Dale Mahabir Creative Director, Fortune Web Marketing Rebranding Your Business

What is a Brand? A brand is NOT a logo A brand is NOT a tagline A brand is NOT a product/service

What is a Brand? A brand is the promise you’re making to your customers

What is a Brand? A brand is a relationship

What is a Brand?

Close your eyes and think about a McDonald’s restaurant

Four Keys to Building a Successful Brand 1.Authentic 2.Relevant 3.Consistent 4.Commitment

Why are Brands Important? External benefits Builds customer loyalty Increases the value of your company Allows you set higher prices for your products/services Brands build market share Easier to launch new services/products

Why are Brands Important? Internal benefits Lower employee turnover Helps in talent recruitment Creates status and esteem for your company Industry leaders Community leaders The media

The Branding Process (Overview) Step 1: Define the brand Step 2: Position your brand Step 3: Express the brand Step 4: Build brand awareness Step 5: Measure the brand

Step 1: Defining the Brand

Identify the value of the brand If you make a promise someone, it’s because you believe certain things are important Brand values: The key behaviors and virtues that should be expressed all the time These values are the belief system of the brand

Step 1: Defining the Brand Understand the overall marketing strategy for your business What kind of products and services do you offer? What are the key trends and new opportunities? Who are your customers? Who are your competitors? What is your overall Value Proposition in the marketplace?

Step 1: Defining the Brand You MUST have a solid marketing strategy before you build a solid branding strategy

Step 1: Defining the Brand Create brand drivers – more detailed and descriptive aspects of the brand Attributes of the brand itself Functional or emotional benefits that the brand delivers Self expressive benefits (what the customer is saying about themselves when they consume the brand) Make a list of phrases about the brand that stretch the brand’s core purpose Don’t filter Don’t worry about wording

Step 1: Defining the Brand Identify your brand personality AKA brand persona Give the brand a set of humanlike characteristics Your customers will better understand your brand if they can associate it with a human being Brands with a personality stand out more

Step 1: Defining the Brand 5 core dimensions of a brand personality 1.Sincerity 2.Excitement 3.Competence 4.Sophistication 5.Ruggedness

Step 2: Positioning the Brand

Segmentation – identify the specific customers you want your brand to be relevant to Divide the market of customers into similar groupings 1.Demographic segmentation – grouping customers by physical characteristics (age, height, weight, etc.) 2.Geographic segmentation – grouping customers by where they live 3.Behavioral segmentation – activities customers do or how they behave (purchasing behavior, lifestyles) 4.Attitudinal segmentation – grouping customers by how they think

Step 2: Positioning the Brand Value proposition – a claim that a company makes to change a customer’s mind and cause them to do something Buy or try a product Visit a website Pay a certain price A clear statement that explains your edge over the competitor

Step 2: Positioning the Brand Brand positioning = long term, strategic Value proposition = short term, tactical

Step 3: Expressing your Brand Identity

Create your brand name What are you branding? Company, product, service, technology, etc.? Guidelines Reflect the values and purpose of your brand Create association with your brand persona Easy to say Be unique/memorable

Step 3: Expressing your Brand Identity Create the brand’s look and feel

Step 3: Expressing your Brand Identity Object to represent the brand

Step 3: Expressing your Brand Identity Abstract logo

Step 3: Expressing your Brand Identity Wordmark

Step 3: Expressing your Brand Identity Share with a designer Brand values Core promise Brand drivers Persona Brand name

Step 3: Expressing your Brand Identity Logo lockups – different logo variations used for various placements and usage Master logo should always be rendered consistently Color Black and white Small spaces (business card) Large version (truck wraps)

Step 3: Expressing your Brand Identity Decide on a color palette for the brand Assign colors to the logo Identify complementary colors Advertising Packaging

Step 3: Expressing your Brand Identity Choose your typography (font) Distinctive fonts can help strengthen the identity of a brand Choose standard typographic treatments Identify how to handle special cases Headlines URL addresses Body copy Links on a website

Step 3: Expressing your Brand Identity Determine imagery usage All photos used with the logo should have a consistent look and feel Determine when and how certain types of images will be used Photography Illustrations Black & white vs. Color

Step 3: Expressing your Brand Identity

Define a consistent tone for the way you say things A brand voice Headlines in a print ad Tone of a press release Outline specific language and words that can be used Formal Conversational Depends on your brand’s persona

Step 3: Expressing your Brand Identity Create brand-promise touchpoints Customer experience – When a customer buys your products and services, they go through a distinct set of steps AKA brand experience Each step is called a touch point Reinforce the brand promise at each touch point

Step 3: Expressing your Brand Identity Define your touch-points for the typical customer 1.Need recognition – when the customer first realizes they want something 2.Information search – where they gather information from a wide variety of sources This is when a customer is MOST receptive to your brand message! 3.Evaluation of alternatives (which features are most important, which brand does the best job) 4.Purchase

Step 3: Expressing your Brand Identity Post-purchase behavior phase Once a customer’s purchased products or services from you, they compare the results with their expectations Did everything work as expected? How did they feel when engaging with the product/service? What do they say to others?

Step 4: Communicating the Brand Internally

You make the promise, but who’s in charge of keeping it? If your employees don’t understand the brand, they’re going to struggle to keep the brand promise Employees have to believe the brand Live the brand every time they connect with a customer

Step 4: Communicating the Brand Internally Part 1: Train your team Match the training to your team Different programs for different roles CSRs vs. Executives ALL employees should be trained, new and old

Step 4: Communicating the Brand Internally What you should train on The brand promise How the promise connects to company’s values The drivers customers should experience The brand ID The name The persona How they should think, feel, and act when engaging with customers

Step 4: Communicating the Brand Internally Part 2: Reinforce the brand Keeps the brand closely tied to the culture of the company Make sure brand ID is visible throughout your company Appoint a brand champion or a brand ambassador Influential company employees that represent what the brand stands for Consider your brand when making hiring decisions

Step 4: Communicating the Brand Internally The best way to deliver on the brand internally is to deliver on the promise externally

Step 4: Communicating the Brand Internally Develop a Brand Book – the complete story of your brand and all the elements that go into it Lists strict guidelines for your brand and how its assets will be managed How the logo is used The look of your website How social media is used Advertising Design

Step 4: Communicating the Brand Internally Include the following in your brand book: Overview of brand values, core promise, drivers, and persona Logo specifications and examples Logo lockups Color palette Font styles Typography Image and photo guidelines Writing style Tone of voice

Step 4: Communicating the Brand Internally Serves as a reference document to help employees and marketing agencies execute the brand properly Needs visual and written examples Going one step further: A good brand book will help you train your team

Step 4: Communicating the Brand Internally Brand book as a training resource Historical stories Customer stories Brand goals Inspire your employees to live the brand

Step 4: Communicating the Brand Internally

Step 5: Communicating the Brand Externally

Your products/service needs to live up to your brand promise There may be gaps between your promise and what you deliver

Step 5: Communicating the Brand Externally Identify your external channels What channels are most consistent with the essence of your brand?

Step 5: Communicating the Brand Externally Who, what, why, where, and how Why do you want to communicate? Service/product awareness Overall position Your promise Who is your target audience? Segmentation approaches What are you communicating? Refer to list of brand drivers Where are you reaching your audience? Home, workplace, leisure time, online How are you communicating?

Step 5: Communicating the Brand Externally Expressing your brand in a digital space Facebook Twitter Instagram Websites

Step 5: Communicating the Brand Externally Using digital channels 1.Ensure consistent look and feel 2.Use the same voice on all digital channels 3.Define who can post (and who can’t) 4.Specify the role of each site

The Branding Process (Recap) Step 1: Define the brand Clearly define what the promise is What are the core values behind it? Values are the “DNA” of your brand Define your brand drivers (later)

The Branding Process (Recap) Step 2: Position Your Brand Shaping how customers think about the brand Who are your customers? What benefits are they seeking from your products and services? What do they believe about those products/services vs. the competition?

The Branding Process (Recap) Step 3: Express the Brand Imagine your brand as a person Name Personality Identity (what do they look like?)

The Branding Process (Recap) Step 4: Build Brand Awareness Communicating internally as well as to the market Employees play a critical role in delivering the promise To keep a brand strong, you must communicate continuously and consistently

The Branding Process (Recap) Step 5: Measure the Brand Brand equity What you accrue when you develop and deliver a promise Is the brand living up to the promise and is it meeting your expectations?

Thank You! Dale Mahabir Creative Director, Fortune Web Marketing