1. Marketing Communications Essentials: Building a Brand November 17, 2010

2. Agenda What creates a powerful brand? Where do you begin? The process
Break
Bringing your brand to life
Discussion

4. Why are these brands powerful?
They differentiate
They have a story to tell
They drive the culture of the company
They drive product design and service
They were designed and are maintained with discipline
Because of all these things
They have enduring value

6. Life is Cluttered Product: too many products and services overall
Feature: too many features on each product
Advertising: too many messages (3000 a day)
Message: too many elements per message
Media: too many competing channels
Zag by Marty Neumeier

7. How do you succeed? Follow a consistent process To engage audiences
Connect
Tell your story

8. Key Steps Define your targets. Prioritize. Understand.
Write your Brand Story.
Generate Ideas.
Build your first test.
Measure.
Refine and launch.
Keep learning.

9. 1. Audiences
Who do you need to reach?
Prioritize.

10. 2. Understand. What you believe may not be what your target perceives.
“Wow. Those match my dress and are HOT”.
“Great construction, good price.”

11. 2. Understand Gather information.
Ask company leadership about the origins of the organization
Talk to current customers
Listen to the sales staff
Conduct formal research

12. 3. Write your Brand Story
Promise. What do you offer and why should I care?
Feel. What is the experience of your brand?
Voice. Are you funny? Serious? Calm?
Space. What media best support your promise?

13. You will have fun shopping and we will exceed your expectations…
Zappos Promise
You will have fun shopping and
we will exceed your expectations…

14. Zappos Promise You will have fun shopping and
we will exceed your expectations…

18. Simplicity and Freedom
Brand Promise
“The People’s Car”
Simplicity and Freedom

22. 4. Generate Ideas
Bring different disciplines together, early and often
Involve people of different ages
Share learning and new understanding
Sort ideas based on some standard:
Mission
Brand
Value Proposition

23. 5. Build Your First Test
Create a “test” scenario you can run and measure
Marketing tools tracked to URLs and other activity
Set measurement tools and goals
Click-throughs
Visits to website
Attendance to a seminar
Sales leads
Opt in
Traditional research measurements

24. 6. Measure
What worked?

25. 7. Refine and Launch
Once you have tested a possible program, eliminate as necessary and refine
Messages
Tools
Launch a full program with confidence
Be ready for more refinement

26. 8. Keep Learning The market changes rapidly
New competitors
New products
New media
Be ready to adapt your program
Be ready to try new ideas and media

27. Break.

28. Bring your Brand to Life
Begin inside the company (internally)
Communicate the brand story to employees
Use it in recruitment materials
In evaluation and reward programs
Support through intranet/newsletters, and other internal communication forums
Give employees a place to interact with and share brand “moments” or thoughts

30. Use every touch point
Then bring your brand to the consumer (externally)
Letterhead, business cards and business materials
Signage
ID badges
Logos on vehicles/fleet
Website
Talking points for speeches
Press release boiler plate

31. Pick a few things and do them well.
Where can you most efficiently reach your targets?
What can you do to stand out?
Be memorable

33. Measuring Means Money
Tracking the success of programs…gives you the right foundation for keeping and growing your budget.

35. Discussion