Branding Q&A
Our guide to help you navigate Brand Strategy
Our guide to help you navigate Brand Strategy
1
A brand is simply a person’s perception of a product, service, or organization.
2
Brand strategy is a disciplined approach to the methodical development of a brand. In order to support business objectives, inform marketing strategy, and leverage customer insights.
3
A strong brand strategy accelerates marketplace performance and increases business profitability, because it designs a systematic approach to managing the brand. How? In addition to supporting business objectives, it guides decision making, aligns organizational energy, attracts right-fit talent, defines target markets, informs marketing and communications strategy, clarifies competitive positioning, directs messaging narratives, shapes customer experience, inspires customer behavior, informs brand identity, and supports premium price points — all while working to enhance brand relevance and generate business value.
4
A strong brand strategy includes the following elements: audience persona, competitor profile, differentiation emphasis, purchase drivers [emotional and rational], key messages, brand promise, voice tone, brand identity, and customer experience.
5
Brand strategy flows directly from the organization’s business strategy, specifically its deep purpose [why you exist]; its core values [what you believe and how you behave]; and its bold vision [where you want to go in the future].
6
Internal branding shapes employee perceptions and experience; while external branding influences marketplace perceptions and experience. Perhaps the most important audience for any brand is its own internal team. A brand and its strategy are more likely to succeed and endure if employees are considered first, so they can be informed and inspired brand ambassadors for other relevant constituencies.
7
Measuring brand equity proves to be a somewhat challenging exercise, because of the myriad approaches. Two popular methods of measuring brand equity include weighing the economic value of a brand and the experiential value of a brand. Economic value considers information such as revenue growth and price premiums. Experiential value considers attributes such as brand awareness and brand preference. The total value of financial and strategic brand assets indicates the overall market strength of a brand, and its ability to successfully endure.
8
Competitive positioning sits at the core of branding and brand strategy. Positioning is the process of differentiating a brand in the customer’s mind. The point is to achieve a strategic advantage over the competition — an advantage that proves relevant to the customer — in order to drive brand preference and loyalty.
9
A brand attribute is a particular characteristic of a brand, such as distinction, relevance, consistency, or credibility, among others.
10
Critical audiences for brand building include your internal team of employees; your external prospects and customers; your marketplace influencers [investors, suppliers, competitors]; and your local, regional or global communities and government entities.
11
A brand audit is a formal assessment of a brand’s strengths and weaknesses across all touchpoints throughout the customer journey. Simply stated, it’s an evaluation of the customer experience. More broadly, it also examines the internal brand culture and the external brand expression. A communications audit, however, is a formal analysis of an organization’s internal and external communications programs, campaigns, and content to assess consistency and effectiveness.
12
A brand experience encompasses all the interactions an audience has with a particular brand. These interactions are often referred to as all the touchpoints along the customer journey.
13
A house of brands is a company in which the dominant brand names are those of their products and services; [e.g. Dove from Unilever or Tide from Procter & Gamble], whereas a branded house is a company whose master brand is the dominant brand [e.g. Nike or Disney].
14
A brand promise is an explicit or implicit pledge that informs employee accountability for delivering customer value and that also forms customer expectation regarding the value received.
15
The key elements of a brand identity include a logo [wordmark with or without an associated symbol]; type fonts; color palette; and any visual assets such as images or graphics.
16
A brand steward is a person responsible for developing and safeguarding a brand, while a brand advocate or ambassador is someone taking responsibility for promoting a brand.
17
The strongest brand names are ownable trademarks. And the strongest trademarks are coined words [neologisms] not found in the dictionary [e.g. Venmo or Netflix]. The weakest brand names are simply descriptive [e.g. Tire Store or Family Dentistry]. Suggestive brand names [e.g. Nike or Tesla] and arbitrary brand names [e.g. Amazon or Virgin] fall in the middle of the trademark strength scale.
18
Brand story matters because we’re all emotional beings. We learn and connect through the primal tradition of storytelling; it’s how we’ve been wired for millennia. People make decisions first in the limbic brain system where emotions lead, then rationalize those decisions in the cerebral cortex with any supporting facts and evidence. When strong brands express compelling narratives, they positively influence audience perceptions of a brand. These brand stories create meaning, inspire purchase, and drive loyalty.
19
A brand valuation is the financial worth of a brand. It’s calculated in several different ways including cost-based valuations, which consider the costs associated with building the brand over time; market-based valuations, which identify the amount for which a comparable brand can be sold; and income-based valuations, which assess income, cash flow, and cost savings based on a brand’s reputation.
20
A brand achieves marketplace relevance first and foremost, by knowing the customer and what customer problem(s) the brand intends to solve. Strong brands then consistently solve those problems, thereby delivering value to that customer and staying relevant to that customer over time. Achieving brand relevance is an evolutionary dynamic, constantly changing to meet and exceed customer expectations.
21
A master or parent brand is the dominant brand in a hierarchy, under which subbrands or secondary brands exist [e.g. Vyway® is a master brand; Vision Vantage Voice™ is a subbrand].
22
A brand tagline is a short promotional phrase designed to summarize your brand’s market position and to inspire or inform your target market [e.g. Your Path to Accelerated Brand Performance]. A descriptor line is typically a short phrase used to describe a product or service offering, [e.g. Market & Brand Strategy]. A descriptor line is helpful especially when working with a coined brand name since the audience likely would not discern this information from the trademark name alone [e.g. Vyway® Market & Brand Strategy].
23
Brand strategy for business-to-business and business-to-consumer offerings incorporates all the same fundamental elements and follows the same fundamental principles. However, B2B positioning and messaging typically leverages a more rational approach, while B2C positioning and messaging may lean on a more emotional appeal. That said, B2B brand strategists would be wise to consider the emotional nature of decision making and adjust their approach accordingly. Also, a B2B purchase is often based on need, while a B2C purchase may be either need based or want based. The goal in each case is to represent and reinforce the value to the customer, which helps build and maintain that customer relationship.
24
Branding and marketing are two distinct concepts that are interrelated. Branding shapes the expression of your presence in the marketplace, which serves to influence customer perceptions; while marketing promotes your product, service, or company, which serves to drive customer purchase.
25
Market research serves to inform decision making in the development of an effective brand strategy, by providing critical information regarding the business landscape and the customer mindset. The role of qualitative market research is to provide customer insights through activities such as one-on-one interviews or focus groups. The role of quantitative market research is to provide empirical data through initiatives such as surveys or studies.
Did we miss anything?
Please reach out and let us know what branding questions you have.
We’re eager to help.
Did we miss anything?
Please reach out and let us know what branding questions you have.
We’re eager to help.