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PRODUCT BRANDINGPresent An

Image Travel

Health

Insurance

Association

of Canada

Conference 2007

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PRODUCT BRANDING

Present An Image

Dawn RobertsonStrategic Change Resources

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What’s a brand?

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What’s a brand?

Roget's New Millennium Thesaurus:Brand—noun 1:

definition -- kind Synonyms: cast,

character, class, description, grade, make quality, sort, species, type, variety

Brand—noun 2: definition -- label

Synonyms: brand name, emblem, hallmark, heraldry, imprint, logotype, mark, marker, name, sign, stamp, symbol

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What’s a brand?

“A collection of perceptions in the mind of

the consumer and all other stakeholders.

If properly managed these perceptions

secure long-term revenue for the business

and create lasting value.”Colin Bates

Founder, Building Brands, Ltd.

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Key Tips for Developing Brands Identify your organization’s expertise,

because it determines the focus of the brand

Build the brand from the outside in—start with the customer

Understand the vital stakeholders of your brand

Keep the future in mind

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Why should we care about brands? For purchasers and brand owners, brands

can simplify and differentiate the product or service

Brands are powerful sources of added value to consumers who embrace a particular and appealing set of values and attributes—both tangible and intangible

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Why should we care about brands?

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1950s 1970s 1990s 2010s

brandother intangiblestangibles

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Brand Value for the Consumer

Brand value delivered by the company

Results in changes in customer behavior

Which secures long term revenues and opportunities for growth

And therefore creates business value

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How do brands work?

Creating an emotional response Dividing people into “for me” or not Reassuring Tapping into values Confirming beliefs Bypassing rational scrutiny Raising the bar for competitors Operating differently across the purchase

cycle

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8 Characteristics of Great Brands1. A great brand is in it for the long haul

2. A great brand can be anything

3. A great brand knows itself

4. A great brand invents or reinvents an entire category

5. A great brand taps into emotions

6. A great brand’s story is never completely told

7. A great brand has design consistency

8. A great brand is relevant

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Differentiation--Products and ServicesGoods

Easy to evaluate

Services

Hard to evaluate

china restaurant meal tech repairs

chair lawn fertilizer legal services

car haircut INSURANCE

HIGH IN SEARCH QUALITIES

HIGH IN EXPERIENCE QUALITIES

HIGH IN CREDENCE QUALITIES

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Differentiation--Functional and Emotional

marketing hype brand

commodity superior product

Emotionally undifferentiated

Emotionally differentiated

Functionally undifferentiated

Functionally differentiated

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Components of Brand Identity

Positioning

Presentation

Personality

RelationshipsStaff to stakeholders

Brand vision

& culture

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Brand Detractors

An inconsistent approach to: Design, i.e., logo, website, signage,

premises, stationery or product packaging Communications inside and outside Employee hiring and training Systems and processes Promises and commitments

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Linking Brands and Customers Focus on what your business/organization

achieves for its customers—it has NO value if it doesn’t deliver what customers want and expect

Involve employees—make sure that they understand your brand AND believe in it

Identify “customer points of contact” AND make sure that what customers experience is what you want your brand to stand for

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Linking Brands and Customers Create feedback mechanisms AND use

these to analyze and measure the success of your brand’s value proposition

Design and implement a feedback plan for your customers AND employees

Meet and exceed your brand promises

Manage your brand

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Steps for Building a Brand

1. Organize for success

2. Discovering your current brand

3. Defining your desired brand

4. Delivering on the branded experience

5. Keeping on track over time

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Branding’s Forgotten Element LEADERSHIP

“It is our belief that a firm’s brand is sustained and enhanced by leadership, and without that leadership the brand is in danger.”

Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood

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Leadership Responsibility for the BrandLeaders make a difference to brand health by:

Providing focus Assessing needs Directing resources Setting targets Supporting changes

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Leadership Responsibility for the Brand

--Where to start? Assemble a wellness team to take the

brand’s temperature— What do we stand for? How are we doing? Are we adding the value that our customers

expect? Prescribe a brand fitness campaign Determine core exercises and training needs Schedule regular checkups

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Leadership Responsibility for the Brand

--Providing Focus1. List all your brand’s points of contact – look

everywhere—enlist as many functions, groups, teams as possible—get people talking about YOUR brand

2. Prioritize, by importance to building the brand – determine which are MOST important to building the brand—get consensus

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Leadership Responsibility for the Brand --Providing Focus3. Test -- look at those same points of contact

as in #1 and prioritize by current effort you and your organization spend on each

4. Refocus priorities – these four steps allow you to check your brand management priorities—and where your time, energy and resources are be spent

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Leadership Responsibility for the Brand --Involving the OrganizationStart with the people who have immediate contact with

customers Ensure that they are clear about what’s expected of

them to support and enhance brand building--be specific

Build feedback loops for each employee so that he/she can know what’s working and what is not--to reinforce or make corrections

Establish forums where people can discuss brand building best practices

Create a brand building award program

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Presenting your BRAND IMAGE requires that you

consider more than the slickest brochures, websites

and logos—a Brand’s Image starts and ends with a

customer’s perception and understanding of your

value proposition. Your leadership focus

determines whether your brand grows and thrives,

languishes or dies.

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THANK YOU!!!!!

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Q & A

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