptions, rather than being recessive as they may well be at other times, now become magnified, prioritized, and persuasive in committing to and booking a particular holiday destination. Clearly, on closer scrutiny, the imminent leisure traveler will, through research and personal enquiry, build a well-informed, updated, and detailed understanding of the destination options available and will take into account the comparative brand image and proposition of each choice alternative. Ultimately, perception is reality at the moment of the purchase decision and, in the face of growing global competition, everything needs to be playing in their favor if nations are to become destinations—if their place brand and tourism offer is to be perceived as a powerful, outstanding, and compelling visit experience on the tourist’s rational and emotional brand value spectrum of desire. Clearly, a well-defined, credible, and strong brand proposition that is effectively communicated and is relevant to the target audience will be essential to determining the tourist’s preference and ultimate decision. In today’s world of competitive national and international holiday and leisure options, the power of place branding makes all the difference in determining the final consumer choice of destination and, consequently, each competing destination’s commercial outcome and prosperity.

Key Takeaways The brand–digital relationship is fluid and still maturing. The future is likely to see a shift in the exchange relationship, with brands increasingly giving “digital” commercial meaning and value. Today, “understand me” has become “understand us” as the power of peer group identification becomes embroiled with consumer self-esteem and lifestyle choices. Brands are subject to a two-way commercial force: satisfying understood customer desires and demands while working within set corporate parameters: the company’s allegiance to a set of defined business values and propositions. A brand thrives on standout, and being outstanding is a leadership strategy. And this means change, and change brings risk, and managing risk takes courage, and courage is, and has to be, a leadership trait.



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In this age of video and live streaming, think animation first and film second, to protect against the dating of brand story presentation due to ongoing changes in people, premises, and brand identity assets. Brands are about wow!—if not, branders need to review, reassess, and recalibrate rational, emotional, and personality values, the brand essence, and governing brand proposition. Included here will be design and all communication components, messaging, and imagery. Brand perceptions in the market can remain recessive until time of purchase-planning and decision-making approaches—at which point perceptions become magnified, prioritized, and persuasive. Ultimately, at the moment of purchase, perception is reality.

The Word Wizard Expression

Explanation

Brand associations

The perceptions, experiences, and reputation that people associate with a brand

Brand culture

The commitment, over time, of people to the brand; the effect and experience that is achieved when a company is consistently, reliably and publicly living by its brand values and beliefs

Brand vision

The strategic intent of how the brand is expected to engage people and the market, and to impact on consumers’ lives

Company mission

A statement of the present time specifying an organization’s purpose, what it does, who it does it for, and where it does it

Company vision

A statement of the future specifying the direction of travel of an organization and what it seeks to become, setting a clear direction for growth

Consumer vernacular

The language, vocabulary, and way of speaking of the consumer

Consumption repertoire

The typical set of goods and services and brands that a customer consumes on a repeated basis

Custodianship

Having responsibility for, and charge of, a brand for a defined period of time

Customer value-add

The total additional benefit that a brand provides to the customer

Purchase repertoire

The typical set of goods and services and brands that a customer buys on a repeated basis

Served market

A specific part of the total market that a company uniquely serves and in which it has a recognized brand presence

Spectrum of desire

The extent of a customer’s aspiration and desire for diverse brand value-based experiences (continued)

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The Word Wizard Expression

Explanation

Stakeholder community

The interconnected network of those with an interest in, commitment to, and identification with a particular business or brand

Strategic intent

The vision and endeavour of the senior management team to achieve a particular business goal

Symbiotic relationship

A piggybacking type relationship where commercial benefits are mutually enjoyed due to collaborative sharing of vision, know-how, or market access

Transactional relationship

The value–monetary exchange-based connection that ultimately must be experienced as a transaction between a business and its customers

Value exchange

The exchange of value between a customer (money) and a company (product/service brand) that is represented at time of purchase

Value proposition

The promise that a brand makes to its customer in terms of differential benefits, usage experience, and value for money

Voice-over artists

Professional narrators who provide the voice of a brand on audio and video recordings

Experience Are you a brand champion, creative or cynic?: It might surprise some if not most readers that brand belief is not a universal phenomenon and certainly mustn’t be taken for granted. True brand cynics, I must admit, are, in my experience, few and far between. But when they appear on your radar, they can refrigerate the most passionate of brand stances. I remember once meeting the young leader of an agricultural equipment manufacturer who insisted that not only did he not believe in brands but that he didn’t own any! When quizzed further, he even asserted that he couldn’t remember the brand of tractor that he owned or the brand of pullover he was wearing (we were standing talking at a major national trade show at the time). And proudly he proclaimed that he wasn’t selling brands, he was selling products and that’s what people wanted! This hubris met with equal humility on my part and after some debate I gently withdrew! Such blatant blindness to brand benefits is as chastening as it is rare. It made me reflect and that was valuable. Others, of course, are not so extreme: but frequently the



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passion of a company is directed wholly at the creative work—at the expression of the brand through the logo and its design applications. One household textiles manufacturer was fastidious about “the branding system” but failed to connect it with the people working for the company or to manage into place a brand-led culture. That’s where the final category, the brand champions, show themselves. Champions of brand change and experience instinctively want to express and inculcate the brand values and essence into every corner of the business; they passionately believe in the brand as a unique reflection and expression of the company; and they see the commercial benefits of going all out to “live the brand.” One such example I was working with was a multiportfolio product and service producer and marketing operation. They took the brand to heart by restructuring the company around the values that the brand audit had identified; they created brand divisions internally and, to reflect this, undertook a wholesale rebranding of the company in the national marketplace. Experience Proclaim your purpose: A national timber-processing company displayed a large banner in their reception area boldly proclaiming their mission. The first time I saw it, I was struck with how proud as punch they were about their mission, that they had considered their bigger purpose and defined it and that they had declared it so immediately and publicly to all comers. How rarely indeed I see these! This was a company that was confident about itself and its purpose in society and for its customer. Too often, in my experience, one has to look long and hard to find any public-facing mission, vision, or brand value statements in company reception areas or their public spaces. If they are there at all, they are often relegated to small picture frames or token illustrations or drab-looking statements placed out of the direct path of the passing visitor. I’ve heard it said that if you want to get to know the culture of an organization just spend 30 minutes in their reception area. I think that should be time enough also to be made aware of the mission, vision, and values that govern the company, its core business, and its market purpose.

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Expertise Go curate!: Effective social media marketing requires not only creating your brand story and choosing your social channels but also curating your story for consistency of brand message. Creation and channels are critical, but it’s careful curation that builds and sustains market presence and brand impact … and is responsible for your all-important brand voice in the market. Example Ceremony is key to culture: The culture of an organization is reflected in the set of behaviors that are endorsed, emphasized, and engrained among employees and suppliers alike. Culture is about “walking the walk” rather than merely “talking the talk.” In earlier days, as a young prospective supplier of consulting services, I was memorably exposed to culture in action. Privileged to be honored with a meeting with none other than the (also very young!) Greek owner representative of Coca-Cola HBC (Hellenic Bottling Company) at their Dublin HQ, I was welcomed formally but warmly into the corporate boardroom and the meeting commenced. It was only after introductions had been made and pleasantries exchanged that I was then asked, “What would you like to drink?” For some reason, I hadn’t anticipated the complications that this obvious question would present. But I was astute enough to at once delete words such as “tea,” “coffee,” or “water” from my vocabulary and to my great relief I heard myself asking for “a Coca-Cola”—not my usual response! I regained my composure but not for long. My host then asked straight back, “And how would you like it?” I hesitated momentarily and was anxiously considering my options when he helpfully suggested, “By the neck, perhaps?” “Absolutely”, I retorted, realizing immediately the real significance of the ceremony that was now underway. The in-company “Coke culture” expected and demanded that the product be consumed according to a behavior protocol. This recognized, respected, and reaffirmed Coke’s natural and hallowed place in our consumption repertoire as a unique, necessary, and irreplaceable brand experience … and where more apt to witness this than in the brand’s own national HQ! … but the ceremony continued and homage was further paid to the brand culture: The meeting was paused as my host led the way to the vending machine in the corridor where we both dispensed and cracked open an iconic glass Coke contour bottle … and were duly—and appropriately—refreshed!

CHAPTER 5

A Final Thought: The Beauty of Branding Chapter Overview This chapter posits the nature of branding as being both an art and a science and that the beauty of branding is not just in the visual but is in the deeper, felt, emotional experience that a brand delivers. The chapter is emphatic that the beauty of branding is, therefore, not just skin deep but is a vital strategic driver of customer value, loyalty, and profitable growth. Securing this, requires the engagement, alignment, and commitment of the employee base working within a brand-centric company culture.

The Beauty of Branding is Not Skin Deep People sometimes say that branding is all about image when in fact— as this book enthusiastically proclaims—it is about so much more! So this usefully begs a fundamental question: What really is the nature of branding? And is branding an art or a science or a mixture of both? I adamantly insist it’s the latter! Clearly, branding draws heavily on the artistic to raise the standard of brand design. Brand design should do justice to the vision, innovation, talent, and passion of the collective and in so doing reflect the company’s purpose and proposition. But design— which is the foundation of all visual communications—depends wholly on being properly briefed. Design, therefore, needs to be informed by the outputs and decisions that derive from the rigorous and scientific processes of market research, demographic and psychographic analysis,

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brand positioning strategy, idea generation, and creative communications planning. That being said, the beauty of branding is not just that it enhances the visual look of an organization but that it transforms how an organization, its customers, and stakeholders, actually feel about what they are commercially engaged in day to day. In short, the beauty of branding is that it transforms organizations: It does justice to the talents and endeavor of their people; it expresses purpose and unique proposition; it magnifies values; it stimulates corporate culture; it manifests creativity; it impresses the market; it reassures investors; it delights customers. Great branding does all this and in so doing demonstrates that the company is creative, committed, passionate, and visionary, that it is forward looking and committed to the future, and that it is intelligently repositioning in the market for greater relevance, competitiveness, and commercial strength. In this sense, branding is primarily an investment in people and creativity and is a statement to the market of corporate confidence and self-belief. The beauty of branding is that it refreshes the image of the company inside and out and in so doing engages and motivates employees, achieves visual standout in the market, ensures the company becomes more attractive to prospects, more compelling to customers, and more alluring to investors and the media. So, the beauty of branding is not just about beautifying your business or your brand, its visual imagery, copywriting, or presentation; it is more meaningfully—at the corporate level—about repositioning the company brand and what it stands for in the minds of all audiences and stakeholders. It is, if you like, about effecting a beautiful and seamless transition from one era of proposition and communication to another to sustain or galvanize relevance, resonance, and receptivity in the market. Much of the beauty of this is indeed in the opportunity it provides employees to become better engaged with the company through greater brand values awareness and understanding. This, in turn, allows for the establishment of on-brand behaviors and new ways of working, which will be critical to the development of a brand-based company culture and to the delivery of the in-market brand experience itself. Ultimately, branding is of course about sales and profits, but it is also about taking, maintaining, and expanding a strategic position in



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today’s changing and challenging marketplace and in the ever-fickle consumer’s mind. Branding is, therefore, not only for the purpose of short-term sales gain but, more intriguingly and alluringly, it is for creating a brand proposition that enjoys increasing recognition, relevance, and resonance and thereby exponentially growing brand loyalty and value. Value is key not just for the channel customer or the end consumer but, crucially, for the balance sheet brand equity valuation of the brand owners, brand investors, and brand stakeholders. Among such stakeholders are, of course, the company employees—it is they who are likely to be, relatively speaking, most invested in, and exposed by the success or otherwise of the brand’s market performance. Brand performance is a function of brand experience, which in turn is a function of brand talent, be that resourced from within or without. Procuring and partnering with the best brand talent is the best way of planning, protecting, and promoting brand asset value and thereby securing the interests, investment, and integrity of the brand for all stakeholders from equity investors to company employees. Brand performance is a function of brand experience, which in turn is a function of brand talent. In conclusion, the beauty of branding is not only in the eye of the beholder in the market who sees the visual transition that the company is making and looks for the substance and experience that makes sense of that change. The beauty of branding must equally be in the minds of employees so that their self-esteem is heightened, their pride in the job is raised, and their sense is strong that they are vital to delivering exciting brand change—change that is poised to transform the company as it transforms the world, or at least somebody’s world somewhere.

Key Takeaways The beauty of branding is not to be found merely in design and identity visualization but in a brand’s capacity for market repositioning and organizational transformation.

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Branding is both an art and a science—it is visual and artistic in nature but dependent on scientifically based research, analysis, strategic planning, and ideation processes. Branding is not only an investment in people and creativity but also a statement of corporate confidence and self-belief. Company employees are among the most invested in, and exposed by, the success or otherwise of a brand’s market performance. Internalizing brand values and creating an internal brand culture is a management imperative. Branding is about transforming the world…or at least somebody’s world somewhere.

The Word Wizard Expression

Explanation

Brand positioning strategy

The planning behind identifying, winning, and maintaining a specific reputation and competitive stronghold in the marketplace

Collective

The group of company stakeholders and expert advisors that is committed to, and is responsible for, the planning, design, promotion, and positioning of a brand

Management imperative

An absolute priority that management must address

On-brand behavior

The promotion and affirmation of the brand promise and values through the behavior, activities and interaction of those responsible for planning, producing and promoting the brand

Psychographic analysis

Analysis of consumer lifestyles via a qualitative ­ methodology used to describe consumers on selected ­psychological attributes—typically applied to the study of personality, values, opinions, attitudes, interests and lifestyles

Ways of working

Procedures and systems of internal organization that promote the development and maintenance of a companywide brand-centric culture



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Experience Employee loyalty is a real brand asset: I ran a series of brand workshops to explore beliefs held by field-based managers and ops teams about what their corporate brand stood for. The age profile of these randomly selected employees was older rather than younger with most being full-time staffers for many years, and some even for decades. In truth, I expected cynicism; in reality I found loyalty, … deep loyalty. It was touching. It was like family. They were instinctively champions for the business and were truly energized by our work with them in developing brand themes and propositions. A very successful engagement with a team of enthusiastic employees—our work uncovered that: a real asset for the business that the brand could be built on with confidence and passion. Expertise See past the logo: Think deeper than the logo when it’s your own brand; see further than the logo when it’s someone else’s. Always look for meaning. Always search for relevance. Example The beauty of branding: A leading logistics firm I rebranded really embraced the potential power of branding by bravely switching from a monotone to a multicolored brand identity. This achieved magnificent brand standout among an otherwise dreary-looking competitive set. But the beauty of our branding strategy here (if I may say so myself!) was not just to create a brand identity of remarkable visual strength but to achieve a passionate management team, an engaged employee base and a new benchmark and step change in the standard of brand presentation in a largely brand-skeptical sector.

Bibliography Asamoah, Emmanuel Selase, Miloslava Chovancová, A. Chamaru De Alwis, Mudiynsela Ajantha Kumara Samarakoon, and Yiying Guo. “Motivation for Buying Branded Items: A Cross Country Application of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in Consumer Decision Making.” Scientific papers of the University of Pardubice. Series D, Faculty of Economics and Administration. 21 (3/2011) (2011). Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. London: Fontana Press, 1993. Campelo, A., R. Aitken, M. Thyne, and J. Gnoth. 2014. “Sense of Place: The Importance for Destination Branding.” Journal of Travel Research 53, no. 2, pp. 154-166. Clifton, R. 2009. Brands and Branding. 2nd ed. Colchester, England: Economist Books [Imprint]. Dillinger, Jessica. “The Most Popular Cities in the World.” WorldAtlas.com https:// www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-most-popular-cities-in-the-world-to-visit.html Emerald Group Publishing Limited. 2015. “Improving Brand Equity.” Strategic Direction 31, no. 10, pp. 9-11. Fisher, J.G., and Inc Books24x7. 2013. Strategic Brand Engagement: Using HR and Marketing to Connect Your Brand Customers, Channel Partners and ­Employees. Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page. Hollis, N. 2013. The Meaningful Brand: How Strong Brands Make More Money. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. Ind, N. 2007. Living the Brand; How to Transform Every Member of Your Organization into a Brand Champion. 3rd ed. London, England: Kogan Page. Kapferer, J.-N. 2012. The New Strategic Brand Management: Advanced Insights and Strategic Thinking. 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page. Leek, S., and G. Christodoulides. 2012. “A Framework of Brand Value in B2B Markets: The Contributing Role of Functional and Emotional Components.” Industrial Marketing Management 41, no. 1, pp. 106-114. Leonhard, G. 2017. “Change2.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ono7DHHDHo4. Lexico “Definition of Digital” https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/digital Merriam-Webster “Definition of Digital” https://www.merriam-webster.com/ dictionary/digital. Miller, D. 2014. “Brand-Building and the Elements of Success: Discoveries using Historical Analyses.” Qualitative Market Research 17, no. 2, pp. 92-111. Olsen, L.E. 2018. “Chapter 5: Future of Branding in the Digital Age.” In At the Forefront, Looking Ahead, ed. A. Sasson (pp. 73-84). Oslo, Norway: Universitetsforlaget. Pomerantz, J. 2015. “The Semantic Web.” In Metadata, ed. J. Pomerantz (p. 153). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Silva, D. 2009. “Internet Has Only Just Begun, Say Founders.” https://phys.org/ news/2009-04-internet-begun-founders.html.

124 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Swearengen, J. 2017. “Review: Technology VS. Humanity: The Coming Clash between Man and Machine.” Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith 69, no. 2. UNWTO Tourism Highlights: 2019 Edition, UN World Tourism Organisation. https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284421152 Vogler, C. 2007. The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. 3rd ed. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions. Wheeler, A. 2012. Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Entire Branding Team. New York, NY: Wiley-Blackwell.

Word Wizard: Grand Summary Expression

Explanation

Asset value

The understanding of brands as being business assets with their quantifiable monetary value for inclusion on the company balance sheet Attributes Key characteristics, features, or qualities B2B Business-to-business B2C Business-to-consumer Blue-sky thinking Fresh unconventional thinking that welcomes and generates free-flowing and diverse ideas on prospective opportunities, solutions, and strategies to set new innovative approaches and market benchmarks Brand Uniqueness you know, want, and trust Brand advocacy Commitment and loyalty toward the brand Brand architecture The strategy, structure, and nature of the relationship across the brand set and specifically between the master/parent brand and subbrands Brand associations The perceptions, experiences, and reputation that people associate with a brand Brand behaviors The behavior, activities, and interaction of those responsible for planning, producing, and promoting the brand Brand believers Those who believe that a brand is an effective business and profit driver Brand-centered/centric The organization of a business around promising and delivering a brand valuesand culture-based experience to its customer base (continued  )

126

WORD WIZARD: GRAND SUMMARY

Expression

Explanation

Brand champions

Those within the employee base who are instinctively and outstandingly disposed toward, and passionate about, the brand The professionally designed suite of materials that constitute the full set of visual elements that support a brand’s communication across all of its marketing applications The commitment, over time, of people to the brand; the effect and experience that is achieved when a company is consistently, reliably and publicly living by its brand values and beliefs The uniqueness or points of difference that a brand stands for The commercial value of a brand due to its power in the marketplace as a result of customer preference, loyalty, and goodwill toward the brand The ultimate thumbprint of the brand’s meaning; the distilled (typically three word) shorthand for what a brand stands for The full and combined benefits and effect in functional and emotional terms of using or consuming a brand A discussion-based in-company workshop session that deeply explores, investigates and defines pan-organisational beliefs and perceptions The go-to reference document comprising, as a minimum, guidance on a brand’s design application and visual communication. It may include brand strategy and values as well as company purpose, vision, and mission statements The ongoing customer trust that a brand enjoys

Brand collateral

Brand culture

Brand differential Brand equity

Brand essence

Brand experience

Brand forum

Brand guidelines

Brand loyalty



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Expression

Explanation

Brand owner

The ultimate legal owner of the brand (in the company) The effectiveness and competitive power of the experience that the brand delivers The style, attitude, and nature of how a brand behaves The accepted understanding of the strategic place and power of a brand in achieving and sustaining successful business development The range of brands that an organization possesses and markets The understanding that a brand commands about its particular customer relevance and competitive uniqueness The process of establishing or strengthening brand relevance in a defined market in order to develop and maintain a specific reputation and competitive position The planning behind identifying, winning, and maintaining a specific reputation and competitive stronghold in the marketplace The underlying truths and rules relating to the effective planning and achievement of brand growth and success The range or portfolio of brands that an organization possesses and markets The standards of belief, behavior, and communication that align with the underlying strategic proposition of a brand, its market promise, and customer expectation The plan that guides what the brand is to stand for in order to achieve relevance and competitive differentiation in the market

Brand performance Brand personality Brand philosophy

Brand portfolio Brand position

Brand positioning

Brand positioning strategy Brand principles

Brand set Brand standards

Brand strategy

(continued  )

128

WORD WIZARD: GRAND SUMMARY

Expression

Explanation

Brand vision

The strategic intent of how the brand is expected to engage people and the market, and to impact on consumers’ lives A facilitated executive or stakeholder group session for the purpose of practical engagement and interaction focusing on one or more brand topics, issues, or opportunities. The objective is to identify, define, or validate value-adding ideas, possibilities, approaches, and innovative brand solutions The visual expression of a brand’s innate idea, proposition, and uniqueness The plan for expressing a strategic brand innovation and its supporting visual identity in the market The means by which the visual identity of the brand is organized and managed across diverse design applications C-suite refers to the chief senior executives of an organization. Typically their titles tend to start with the letter c, such as chief executive officer (CEO), chief financial officer (CFO), chief operating officer (COO), and chief information officer (CIO) The group of company stakeholders and expert advisors that is committed to, and is responsible for, the planning, design, promotion, and positioning of a brand A statement of the present time specifying an organization’s purpose, what it does, who it does it for, and where it does it

Brand workshop

Branding Branding strategy

Branding system

C-suite

Collective

Company mission



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129

Expression

Explanation

Company vision

A statement of the future specifying the direction of travel of an organization and what it seeks to become, setting a clear direction for growth The different proposition that a company makes in the marketplace to achieve competitive advantage; the difference of a company’s market offer relative to competitors Models that present subjective ideas or theories based on understandings gained from experience, personal insights, or research The consumer’s commitment to, and public support for, the brand The language, vocabulary, and way of speaking of the consumer The typical set of goods and services and brands that a customer consumes on a repeated basis The essential truths and rules relating to the effective planning and achievement of brand growth and success The visual design and physical presentation of a company’s identity to include its corporate logo, business stationery, vehicle livery, offices and buildings signage, and online branding Organizational culture is the values and set of behaviors that are expressed, endorsed, and engrained among employees and suppliers. Brand culture is the commitment, over time, of people (in-company and in-market) to a set of defined brand values and behaviors Having responsibility for, and charge of, a brand for a defined period of time

Competitive positioning

Constructs

Consumer advocacy Consumer vernacular Consumption repertoire Core brand principles

Corporate livery

Culture

Custodianship

(continued  )

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WORD WIZARD: GRAND SUMMARY

Expression

Explanation

Customer cohort

The type and grouping of customers who purchase the brand and subscribe to its values The division of a customer base into discrete groupings for the purpose of understanding their relative importance and different buying needs, and for defining strategies to improve customer satisfaction, service experience, and brand communication The places and points in the buying process where the customer directly interacts with the company The total additional benefit that a brand provides to the customer Socio-economic characteristics and statistical data relating to a population and its particular sub-groups A personal, one-on-one, face-to-face or telephone interview All visual applications of the design and manifestation of the brand’s identity The creation of designs for identity development or brand and marketing communication The era of digital mass communication The implementation of branding strategies and messaging by means of digital communication platforms Electronic commerce and specifically online shopping The intangible experience that a brand provides that connects with customers at the nonphysical level

Customer segmentation

Customer touchpoints

Customer value-add Demographics

Depth interview Design collateral Design execution

Digital age Digital branding

E-commerce Emotional branding



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131

Expression

Explanation

Empirical analysis

An analysis based on actual research observation or real-life experience as opposed to theory or logical deduction The extent to which a customer or an employee believes in and gets involved with the brand both physically and emotionally The difference between what something is worth (an asset) and what is owed on it (debt and liabilities) A specially selected group of people who, under the supervision of a professional moderator, are directed to focus on and respond to a specific research objective Physical attributes and benefits The positive attitude toward the brand in the market; the extent to which it is held in high regard The use of visual imagery and symbols The underlying core values on which a brand is based Large- and medium-sized enterprises The identifying mark or logo that attributes ownership, provenance, and quality to a company, good, or service An absolute priority that management must address The market sector or customer grouping for whom the brand is recognized to be highly relevant A specific category of customers within the market who have comparable needs and demands—they possess identical or similar requirements, expectations, or desires

Engagement

Equity

Focus group

Functional Goodwill

Iconography Inherent values LMEs Logotype

Management imperative Market positioning

Market segment

(continued  )

132

WORD WIZARD: GRAND SUMMARY

Expression

Explanation

Marketing collateral

The suite of design applications of the brand’s identity for the purpose of presenting the brand and its product and service offer to the market Also known as ‘Generation Y’, Millennials are people born from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s whose birth cohort had reached early maturity by the year 2000 - by the new millennium The critical points in the customer buying process and in the delivery of the brand experience which will determine the success or otherwise of the sale, ongoing repeat purchase and customer loyalty The extent to which a brand or business can make money The specific set of needs that at any point in time encapsulates the functional, emotional and psychological demands and desires of a consumer or a group of consumers A relatively confined, select, or specialist customer grouping or sector of the market The set of standard beliefs, behaviors or communications that characterize typical activity or normal practice A subtle difference in behavior, expression or interpretation To be in alignment with the brand values and proposition The promotion and affirmation of the brand promise and values through the behavior, activities and interaction of those responsible for planning, producing and promoting the brand

Millennials

Moments of truth

Monetizing capacity Need-states

Niche market Norms

Nuance On-brand On-brand behavior



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133

Expression

Explanation

Paradigm thinking

Thinking that is in accordance with an accepted basic concept of theory, belief or practice An expected and unsurprising practice or activity in order to achieve a particular outcome A primary, influencing social group of people who have similar interests, age, background or social status Acceptance and regular use or consumption by a primary, influencing social group of people who have similar interests, age, background, or social status An interview that is carried out with one individual to establish personal experiences, opinions, beliefs and expectations All and any ways in which the brand, its delivery, and consumption experience is unique or different from competing brands A catalogue or suite of brands, products, or services The active planning and management of a set of brands for customer relevance, market strength, competitive advantage, and business growth Underlying truths and rules relating to the effective application of branding as a system of communication and business growth What the brand stands for, believes about itself, and promises to the customer The place of origin that authenticates or supports a brand’s quality claims

Passport factor

Peer group

Peer group adoption

Personal interview

Points of difference

Portfolio Portfolio strategy

Principles of branding

Proposition Provenance

(continued  )

134

WORD WIZARD: GRAND SUMMARY

Expression

Explanation

Psychographic analysis

Analysis of consumer lifestyles via a qualitative methodology used to describe consumers on selected p ­ sychological attributes—typically applied to the study of personality, values, opinions, attitudes, interests and lifestyles The typical set of goods and services and brands that a customer buys on a repeated basis Research that is directed (moderated) but unstructured in order to determine perceptions, beliefs, feelings, emotional values and deep-seated needs Also known as functional values, these relate to physical, practical, non-emotional elements of a brand’s offer The act of replacing an existing corporate or product brand by planning, creating and implementing an entirely new brand identity The act of updating or changing the meaning and proposition of a brand for enhanced market relevance and competitiveness The extent of the market reach and impact of a business activity or brand innovation The design of a website so that it adapts to, and functions effectively on, mobile platforms A specific part of the total market that a company uniquely serves and in which it has a recognized brand presence Small- and medium-sized enterprises The extent of a customer’s aspiration and desire for diverse brand value-based experiences

Purchase repertoire

Qualitative research

Rational values

Rebranding

Repositioning

Resonance Responsive web design Served market

SMEs Spectrum of desire



WORD WIZARD: GRAND SUMMARY

135

Expression

Explanation

Stakeholder community

The interconnected network of those with an interest in, commitment to, and identification with a particular business or brand The vision and endeavour of the senior management team to achieve a particular business goal A piggybacking type relationship where commercial benefits are mutually enjoyed due to collaborative sharing of vision, knowhow, or market access A copywritten line that is incorporated into a brand identity to support and qualify a logo or a written brand communication The character and personality of a brand or a business that is conveyed through the use of words both spoken and written The value–monetary exchange-based connection that ultimately must be experienced as a transaction between a business and its customers Unique selling proposition: the unique benefit or competitive difference that a product or brand offers to win business The total additional benefit that a brand provides to the customer The exchange of value between a customer (money) and a company (product/service brand) that is represented at time of purchase The unique and total product value and customer experience that is promised or offered The promise that a brand makes to its customer in terms of differential benefits, usage experience, and value for money

Strategic intent

Symbiotic relationship

Tagline

Tone of voice

Transactional relationship

USP

Value-add Value exchange

Value offer Value proposition

(continued  )

136

WORD WIZARD: GRAND SUMMARY

Expression

Explanation

Values

What a brand or a business supports, promotes, and stands for as its essential ethics, priorities, and points of difference in both functional and emotional terms Professional narrators who provide the voice of a brand on audio and video recordings Procedures and systems of internal organization that promote the development and maintenance of a companywide brandcentric culture The underlying detailed structure of a website that supports its visual design, information hierarchy, ease of navigation, and visitor journey experience The creation of a summary schematic that depicts the initial skeletal framework of a website for planning purposes, showing how the website elements are likely to be arranged

Voice-over artists Ways of working

Website architecture

Wireframing

About the Author Brian McGurk, B.A. (Hons) Business Studies, Dip. Marketing, has been working in strategic marketing and branding for about 30 years. He began his consulting career with PA Consulting Group and has founded and run three marketing and brand development agencies. His experience spans private and public sector organizations of all sizes and a highly diverse client base. He has established and led international brand teams at the cutting edge of business transformation and culture change. He has been a frequent commentator in the media and a speaker on brand experience and leadership at national and international levels. He is married with four adult children and lives in Dublin, Ireland.

Index 3M, 21 Advocacy, 12, 28, 36 Animation, 94 Apple, 63, 101 Aspiration/inspiration, 100–104 Attributes, 2–8, 26, 53, 103 B2B. See Business-to-business (B2B) B2C. See Business-to-consumer (B2C) Balance sheet, 20, 29, 119 Ballantine, 2 Behavior, 12, 17, 18, 19, 26, 27, 36, 48, 83–85, 97, 99, 118, 120 Beliefs, 12, 15, 18–20, 44, 58, 59, 61, 62, 65, 66, 83, 101–102, 107, 113 Benefits, 4, 5, 8, 18, 19, 21, 25, 55, 56, 65, 66, 71, 92, 99, 109 Brand alignment, 11–12, 85, 104 Brand ambassadors, 12 Brand architecture, 11, 20, 21, 28, 30, 41, 61, 104 systems, 22 Brand association, 71, 96, 113 Brand awareness, 12, 99, 118 Brand believers, 12, 14, 30, 38, 42, 104 Brand book, 74–76 Brand-centered/centric, 30, 55 Brand champions, 23, 30, 44, 104 Brand community, 104 Brand consulting process, 56 Brand design, 117 Brand development, 1, 11, 12, 16, 19, 37, 38, 43, 44, 46, 50, 57, 59, 60, 64, 94, 95, 104 Brand differential, 13, 30 Brand equity, 4, 7, 11, 13, 20, 28, 36, 75, 95, 96, 119 equation, 28

Brand essence, 27–28, 53, 75, 83, 105 Brand expeditionary, 98–99 Brand experience, 25, 44–45, 94–98, 102, 103 Brand fora, 71–72 Brand forum, 62, 71, 83 Brand growth, 84 Brand guidelines, 46, 74, 84 Brand identity guidelines, 74, 81 Brand identity system, 75, 104 Brand image analysis, 67, 68 Brand imagery, 6, 42, 44, 46 Brand innovation, 30, 31, 44, 64 Brand investment, 16, 17, 35, 43 Brand leadership, 29, 63, 91 Brand loyalty, 17, 28, 30, 36, 119 Brand management, 7, 20, 29 Brand mark, 2, 3, 28 Brand meaning, 19, 20, 99, 107, 110, 111 Brand name, 21, 107 Brand owner, 12, 20, 23, 28, 30, 36, 59, 75, 98, 106, 119 Brand ownership, 12 Brand performance, 5, 18–19, 24, 36, 51–52, 62, 102, 119 Brand personality, 27 Brand position, 19, 20, 24, 25, 30, 55, 109, 117–118, 120 Brand potential, 18, 19 Brand power, 13, 20, 24, 28, 38 equation, 28 Brand principles, 46, 84 Brand proposition, 6, 12, 19, 20, 21, 24, 27, 44, 46, 47, 53, 55, 56, 63, 66, 73, 77, 79, 91, 99, 100, 105, 110, 111, 113, 119 Brand purpose, 19, 102, 104 Brand relationship, 13–16, 21, 42, 108

140 INDEX

Brand reputation, 18 Brand roadshows, 62 Brand strategy, 6, 7, 16, 19, 26, 37, 42, 46, 48–49, 55, 63, 74, 75, 104, 108 Brand strength, 12, 20, 95 Brand transformation, 36–41 Brand truth, 20, 59, 95 Brand value stimulus board, 70–71 Brand values, 5, 11, 12, 23, 24, 27, 44, 53, 59, 61, 69, 70, 71, 75, 77, 78, 97, 100, 102, 112, 118 Brand workshops, 59, 84 Branding, 2, 5–7, 11, 36, 38, 42, 47–56, 79, 104–112, 117–119 journey, 37 process, 35, 37, 46, 56, 109 Branding tools, 6, 35, 46, 59 Brochure design, 11 Building a brand, 4, 98, 100 Bushmills, 2 Business culture, 12 Business purpose, 17 Business strategy, 1, 18 Business-to-business (B2B), 14, 30, 42, 43, 79 brand strategy, 104 markets, 5 Business-to-consumer (B2C), 14, 30, 42, 43, 79 brand strategy, 104 Business transformation, 36, 37 Channels, 6, 42, 46, 47, 92, 93 Coca-Cola, 21 Commercial challenges, 105 Commercial value, 7, 24, 29, 98 Commodity, 14–16, 43, 51, 98 Communication, 6, 7, 8, 12, 15–18, 29, 31, 35–37, 42, 43, 46–60, 62, 72, 74, 78, 83–85, 91–93, 96, 97, 100, 103, 104–109, 113, 117, 118 Communications campaign, 46 Company values, 100, 102 Competitive advantage, 4, 5, 27, 31, 84, 95, 102

Competitor brands, 3, 24, 77 Connectivity, 47, 51, 54, 92, 93 Consistency, 74, 100–101, 104 Copywriting, 6, 75, 118 Core values generation, 69–71 Corporate brands, 56, 97, 103, 104 Corporate values, 3, 97 Creative chemistry, 49 Creativity, 6–7, 15, 35, 57, 63–74, 77, 80, 118 Cross-company business goals, 103 Culture, 11–17, 18, 24, 30, 78, 100, 117, 118, 120 Customer cohort, 4, 8 Customer experience, 5, 6, 7, 18, 26, 44, 63, 93, 99, 102 goal, 53 Customer touchpoint, 44, 84, 102 Decision-making process, 14, 16 Design, 2, 6, 11, 35, 36, 37, 45–47, 58, 62, 63, 74, 75, 76, 77, 80, 81, 82, 91, 94, 96, 104, 105, 108, 109, 117 Destination branding, 14, 91, 109, 110 Digital, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 74, 78, 79, 85, 93, 94, 104 Digital branding, 49–50, 53 Digital communication, 43, 46, 48, 50, 51, 52, 56, 92, 93 Digital design, 6 Digital marketing, 42, 48, 54, 93 Digital revolution, 48, 51, 91 Digital technologies, 104 Disney, 101 E-commerce, 78 Emotional experience, 25 Emotional proposition, 26 Emotional values, 4, 6, 24, 26, 53, 99 Emotions, 3, 105 Emotive photosets, 68 Employee motivation, 21–22, 43–44 Employer branding, 5, 12, 44, 62

INDEX 141

Engagement, 5, 6, 8, 44–45, 57, 59–60, 62, 78, 92, 117 Entrepreneurs, 1, 6–7, 16, 19, 54, 56, 108 Environmental challenges, 15 Esteem, 106 Execution, 17, 46, 47, 85 Experience, 5–7, 11–13, 15, 18–19, 24–26, 35–37, 44–47, 52, 53, 55–58, 63, 69, 70, 71, 72, 75, 77, 78, 93, 94–98, 99, 102–106, 109, 111, 112, 117–119 Experiential appeal, 25 Facebook, 47, 54, 101 Fedex, 21 Film, 94 Financial value, 13 Functional proposition, 26 Functional values, 25, 31 Global brands, 101 Goals, 41, 43, 58, 60, 61, 64, 97, 99, 102, 103 Goodwill, 4, 8 Google, 101, 106 Graphic design, 45, 47 Guinness, 2 Hero’s journey, 72–73 Hierarchy, 12, 66, 96 Hoover, 106 The “i” generation, 43 Idea-generation sessions, 63 Ideas, 6, 7, 12, 26, 42, 46, 48, 56, 62, 63, 72, 83, 84, 106 Identity, 3, 8, 18, 20, 21, 40, 46, 74, 75, 80, 95, 104–106 Imagery, 6, 42, 44, 46, 69, 70, 77, 78, 79, 94, 105, 118 Information gathering, 57–58, 61, 80 Information technology, 53 Innovation, 6–7, 15, 31, 44, 48, 52–55, 63–74, 92, 98, 99, 105, 117

Insight development techniques, 65–67 Insight generation, 57 Interactive creativity workshops, 69 Interactive workshop, 69 Internal brand fora, 62 Internet, 51 iPhone, 101 Johnson & Johnson, 106 Leadership strategy, 98 Lifestyle, 17, 26–27, 36, 96, 97, 120 Live streaming, 93 Living the brand, 12, 35, 44–45 Logo, 3, 4, 6, 11, 76, 80, 84 Logo design, 6, 35, 45 Logotype, 3, 8, 75 Market opportunities, 16 Market positioning, 85, 93 Marketing, 1, 2, 6, 26, 35, 36, 42, 43–44, 45, 48, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 57, 60, 72, 85, 92, 93, 94, 103 Media, 35, 43–44, 46, 47, 74, 82–84, 92, 118 Messaging, 6, 12, 18, 29, 41, 42, 46, 51, 58, 71–72, 75, 77, 79, 105, 108 Methodologies, 61, 62, 64, 120 Microsoft, 101 Millennials, 47, 48, 85 Mitsubishi, 21 Modern marketing media, 43–44 Money, 42 Naming, 40 Nature of branding, 5–7, 49, 91, 117 Need states, 67–68, 85 Opportunities, 16, 18, 48, 49, 60, 61, 63, 64, 66, 76 Orbital brand culture, 13 Organizational values, 100, 102, 103

142 INDEX

P&G, 21 Peer group, 25, 26–27, 31, 36, 47, 79, 86, 96 Perceptions, 5, 11, 13, 15, 18, 20, 58, 59, 61, 62, 83, 96, 99, 106, 108, 110, 111, 112 Performance, 3, 4, 6, 15, 17, 18, 19, 24, 52, 62, 81, 82, 102, 119 Personal relationships, 14, 27 Personality, 3, 6, 7, 26, 27, 43, 47, 49, 53, 59, 67, 68, 69, 71, 74, 77, 78, 79, 99, 105, 106 Philosophy, 1, 49, 50, 56, 77, 84 Place branding, 112 Platforms, 43, 46, 47, 59, 93 Points of difference, 3, 4, 8, 19, 108 Portfolio, 6, 13, 18, 20, 21, 30, 31, 61, 62, 84, 102, 104 Preference, 4, 7, 23–24, 36, 112 Principles, 11, 26, 31, 35, 46, 47, 49, 57, 63, 84, 97 Product-based experience, 19 Product brands, 21, 22, 86, 94, 102, 105, 108 Product values, 3, 31 Proposition, 3, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 17, 19–28, 36, 44–47, 53–56, 59, 63, 66, 69, 71, 74, 75, 77, 79, 91–93, 97–99, 104–106, 110, 111, 112, 117–119 Psychological, 25, 85, 120 Qualitative research, 56–59, 86 Quantitative research, 56 Rational values, 26, 31, 53 Rebranding, 43, 44, 61, 62, 75, 86 Relevance, 7, 13, 15–19, 23, 24, 48, 51, 53, 54, 56, 61, 72, 94, 95, 96, 105, 106, 118, 119 Research, 6, 35, 46, 56–63, 66, 69, 70, 112, 117 Resonance, 6, 16, 17, 20, 31, 105, 106, 118, 119 Return-on-brand-investment, 17, 36, 42, 44, 107

Schweppes, 2 Self-esteem, 36, 47, 96, 119 Service brands, 20, 28, 43, 55 Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), 42–43 Smartphone, 78, 81 Social media, 42, 43, 47, 48, 53, 59, 78, 93–94, 104 Social messaging, 42, 93 Staff motivation, 21–22, 43–44 Stakeholders, 11, 12, 16, 35, 44, 59, 61, 63, 71, 80, 84, 94, 98–99, 104–105, 114–120 Standout, 51, 53, 77, 96, 98, 106, 107, 108 Starbucks, 101 Steve jobs, 53 Storytelling, 7, 12, 69, 71, 72 Strategic planning, 6 Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT), 61 Subbrands, 20, 21, 28, 30 Tagline, 4, 8 Technologies/technology, 4, 47, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55, 57, 92, 104, 107 Tesla, 101 Tone of voice, 27, 74–75, 86 Tourism, 109 Toyota, 101 Transformation, 5, 36–41, 52, 54, 63, 98, 99 Twining, 2 Twitter, 54 Uber, 53, 55 Unilever, 21 Unique selling proposition (USP), 55 USP. See Unique selling proposition (USP) Value curve, 15 Value for money, 36, 101, 106, 114

INDEX 143

Values, 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12, 17, 18, 20, 23–28, 44–46, 49, 53, 55, 59, 62, 63, 69–71, 74, 75, 77–79, 84, 85, 92, 97–106, 108 Values stimulus boards, 70 Video, 42, 43, 59, 78, 93, 94 Virgin, 21 Vision, 36, 44–45, 51, 57, 69, 74, 75, 91, 97, 98–101, 106, 113, 114, 117

Visual expression, 7, 77 Website, 42–43, 76–82, 86, 93, 94 Website design, 76, 77, 80 YouTube, 47, 53, 93

OTHER TITLES IN MARKETING COLLECTION Naresh Malhotra, Editor • Relationship Marketing Re-Imagined: Marketing’s Inevitable Shift from Exchanges to Value Cocreating Relationships by Naresh Malhotra, Can Uslay and Ahmet Bayraktar • Service Excellence: Creating Customer Experiences That Build Relationships by Ruth N. Bolton • Critical Thinking for Marketers, Volume I: Learn How to Think, Not What to Think by David Dwight and David Soorholtz • Critical Thinking for Marketers, Volume II: Learn How to Think, Not What to Think by David Dwight and David Soorholtz • Employee Ambassadorship: Optimizing Customer-Centric Behavior from the Inside-Out and Outside-In by Michael W Lowenstein • Social Media Marketing: Marketing Panacea or the Emperor’s New Digital Clothes? by Alan Charlesworth • Qualitative Marketing Research: Understanding How Behavioral Complexities Drive Marketing Strategies by Rajagopal • Decoding Customer Value at the Bottom of the Pyramid: An Urban India Marketing Perspective by Ritu Srivastava

FORTHCOMING TITLES IN THIS COLLECTION • Stand Out! The Secrets of Branding for a New Generation by Brian McGurk • The Coming Ages of Robots: Implications for Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy by George Pettinico and George R. Milne

Concise and Applied Business Books The Collection listed above is one of 30 business subject collections that Business Expert Press has grown to make BEP a premiere publisher of print and digital books. Our concise and applied books are for… • Professionals and Practitioners • Faculty who adopt our books for courses • Librarians who know that BEP’s Digital Libraries are a unique way to offer students ebooks to download, not restricted with any digital rights management • Executive Training Course Leaders • Business Seminar Organizers

Business Expert Press books are for anyone who needs to dig deeper on business ideas, goals, and solutions to everyday problems. Whether one print book, one ebook, or buying a digital library of 110 ebooks, we remain the affordable and smart way to be business smart. For more information, please visit www.businessexpertpress.com, or contact [email protected]

STAND OUT! Building Brilliant Brands for the World We Live In Brian McGurk Stand Out! is a book about branding and its evolution, practice, and power in today’s digital age. It presents the “why-do” and the “how-to” along with a passionate philosophy on transforming business through brand-centered change. It spells out a sequential, easily understandable, proven brand-building process and is a key reference text for anyone interested in brand development, leadership, innovation, and sustainable business growth. Reader understanding and enjoyment are enhanced by ample presentation of supporting tables, charts, case examples, expert tips, real-life experiences and pull-out quotes, as well as a helpful “word wizard” glossary at the end of each chapter explaining business terms and expressions used. This book democratizes branding: It makes branding—its history, theory, and practice—easily accessible and actionable. Stand Out! replaces the mystique of brand strategy with the magic of brand transformation….it makes it exciting and fun and puts that power directly into the hands of the business masses. It is a practical handbook for getting started with branding or for strengthening an existing brand management system. It gives the reader the confidence, permission, and skills to get branding now! Brian McGurk, BA (Hons) Business Studies, Diploma in Marketing, has been working in strategic marketing and branding for about 30 years. He began his consulting career with PA Consulting Group and has founded and run three marketing and brand development agencies. His experience spans private and public sector organizations of all sizes and a highly diverse client base. He has established and led international brand teams at the cutting edge of business transformation and culture change. He has been a frequent commentator in the media and a speaker on brand experience and leadership at national and international levels. He is married with four adult children and lives in Dublin, Ireland.

Marketing Naresh Malhotra, Editor