Brand Development as People

Posted on February 16th, 2011 at 3:22 pm in Blog, Blue Ocean Ideas by brody

You’ll hear us say it incessantly: a brand is a promise.

Brands are directly tied to customer experience. But what fashions your customers’ experience?

People.

It all comes down to people. It’s the sales people, the cash register people, and the call center people. But it’s also the R&D people, the finance people, the marketing people, the leadership people, and the janitor people. Everyone is always doing something that creates the customer experience.

Brands are slaves to the quality of their staff. The single best thing a brand can do is hire great people.

Speaking of great people, we are absolutely stoked to announce that Anna Grace Abell has joined the Blue Ocean Ideas team. Anna Grace is a born designer. But her greatest asset is her commitment to the success of our clients and her commitment to the overall mission of what we’re trying to achieve at Blue Ocean Ideas.

If you’d like, you can send Anna Grace a welcome note at annagrace@blueoceanideas.net. You can also find out more about Anna Grace at www.blueoceanideas.net/annagraceabell.

Brody

P.S. Last night, Greg and I spoke at a networking event for Princeton alums. We were talking about what happened culturally and technologically to bring this whole social media thing to the forefront of our society. Just wanted to let you know that we give some great talks of varying lengths on a variety of topics (social media, brand development theory, marketing strategy, mobile devices, and some other more technical things). If you ever need a speaker for your event, give us a call and we can talk through how to best serve your guests.

Brand Development as Story Telling

Posted on February 1st, 2011 at 5:10 pm in Blog, Suggested, The Weekly Idea, brand development, story by brody

Stories follow a pattern of four elements: the way things ought to be, the way things are, the way things can be, and the way things will be.

Brand development (the high goal of marketing and advertising efforts) has everything to do with this four-chapter ought-is-can-will story-telling code:

• Ought: “You should enjoy flying.”
• Is: “However, airlines make it painful to fly.”
• Can: “Then My Great Organization showed up. People who fly with us experience a better reality.”
• Will: “And one day, flying will be enjoyable for everyone. We work everyday to improve your experience.”

You may fly on different airlines. But my guess is that you have some sort of brand affinity with only one.

Think about your favorite brands. You can probably tell their story in this same way.

Think about what you do. Are you telling your story in this way?

Communicating chapters 1-3 (ought, is, can) can be pretty easy. Identify a problem and a solution. Sure, there’s art and intuition involved in telling those parts of the story well, but it’s pretty straightforward.

The magic in brand development only comes if you write chapter four, “The Way Things Will Be.” If people connect with your chapter four, they will truly believe in you and what you are doing, and they will wave your flag for you. They make emotional investments in who you are such that your success becomes their success.

What great hope are you bringing to your world or your industry? Chapter four is about strategically and creatively allowing people to believe in that hope.

A brand is a promise. If you want to have a brand you have to tell a story.

Brody

P.S. Want to try your hand at writing short four-chapter stories about a brand/organization you love? Leave a comment below.

Weekly Idea: All Marketing Is Brand Building

Posted on August 3rd, 2010 at 2:38 pm in Blog, Suggested, The Weekly Idea, brand development, ideas, thought provoking by brody

This quote drives what Blue Ocean Ideas does for clients:

“The art of marketing is largely brand building. If not a brand, it will be viewed as a commodity.” – Philip Kotler, Kellogg Graduate School of Management

We counsel clients to not spend another dollar on advertising or marketing until that money becomes an investment that builds their brand. Everything you do matters when you are building your brand.

Brand development means telling the truth about who you are, faster. It’s about telling your story and making a promise, and then living it out.

Story. How are you saving the world (or your customer’s world, at least)? What do you do better than everyone else?

Promise. What do you deliver on over and over again? What is your customers’ unique experience?

Your brand is communicated in all sorts of ways: logos and identity packages, events, advertising, websites, email, etc. The most significant way your brand is communicated is through the direct interaction between your customer and your staff. Can your staff tell your story?

Do you have a story to tell?

Brody

P.S. The holy grail of advertising is word-of-mouth. When your story is told well, other people will start telling it too.

The principle of “shareableness” is the core of social media marketing. This Friday, we will show you the meaning behind Web 2.0, social media, mobile devices, in-bound marketing. Once you have the vocabulary down, you’ll be able to strategize about how social media is relevant to your brand. Join us for Social Media 101 & 102.

The Idea: Do Not Live Like It’s Your Last Day

Posted on December 23rd, 2009 at 1:28 pm in Blog, brand development, ideas, must read by brody

So, we’re in the season of stale platitudes, cliché religious advice, crassly commercialized quips, and bad photography. How are your holiday cards and public service announcements looking?

There’s an oft-quoted piece of advice that sometimes rubs me the wrong way: “Live everyday as though it were your last.”

To me, that can be short-sighted, selfish, hedonistic, uncharitable, rude, or opportunistic. There are certainly times when we shouldn’t throw it to the wind. We should often take care to live today like there is a tomorrow – so that tomorrow is all it can be.

The implications for your organization and it’s brand development are strong. Simply, a business cannot think only of the present if they are interested in building a brand. A brand says, “we’re here, today, tomorrow, or whenever you need us, ready to serve you and meet your needs.” A brand’s marketing and advertising needs to communicate that.

The opposite of a brand is a commodity that screams, “Sale! Today only! Call us now! We are awesome! Your opportunity (and our success) lives or dies right now!” Those businesses take advantage of their customers.

And they don’t build trust. Hurried messages can’t make the type of promises that you can deliver on over and over again. A brand is a promise. And, without a concerted effort to build a brand, it becomes difficult for people to become advocates and fans of who you are.

All of this is directly tied to the religious significance of this season:

Hanukkah is a holiday that celebrates longevity. Consecrated oil that was thought to only be able to burn for one day miraculously burned for eight days.

Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, whose very coming was predicated on God’s desire to redeem the world so that people could live forever with Him.

Right on the cusp of every new year we are reminded of what endures. Does your organization – does your brand – follow the theme of that song?

Joy to the world,

brody

The Idea: Your Promise

Posted on March 11th, 2009 at 10:00 am in Blog, brand development, ideas, social media by brody

Your Brand is a Promise
So, how do you get into the tiny decision-making window of your customer or member? Your brand has to “Starbucks” them. When you say “Choose me,” you are making a promise to your audience that you won’t let them down.

As customers/deciders, we need brands to help us make our decisions. We buy based on our emotional attachment to a brand.

Quick Thoughts
Ideas about branding are vast, but take these to the bank. Your brand is:

• greater than the sum of its parts: Every aspect of your organization is your brand. Your brand is not just your colors and logo. These merely serve as visual cues to help customers remember your true brand and differentiate you. Instead, the way your employees act, the way you answer your phones, the cleanliness of your restrooms, your perceived value – that’s your promise, your brand.

• personal: In addition to “buying billboards”, brands are now having conversations. Technology and social media are opening the doors here. More than ever, brands have personalities like people, and we are asking, “Is he reliable? Is he authentic?”

• foundational: Your brand drives everything you do as an organization, internally and externally. It informs hiring, pricing, decor, and management. And it is certainly the base for all communication, PR, and marketing.

• a promise.

Before you spend another day and another dime on “marketing” yourself, take a look at your brand. Wordswell can help if you need it.

Don’t be a commodity,
Brody

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