Ask your self this question, In which business are we really in? And stay far from the dark world of commodities...
I am astonished!!! I just witness how in three days a clan of marketers ? brand managers, advertisers, researchers - drove a brand into the huge world of commodities, these people approach the brand building process as a conjunction of ideas- do not matter if the ideas were good or bad- and were clearly afraid to innovate and challenge the rules of their game.
If you are planning to maintain your brand as far as you can from the dark world of commodities, why not innovate by reconsider the category in which you compete and create your own rules.
As Theodor Levits from Harvard business school once exemplified it: "The once- powerful railroads were blindsided first by automobiles and then by airlines. This happens because railroad companies define them selves too narrowly as being in the railroad business rather than the transportation business."
But redefining your industry does not mean hiring a new ad agency to think a fancy new slogan ad and spend millions of dollars communicating it.. To make it work, you have to approach your brand building process strategically and communicate it each day in every interaction with your consumer, offering high-quality products and services that your customers rally want and that will reinforce the values offered by your brand and expand the emotional connections your customers fell with it.
When Steve Jobs came back to Apple with the mission of bringing back the brand from the darkness the first thing he did was redefine his business. "What Apple is about, is not making boxes for people to get their jobs done, although we do that very well. Apple is about more than that. What Apple is about, its core value is that we believe people with passion can change the world for the better. That is what we believe." Excerpt form Steve Jobs' speech to software developers
That day Apple created its own game, and became something more, since then Apple has launched products like the i-Mac and G4, and most recently has become the center of the digital music world with the iPod and i-Tunes store.
James Dyson invented his own game when he created the Dyson vacuum cleaner, a vacuum with a unique shape and a clear collector bin, so you can watch the dirt cycloning around. He made fun the vacuum cleaning experience.
If you speak to Richard Branson he would tell you that his business is to create FUNKY business, I wonder who competes with Virgin in this business
Yes, you can think this could be risky if you already are by far the #1 in your industry, but Howard Shultz is trying to transform Starbucks into the largest digital music retailer in the world, he most be crazy.
But maybe brand building is about being rationally crazy .
To measure how strong your brand is copy and paste: (http://brandidentityguru.com/bightml/brandmasterpiece.html). Then click "Take the brand strength test". This is a short survey that measures the strength of any company's brand. It's a great tool to see where you are today.
Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru (http://www.brandidentityguru.com), a leading brand consulting and market research firm located in Easton, Massachusetts, USA, near Boston.
Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation. Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.
Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Simon (America's largest shopping mall manager) and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies.
Scott White is a very enthusiastic speaker and has the gift of being able to explain the principles of branding in a compelling and entertaining manner so that people at all levels can understand.
...my senses. I know, you were thinking 'Texas'. Well, if... Read More
We will discuss Brand Marketing for a minute. In this... Read More
If you had a choice, which one would you choose,... Read More
Starting Business Secrets will help you to start your own... Read More
Design is a very subjective thing, therefore, if you ask... Read More
Now that everyone has conformed to Living Your Brand on... Read More
As a beginner, you would be forgiven for thinking that... Read More
Yes, yes, we've heard it all before... loads of life... Read More
The world is not waiting for you?or your product or... Read More
Look at your company logo. Does it fade into the... Read More
Feel that? The crisp tingle in the air? It's fall.... Read More
How is branding different than marketing?Branding is not so much... Read More
Today's competitive marketplace for consulting services is no longer responsive... Read More
Companies have been branding their collateral materials such as letterhead,... Read More
One of fiction's finest marketing minds, The Cheshire Cat, once... Read More
Logos can be described as visual icons that provide a... Read More
Americans have always liked their coffee hot. But then Starbucks... Read More
"Just do it." "We try harder." "The Ultimate Driving Machine."... Read More
When Mitsubishi launched a new car with the name "Pajero"... Read More
Most people, when they hear the word branding, think logos... Read More
Branding is perhaps the most important facet of any business--beyond... Read More
Try to avoid backing up whenever possible. Occasionally some one... Read More
Businesses eager to open often give little thought to their... Read More
Have you ever watched one of those home makeover shows?... Read More
You wouldn't skip letterhead when sending out a sales letter... Read More
You can have first-rate products and services, but if you... Read More
You bet a name is important. Many small business owners... Read More
Our experience as customers offers great instruction into the concept... Read More
Every company has a brand (how people think of them)... Read More
Any business with the minimum interest to be successful should... Read More
Logo, graphic, icon, logotype, typogram, logoform, image?call it what you... Read More
Small business owners learn many lessons the hard way -... Read More
There are three basic types of logos: text, symbol, and... Read More
I have never been a fan of Paris Hilton.I see... Read More
Adored, respected and coveted by customers and organisations alike, corporate... Read More
Successful Guru marketers have a secret weapon that they use... Read More
Hiring a brand identity company is very important. In every... Read More
Visual elements are a major part of your business's brand... Read More
A list of customers who have previously bought from you... Read More
On question I have been asked over and over again... Read More
Branding is one hot topic, although it is wildly misunderstood.... Read More
Your brand is the culmination of everything about you and... Read More
Big and Yellow 'M' reminds you McDonalds... 'DELL' with oblique... Read More
Let me tell you a story about Pete and a... Read More
Last issue, I talked about increasing your Brand Love-- meaning... Read More
Parades happen in every big city and many small towns.... Read More
When Mitsubishi launched a new car with the name "Pajero"... Read More
Branding is more than product recognition or a simple logo.... Read More
After more than a decade since the last attempt to... Read More
When you're all alone in the privacy of your home... Read More
Branding Branding |