Thursday, June 11, 2015

Today's Top-of-Mind Thoughts on Branding



Here are my top-of-mind thoughts on branding today:

  • A brand is the personification of an organization and its products and services.
  • You should determine your brand's archetype, attitudes, values and personality.
  • Ideally, your brand should stand for something admirable to its target customers.
  • Distinctiveness is an important attribute of a strong brand.
  • Your brand's identity system needs to be robust but flexible enough to work in every environment and application.
  • You must present your brand's identity consistently across applications and over time.
  • You must remain consistent in your brand's core messages.
  • Brands need to evoke emotions and create experiences.
  • You need to develop a compelling brand story.
  • It is useful to create and use a carefully crafted brand elevator speech.
  • When in doubt, fewer brands are always better than more brands.
  • Keep your brand's messaging simple and easy to understand.
  • Build as many proof points as possible in support of your brand's promise.
  • Know who your brand's target customer is. 
  • Develop deep insight into what motivates that person.
  • If you are able, develop your brand into a source of self-expression (brand as a badge).
  • Realize that brands are assets that must be managed.
  • You can't manage your brand if you don't routinely measure the elements of its equity.
  • Don't stop innovating.
  • Quality and service are always important.

Brand Aid, second edition is available here.

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