rjd creative branding basics

BRANDING BASICSOur Approach to the Brand Lifecycle

presented by

What We’ll Cover Today:

• Brand Language• Our Process• 7 Things You Can Do Today

What Is a Brand?

A Brand Is NOT:

• Your company name• Your logo • Your tagline• Marketing copy• Features and Benefits

A Brand Is:

• It’s the gut feeling your 3 C’s (Company, Customers and Competitors) have about your Business, Product or Service

• It’s Emotional, not Rational• It’s not what YOU think it is, it what THEY think it is• You have a brand already. whether you’ve chosen to

create it, guide it, or it simply exists by default, it exists.

A Brand Position Is:

• A single unifying idea that encapsulates the essence of your brand

• One word or phrase• Used internally (not in marketing messages or copy)• A fancy name for “What’s Your One Thing?”

Examples:• Nike = Inspiration/Innovation• Volvo = Safety• Google = Search

Brand Identity Is:

Verbal • Your company name and tagline • Marketing messages • Marketing copy

Visual • Your company logo • Your company colors • Design and layout • Graphics and photography

Why Optimize Your Brand Identity?

Benefits of an optimized Brand ID system include: • Elevated Perception of Company • Increased Customer Awareness (Memorability) • Increased Customer Affinity (Trust) • Increased Customer Action (Sales) • Elevated Company/Employee/Staff Pride

Goals of a Branding/Marketing Program

Successful branding/marketing efforts are: • Customer-centric — about the customer, not

the company • Based on brand position — “What’s your One Thing”? • Memorable (different/unique/first — Awareness) • Authentic (true/genuine/trust — Affinity) • Valuable to the customer (Action) • Focused on positive emotions (customer’s

emotional response), not features and benefits • Action-oriented — communicate clearly what

the customer should do next

Brands Today:

• Are becoming more personal• Are increasingly about the company leadership —

company owner or CEO• Also about the employees, the points of

customer contact• You are your company, you are your brand

Our Branding Process

23

41

STRATEGY

EXECUTION

RESEARCH

MAINTENANCE

RECOMMENDED BRAND AND ATTRIBUTES

Research

Analysis

Existing Brand Review

Recommended Brand Strategy

Brand Identity Elements

Positioning Statement

Creative Assets

Maintenence & Monitoring

Who Is your Audience?

You actually have three audiences: The 3 C’s

1. Company2. Customers3. Competitors

So how do we know who they are? How do we find out what they think of you?

RESEARCH! Why is Research Important?

If you don’t conduct research to find out:

You’re really only guessing.

What Do We Mean by “Research”?

For Company & Customers:• Surveys (Quantitative & Qualitative)• Interviews (Formal)• Focus Groups• One-on-one Conversations (Informal)• Ask your employees and customers!

For Competitors:• Gather Materials: Web Site, Ads, Collateral, etc.• Secret Shopping

What Do We Do With It?

• Analyze the data• Identify Trends, Common Responses• Isolate Problem Areas• Identify Successes• Organize Data into Groups

Why Do We Do This?

So you can make informed decisions based on factual data, not just subjective (internal) opinions.

No Research: Research:Guesses FactsAssumptions Trends, Data GroupsSubjective opinions Objective & SubjectiveInternal only External & InternalOne source (Company) Multiple Sources (Company, Customers and Competitors)

What Else Do We Need to Look At?

What the company brand already looks like:

Existing Brand Review

Visual: Verbal:• Logo • Company Name• Colors • Tagline• Typography • Core Messages• Design & Layout • Marketing Copy• Graphics & Photography

Then What? STRATEGY!

After Research and the Existing Brand Review, we do two things:

1. Recommend a Brand Strategy2. Recommend a Brand Position and Brand Attributes

This is your brand, your “One Thing”. From here on you will: 1. Use it as the foundation for all communications your

company creates and distributes, both internally and externally.

2. Proactively guide and consciously apply it to all of your company communications and materials.

What Does Your Brand Need To Be?

1. Different/Unique2. True/Genuine3. Valuable to your customers4. Unclamed by your competiton

If your brand meets these four requirements, it will be successful.

Why Does Your Brand Need To Be This?

Here is how your customer’s mind works:

If your brand is: You gain your customer’s:Different/Unique Awareness (Memorability)True/Genuine Affinity (Trust)Valuable Action (Purchase, $$$)

Brand Action Steps:

NOAWARENESS

AWARE,NO ACTION

SINGLEACTION

REPEAT,ENTHUSIASTS

BRANDADVOCATES

AWARENESS AFFINITY ACTION

DIFFERENT TRUE VALUABLE

AWARENESSREPEAT

PURCHASECONSIDERATION PURCHASE ADVOCACY

Now It’s Time to EXECUTE!

Next we craft your Brand Positioning Statement• Based on Your Brand Position (your “One Thing”)• Single Sentence• Used internally (not in marketing messages or copy)• Used to guide your core marketing messages (internal and external)

Then We Create Your:

Core Marketing Messages• Based on your Brand Positioning Statement• A series of brand-centric ideas and phrases• Used primarily internally• Can also be used externally• Used to create your external marketing copy

Now Comes the Fun Part:

We Create Your Brand Identity Elements• Based on Your Brand Position, Positioning Statement

and Core Marketing Messages

Visual: Verbal:• Logo • Company Name• Colors • Tagline• Typography • Core Messages• Design & Layout • Marketing Copy• Graphics & Photography

Then We Create the “Stuff”:

Your Brand and Marketing Communications Materials

Print: Web:• Company Stationery • Web Site• Collateral Brochures • Email Marketing• Direct Mail • Social Media• Ads • Trade Show Materials • Promotional Items• Brand Identity Guidelines

It’s Time to Tell the World!

Distribute Your Brand and Marketing Communications Materials

Print: Web:• Ad Placements • Web Site Launch• Direct Mail Campaigns • Email Blasts• Trade Shows • E-Newsletters• Special Events • Social Media Campaigns• Holiday Greetings

Keep up with Brand MAINTENANCE:

Maintain Your Brand• Create more “stuff” (Marketing Materials)• Use the Brand Identity Guidelines• Educate, direct and monitor outside vendors• Make sure the wheels don’t come off

Which Brings Us To... MORE RESEARCH!

Monitor the Results

Print: Web:• Ad Tracking • Web Site Stats• Direct Mail Tracking • Email Metrics• Trade Show Leads • E-Newsletter Response• Special Event Feedback • Social Media Monitoring

And the circle of your brand’s life continues...

23

41

STRATEGY

EXECUTION

RESEARCH

MAINTENANCE

7 Things You Can Do Today...

To help your company’s brand presence: 1. Start setting goals for your brand — align them with

company objectives. What is it you want to communicate, and to whom? Start defining what brand success looks like.

2. Begin to profile your 3 C’s: Company (stakeholders), Customers (audiences) and Competitors (inside and outside your business category)

3. Start to define your “One Thing” — write down how your company, product or service is Memorable, Authentic and Valuable

4. Outline how you personally reflect or embody your company’s brand.

7 Things You Can Do Today...

5. Review your marketing materials — are messaging and visuals applied consistently throughout?

6. Start to outline the channels through which you should be communicating your brand. Consider your audiences and where they get their information. Print Ads? Direct Mail? Broadcast (TV & Radio)? Web Sites? Email? Social Media? Word of Mouth (Recommendations)?

7. Begin to specify how you would track and measure the success of your brand efforts. How would you gather this information? What metrics would you use to quantify the results?

Questions and Discussion

Thank You!

Bob DiercksmeierRJD Creative602.712.9020

bob@rjdcreative.comwww.rjdcreative.com

Facebook.com/rjdcreativeTwitter.com/rjdcreative