Paws for Thought

Defining brand attributes

Karen Polcaro — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 20:18:58 +0000

A company’s brand is their promise to their marketplace. You have a brand, whether or not you choose to control it. Your customers have perceptions of the products and services you offer. Branding strategy is about how you can control those perceptions–how you create and maintain an image—shaped by establishing a timeless promise, consistently communicating the promise, and without failure, fulfilling the promise.

Articulating your brand
Every brand has both concrete and abstract attributes. The unique combination of these attributes distinguish your brand from your competition’s.

Concrete attributes include:

The products and/or services you offer (financial planning, professional services, wedding cakes, apples, etc.)
The audience to which the services are offered (families, individuals, brides and grooms, independent grocery stores, etc.)
Where or how you offer your services (a specific geographic location, multiple locations, web-based, etc.)
The education, professional certifications, and backgrounds of your employees and the company
Fees and business models

These attributes, though critical to your brand, can evolve with your business.

Abstract attributes can include:

Personality
Approach
Knowledge
Customer service
Values including responsiveness and trustworthiness
Efficiency
Ways of doing business
Specialties

Abstract attributes give a brand depth and help it be about more than just goods and services you offer. Often defining your competitive edge, abstract attributes should remain steadfast, even as the business evolves.

Though all industries are different, the same fundamental rules apply when developing effective branding strategy. Your unique combination of brand attributes help shape your promise to your marketplace. Building customer awareness and controlling customer perceptions is crucial to helping the brand be more valuable to its audience, which in turn, positively impacts credibility, visibility and profitability.

ADAMS completes brand positioning, website, and brochure for Paybridge

Karen Polcaro — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 13:01:31 +0000

ADAMS is pleased to announce the completion of the brand positioning, corporate messaging, as well as design and development of a new website and corporate brochure for Paybridge, an enterprise-smart payroll company.

ADAMS worked with Paybridge to develop positioning and corporate messaging. The project included market research and client interviews to identify and articulate the Paybridge promise. This national organization works with local trusted advisors to provide enterprise smart payroll solutions, is now supported by strategic brand messaging—delivered through its website and corporate brochure—that effectively communicates the Paybridge advantage.

Tony Chiviles, of Paybridge states, “Through ADAMS’ brand identity process and extensive knowledge of financial services, we were able to articulate our value proposition, clarify our brand, and raise our image within our marketplace. Our new site and brochure’s effective messaging and strong visual design are already beginning to pay dividends.”

About Paybridge: Paybridge is a national provider of integrated payroll services. Partnering with local trusted advisors, Paybridge offers clients an enterprise-smart™ solution that integrates payroll with a wide variety of business services; a user-friendly, web-based interface; and unparalleled customer support.

About ADAMS: With resolute client focus, ADAMS is a results-driven branding firm that helps clients achieve their goals by developing compelling work grounded in sound strategy. For nearly two decades, ADAMS has collaborated with clients across diverse industries to increase their visibility, credibility, and profitability through deliberate, multi-faceted, and creative communications.

ADAMS President Ken Cochrane featured on Willmot.com

Karen Polcaro — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:11:01 +0000

ADAMS’ President, Ken Cochrane was recently named a Willmot’s HR Thought Leader. His article “Making Your Employees Brand Ambassadors” is currently featured on www.willmot.com.

Brand experience

Karen Polcaro — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:44:15 +0000

Brand experience is the culmination of all branding efforts—the sum of the visual, verbal and experiential encounters with the brand.

Are you on the same page as your customers?

The brand experience is created in the mind of consumer. A satisfied customer is one that keeps coming back for more while recommending your product or service to others. The global business consulting firm Bain & Company discovered that while 80 percent of organizational leaders believe they deliver a superior customer experience, only 8 percent of customers agree.

This huge gap in perception can be explained by organizations not monitoring how the visual, verbal and behavioral aspects of their brand work together. Though some experiences are controlled such as retail environments, advertising, design, packaging, and marketing communications, others are much harder to control—like employees. Employees, especially those who are not educated on the brand, can have a huge impact on customer perception.

Your employees represent your brand.

Every time your employees interact with your client or prospect, they leave an impression. One bad experience can expel a client for life. For instance, if a client speaks with a representative of your organization and is treated badly, they may never come back, regardless of the quality or price of what you have to offer. In today’s marketplace, there are so many choices that the differentiator between competing organizations is often the client experience.

To ensure your intended brand experience is consistently reaching your customers and potential customers, take stock of the visual, verbal, and behavioral elements of your brand.

Review your positioning and messaging to ensure that it is aligned with the promise of your brand.
Review the visual elements of your brand to ensure they are cohesive and informative.
Communicate your brand to your employees to ensure they understand and can accurately communicate your promise to your customers.

A positive brand experience is important to every business. Developing a brand that accurately conveys your promise to your market place and backing it up with a compelling message will get customer attention, but delivering the best possible customer experience will keep them coming back to you.

Brand personality: connect with your customers

Karen Polcaro — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:11:04 +0000

A brand is an organization’s promise to its marketplace. The personality of a brand makes it unique and is important for increasing the brand’s connection to its audience.

A brand’s personality is the way in which the brand aligns with its audience’s values and beliefs. For instance, banks tend to be competent, serious, and masculine; and outerwear companies tend to be young, lively, and adventurous. Brand personality:

Gives the consumer an expectation of the brand.
Includes human-like traits—gender, age, socio-economics, and emotional characteristics.
Is often perceived differently by those who are engaged with the brand than those who are not.

Developing brand personality

Since a brand’s personality is projected through its users, it often provides a vehicle for a consumer to express his/her own identity. For instance, people who drink Starbucks coffee may feel they are more sophisticated and worldly while those who drink Dunkin Donuts coffee see themselves as hard-working and all American.

To help consumers identify with and become engaged with a brand, it is important to develop and maintain a personality that is appropriate and inspirational. Consider;

Imagery. The type of images used within communications including, people’s age, race and gender; activity; and scenery. If displaying a product, is shown in context or not, are people using the product, is the product shown as a photograph or illustration?
Sponsorships. Does the brand sponsor anything—television programs, sports teams, events, etc? A sponsorship helps relate a brand to a specific audience and can be a powerful brand building tool, such as the sponsorship of an event or sports team.
Age. How old is the brand? Is it up and coming and new (Google), is it an old favorite (Xerox), or nostalgic (Coca Cola)?
Geographic origin. Where does the brand live? For instance, Starbucks lives in Seattle, Twinnings lives in the United Kingdom, Country Time Lemonade lives in the southern US. Consumers can relate to specific geographic areas and thus the brands that originate there.

A strong brand helps an organization become more visible, credible, and profitable. Building and maintaining a compelling brand personality helps connect with customers and drives them to keep coming back to you.

Going global—Developing multilingual marketing communications

Karen Polcaro — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:04:25 +0000

As technology advances, the world is getting smaller and smaller. It is now possible to reach global audiences with the click of a button and it seems that everyone is taking advantage of it.

So is going global as easy as having your website and brochure translated into a different language?

Not quite.

Communicating with a global audience can be complicated. There are several factors to consider that reach beyond simply translating communications into other languages. First we must consider the brand and what it will mean to audiences abroad. Will it be seen as new and exciting, will it fill a particular market gap, or will it attempt to break into the market as a competitor to a local favorite?

Once you have made the decision to invest resources in a particular global community, you must consider not only the native language, but the language’s nuances, communication vehicles, and culture in general.

Language
It is imperative to correctly translate English-language material into the a culture’s native language. In addition, it is extremely important to understand the nuances of the foreign language. For instance, the word “policy” translated into Spanish, is understood as “police,” even within the proper context. You can see how confusing it can be to an audience if communications are simply translated and not reviewed for conceptual accuracy.

Communication vehicles
Choosing communication vehicles is equally as important as the message you send. Just because an English-speaking audience prefers to be reached through email, does not mean that it will work for every one. For instance, in some countries the mail is not as reliable as it is in the United States. In addition, some cultures prefer more formal methods of communication or a specific communication process.

Culture
Culture is an extremely important factor in business communications. Educate yourself on etiquette, customs, and important holidays before sending any communication.

Expanding a communications program globally can have a positive affect on an organization and their brand. However, it is imperative that you are informed about the marketplace you intend to reach, the native language, and the culture of any country before developing a global communications plan.

Transitioning to a new logo

Karen Polcaro — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:04:25 +0000

Maintaining a strong visual and verbal presence is important for an organization to accurately communicate its brand. A logo should concisely communicate who the organization is and clearly depict its offerings. But what happens when it is time to make a change?

Transitioning to a new logo involves a strategic approach to maintain the integrity of the brand. Because your brand is your promise to your marketplace, consider how brand integrity will be affected when transitioning from an old logo to a new.

Converting to a new look
There are two generally accepted approaches to logo transition.

The first is to prepare all communications during a pre launch phase and on a specific date scrap all old communications and use only new communications from that forward. This approach works well with consumer goods and product lines where multiple logos can send a confusing message.

The second method is to take a deliberate approach of transitioning to a new logo over a period of time. Generally, the time period should not exceed three months, but done over 8 to 12 weeks, a smooth transition both internally as well as externally can be accomplished in an orderly manner with minimal disruption.

The second method is considered an acceptable approach with professional service enterprises. Their audiences tend to be contained and easily reachable. This second method also tends to be more cost effective and resource efficient.

Steps to be taken include;

Identifying critical areas where the new logo must appear immediately
Finding the items that can transition when current stock is depleted or resources become available

Much of the transition strategy also depends on the degree of separation from the old logo to the new one. An inverse relation should exist between the level of change and the length of transition. If the logo changes dramatically, a shorter transition period should be deployed. If the changes are subtle, a longer transition can be an acceptable approach.

Transitioning from an old logo to a new one should be approached with a strategy that includes identifying where the current logo exists and then executing the transition in a way that not only maintains the integrity, is also mindful budgetary and time constraints.

Branding for Investor Relations

Karen Polcaro — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:54:09 +0000

An organization’s brand is extremely important when reaching out to the investment community. However, branding and positioning are often overlooked with this audience. To gain investors, an organization must present a compelling story or brand that will lead to sales of products or services. This story must;

Align the personality, education, and experience of an organization’s management team with the promise of the brand.
Properly position the business strategy to attract capital
Present a realistic and thorough business plan

CEO Branding
A critical attribute of the brand that interests those investing money into a firm is the CEO and executive management team. A CEO is always linked to the organization they represent. What a CEO and management team says or does has a huge impact on the brand. However, for the brand to be successful, it must be bigger than the CEO. The CEO is the leader and steward of the brand. Be careful the brand is not only the CEO.

Positioning
Compelling brands attract and sustain both consumers and investors. A sound positioning strategy is crucial to managing the brand underlying all consumer and investor communications. An organization’s positioning is what makes them stand out from all others in the marketplace. By clarifying the brand, strong positioning helps raise awareness and strengthen the presentation of the organization’s pitch.

Business plan
The business plan represents the strategic vision of an enterprise. A sound business plan is well-researched, practical, and precise. Investors must read hundreds of business plans to choose the best new venture. Create a plan that is not only strategically sound but also readable, engaging, memorable, and accurately communicates the brand and resultant positioning.

The brand that supports communication with customers and potential customers—the one that makes consumers want to buy from you—is the same brand presented to the investment community when seeking funds. Shareholder communications and brand management are critical to expand and enhance a relationship with the investment community and raise brand awareness amongst consumers.

Consider consumers and investors when developing and implementing branding strategy–logically positioning the enterprise and senior management; strategically positioning the brand; and effectively communicating business strategies. Successful execution of these elements is critical to developing a compelling branding strategy for both consumers and investors—leading to a more visible, credible, and profitable brand.

Positioning Research: Set yourself up for success

Karen Polcaro — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:22:59 +0000

When positioning a brand, a product, or a service, it is important to consider the elements that effect the way a brand will be viewed in the marketplace. Positioning research is crucial to a successful positioning strategy and begins with looking into the marketplace to discover where the brand, product or service fits in.

Positioning research begins with asking;

Who is the audience? Define the audience and talk to them. Interview current and potential clients, survey the marketplace, and segment them to learn more about their needs and wants.

What market gap will the brand fill? Identifying market gaps is an extremely important aspect of positioning research. Brands that fill important market gaps enjoy more success than those who replicate the services of others.

How will the product be delivered? Sometimes the way the product is delivered is more important than the product itself. Research the way the competition interacts with their customers and potential customers. Perhaps a different style of service will set the brand above the competition.

Why buy this brand? What does this brand have to offer that no other brand has? Define the most significant aspect of the brand that sets it apart from the competition. Why a consumer choses to purchase this brand should be the most important of its position.

Positioning research is an extremely important part of the branding process. Properly positioned brands, products, and services enjoy the visibility, credibility, and profitability their competition envies.

Is the CEO part of the brand?

Karen Polcaro — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:56:56 +0000

In today’s business climate, trust is a critical part of any brand. Consumers have seen so many brands that are major institutions fail because of shady business operations or poor decisions. As the controlling officer of an enterprise, the CEO should embody the brand of the organization he or she leads.

A brand is the promise an organization makes to its marketplace and the CEO him/herself is inextricably linked to that promise. Whether intentional or not, the CEO can play a huge role in how a brand is perceived by its audience:

The CEO can influence the integrity of the brand.
What the CEO says and does impacts the brand—the way consumers, investors, and employees identify with the brand. It is important that the CEO maintains the personality of the brand when communicating with his or her constituents and interacting with the marketplace.

The CEO can humanize the brand.
Through the CEO, the organization has the opportunity to humanize itself, creating a parallel between the personality of chief executive and the brand. The CEO him/herself can represent the brains, the innovation, the thoughtfulness, the fun, or any other differentiating human characteristic of the brand.

The CEO can guide the brand.
Since branding requires an active, ongoing effort to guide and control the market’s perception of the organization, the CEO should be directly involved in all branding efforts. The CEO should have a clear vision of the branding strategy and implementation; and commit time to building and promoting the brand to (potential) customers, investors, and employees.

Leverage the strengths of the CEO by making that individual an indispensable part of the overall brand. A brand that is in sync with its chief officer will enjoy visibility, credibility, and profitability for years to come.