How Brands Can Bring their Values to Life Every Day
"Branding is knowing what you stand for and bringing it to life."
The originator of this quote is unknown, but it could easily be attributed to anyone who has built, worked with or successfully developed a brand.
It takes the brand beyond tangible aspects like your name and logo and elevates your brand into something that is lived by employees, brand ambassadors and proper execution of your brand’s character. Brands today are increasingly influenced more to ensure that each and every aspect of their brand – from their logo and name to their employees and customer touch points – fit within a well-defined ethos, putting more value on these brand values and increasing their influence on the brand’s development and post-launch actions.
But how can brands ensure that they have the necessary ingredients to bring their values to life every day?
Make it your top priority and look to what will be
It’s OK if you don’t know right away what you stand for when it comes to the brand. But if you don’t, finding out is your first priority. Avoid being shortsighted, looking at what you think you brand stands for right now.
You’ll soon see that with almost every aspect of the brand, this will evolve throughout the development process. Instead, look to how you want your brand to connect and speak to your audience. Ask yourself what characteristics you’d want to see in a brand that you connect with, and look to how those brands fit with your long-term brand visions.
Build values with a foundation of persona
What you stand for, how you act, what is important to you – these are all personal characteristics that, when developed into a brand strategy and development, will serve as the foundation for your brand’s values.
These elements can work together because they all serve a similar purpose, as puzzle pieces in the overall picture of either a person, or in this case, a brand. Therefore, when creating the value base to which you will build your brand, look at what will be the defining characteristics of your brand’s persona. Then, take what rises to the top and put it into a brand development strategy. These are what you stand for and will be brought to life in your brand.
Provide your people with the values early and often
Your employees are the most important carriers of your brand values – they are the ones in the public eye the most and the ones who have the power to strengthen or bring down your brand’s public view.
Therefore, the brand value proposition and training should begin as early as possible in their time connected to the brand. Onboarding, early training the hiring process – however you can plant the brand value seed right at the beginning. This will not only allow these characteristics to be ingrained and have the most time to grow, but it will also show up front how important this aspect of the brand is.
Brains Behind the Brands with Brittany Scott, Creative Director
We’re excited to introduce a new Brand Salsa series, “Brains Behind the Brands,” In each edition of the series, we will be shining the spotlight on one of our brand experts and getting their thoughts on a range of topics, from new trends in the branding industry to advice they’d give someone working on building their brand.
Our first expert is Brittany Scott, Addison Whitney’s Creative Director. Brittany has extensive experience creating brands, specifically on the verbal branding side of the process. Below, we get a look inside the brain behind the brands:
When thinking of creative cues for a new name, where should organizations or products go for inspiration?
Companies tend to be laser focused only on their products and their competitors. While it is valuable to know your audience, one of the most inspiring exercises can be looking outside of your industry and observing what other brands are doing.
For example, if you are naming a sports car, don’t just focus on what’s happening within automotive naming, but expand out to other industries that may have similar audiences. For a sports car, you may find parallels in extreme sports, energy drinks, or luxury accessories. Use these observations to broaden your thinking and explore new ideas.
How can brands ensure that their corporate identity name will be built to last?
Changing a corporate identity can be a lengthy and costly process. To make your brand last as long as possible (and maintain all that equity you will soon build!), be sure your name is flexible enough to adapt to future growth. Starting a company with a name that is too limiting (ex: too descriptive of one product or service) may set you up for a name change in one, five or 10 years when you’ve expanded your offerings beyond this initial description.
This is why many companies use aspirational concepts instead of descriptive or functional ones. They try to convey the benefits they will deliver to their customers in the future. By envisioning results rather than products, you can create a name that extends and grows with your business.
Can you describe the feeling of seeing a name you created hit the market?
It’s always fun to see a product that we’ve named hit the shelves. Some products are easy to see and buy (for example, consumer goods like soft drinks or snacks). Others are harder to track down (like pharmaceuticals or technology offerings) but still equally exciting for my team when they launch.
At Addison Whitney, we have a whole display at the office of products we’ve named (the smaller ones - unfortunately we can’t fit cars and appliances in there!).
What do you see as the “next big thing” in naming – either in the pharmaceutical industry or consumer market?
The biggest trend in pharmaceutical naming right now is simplicity. Physicians and consumers are overwhelmed with complex names with too many weird letter combinations. Even brands designed as “empty vessels” (names not built around a real word or concept) are becoming increasingly easier to say and spell. While the pharmaceutical market is still very crowded and we have to use caution to ensure safe prescribing, we hope to continue to work towards simpler, more sophisticated names that appeal to all target audiences.
For consumer products, I am loving the trend towards what I’ll call “clever functional.” Similar to pharmaceuticals, consumers want simple, telegraphic names that are easy to remember. But consumers also aren’t stupid. So savvy companies are creating descriptive names with a twist. One of my favorite new product names is “Innovasian Cuisine.” It’s easy to understand and broad enough to encompass a growing product line. It makes me smile and is fun to say. I am also a fan of the brand name “Seeds of Change.” There are so many layers of meaning to this one, it really piques my interest and I think it appeals to consumers on an intellectual as well as emotional level. And let’s not forget about “Sweetos,” the new cinnamon sugar version of Cheetos. How perfect is this name?!? It’s an obvious extension of the Cheetos brand, but with a clever twist that functionally aligns to the product.
How important is it to take URL availability into account when creating a name?
Everyone wants to own the .com for their business. And for the right amount of money, many URLs are available for purchase. However, with the increasing ease of search and the increasing impatience of users, less and less people are typing in “www.YourName.com” to go to your site. Most are using a search feature to find information, so I think it’s better to focus your efforts on SEO (search engine optimization) than worry about your URL.
Don’t let URL availability deter you! If a single word URL is not available, adding a descriptive word or phrase is perfectly acceptable (Premier Hospital Solutions could be www.premierhospitalsolutions.com instead of just www.premier.com). And if you are naming a product or service, consider whether it even makes sense for it to have a standalone URL. Many products can nest under the master brand’s website, making it faster and easier for users to find them.
What to learn more about how you can build your brand? Let's talk.
Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks – Why Branding Isn’t Just for New Businesses
When starting a new company, building your brand should be at the top of your to-do list. Having a strong brand in your arsenal is crucial to starting at the bottom and moving up the ladder. These new organizations seemingly live at the forefront of the brand development landscape, driving new best practices and rolling out new techniques all the time.
But just because you’re an older organization that came to fruition before strategic brand building was commonplace doesn’t mean you’ve missed the boat. If your brand needs a refresh or a restart, don’t feel as if the latest and greatest branding techniques are only left to the upstarts and newcomers.
There’s no better time than the present to begin engage the appropriate parties and begin the process to bring your brand up to speed with your competition and maximize its ability to drive success.
Without going into too much detail on the brand development process, let’s explore three reasons why branding is important for the established organizations in the business world.
Brand? What’s a brand?
The first reason is that you may not actually have a “brand” in position for your organization. There are a number of reasons why this may be the case, but it’s quite possible your organization has been riding on the success of a particular product or two, making the strength of your organizational brand minimal.
But just because you’ve had success before doesn’t mean you can’t set yourself up for even more success in the future. Diving into building a strategic brand will almost assuredly answer questions you never even thought to ask and take your organizations you never thought you could go. It could be as simple as creating a visual brand that drives a new website design or, for the first time, defining who your target audience is and identifying how to best position your brand for them. No matter what, taking that leap will open new doors for your organization and give you a part of it that will work for you.
No matter when you started the game, everyone is still playing on the same field.
Having an established history and a long list of accomplishments are two things that every business would love to have. But in the day-to-day reality of the marketplace, the memory of today’s consumers can be short, often negating much of the historical advantage of an older brand. What matters is more of right in front of them in that moment – when brands are judged by “what have you done for me lately” and “what do I think of you right now.”
This “right now” mentality puts a heavy emphasis on ensuring that your brand, no matter its age, speaks to consumers as you’d like it to, getting your key differentiation messaging across right away. From names that make sense and connected directly to what your organization offers to logos and visual branding aspects that are aesthetically pleasing and in line with current trends, your brand needs to bring itself up-to-date.
What made sense before may not make sense today.
One of the biggest reasons why organizations are in need of an updated brand is that they’ve simply outgrown the old one, if they even had a “brand” to begin with. When your organization began, maybe you offered two main products, which dominated everything about who you were – your name only spoke to those two, your logo featured them both prominently, your target audience was the market for those two – but now, you’re leaving a lot on the table.
The best brand refreshes and rebrands are able to toe the line between old and new, artfully connecting what made the brand great before with what makes it great today. This is especially true for organizations whose newer offerings are now the star – when they weren’t acknowledged in the brand elements, too much weight was put on them succeeding on their own. They were lone wolves out on the market – quite possibly, the majority of their audience had no idea there was a connection between that product and your brand. So bring them in from the cold and let them bask in the warmth of the overall brand’s strength.
Has your company recently experienced change or growth? Due to changes in business strategies, acquisitions, internal organizational changes or the addition of new products to a portfolio, your brand strategy may need to evolve over time. Click here to download your free copy of “Your Brand’s Guide to Corporate Change” today, and learn how to align your brand and business strategy for success!
How We Answer the Question: "Why Branding?"
I was recently looking through AddisonWhitney.com, and when one of the sliding boxes popped up, what it included caught my eye, talking about who Addison Whitney is and what we do:
“…Helping companies envision their futures – through design, naming, research & brand strategy.”
This phrase stood out to me – and not just because it came from the AW site. The concept of a brand helping to shape a company’s future, along with its ability to put into motion the future they envision, shows the true impact of branding and brand development and drives the case to developing a strong brand.
It’s a question we hear all of the time – “why do I need to create a brand? Why branding?”
To me, the best way to answer this question is with a new question “What is branding?”
Branding is... a researched, thought-out, creative name, one that encapsulates the essence of the brand in verbal form. It’s a name that speaks to the consumer and lets them into what the brand is about while also finding a place in their memory and in their willingness to speak it to others.
Branding is... a logo that jumps out from the competition, and is created with the due diligence required to work on whatever platform it sits. It’s a color palette that keeps your visual brand interesting while also keeping it consistent, building brand equity as consumers walk by and drawing them in with its aesthetically pleasing look.
Branding is... the research behind the decisions made throughout the process. Nothing great is created in a vacuum, and that includes brands. It’s speaking to your target audience to discover that a name candidate you thought would be a home run actually needs some refinement before it can reach its true potential, and finding out what the consumer wants your brand voice to say in order to make the emotional connection necessary to build brand ambassadors.
Branding is... the strategy decisions that drive these elements, creating the road map that will get the brand from nothing to something great. It’s the identification of the target audience, the analysis of the competitive landscape, the positioning and architecture of the brand name and any upcoming brand additions, the brand guidelines that are built to ensure that every usage and interaction of your brand is consistent and powerful.
These reasons, these aspects of branding are why its strong development is so important. Creating and growing any business is a process that can take large amounts of time and energy to achieve – that’s a given. So why not spend some of that time and energy to create something that will work for you even after it is launched?
So go ahead, envision your future. Envision the future you want your company to have – where you want it go and the success you want it to achieve. Then look at it through the lens of what a strong brand can provide. If you do this, then “why branding?” becomes an easy question to answer.
Has your company recently experienced change or growth? Due to changes in business strategies, acquisitions, internal organizational changes or the addition of new products to a portfolio, your brand strategy may need to evolve over time. Click here to download your free copy of “Your Brand’s Guide to Corporate Change” today, and learn how to align your brand and business strategy for success!
AW in Review - Addison Whitney Brand Salsa Recap 3.24.17
Welcome to our almost-Halloween edition of the AW in Review, our roundup of our latest brand salsa and Addison Whitney news and posts!
Don’t forget, you can stay up-to-date with everything from Addison Whitney by joining the conversation with us on our social media channels – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.
How Do You Know If You’ve Achieved True Brand Loyalty?
True brand loyalty supersedes these traditional purchase drivers, revealing itself as a force upon the consumer to which typical purchase-driving factors do not apply.
How can you really know if you’ve achieved brand loyalty? Here are three indicators. Read More...
March Madness: When Even The Floor Is Branded
There’s one branded element that may hold the title as the most watched and most overlooked branding of the entire event – the actual floors on which the games are played.
Yes, March Madness branding is so all-encompassing that even the very playing surfaces are incorporated into the overall brand profile and given a high level of attention to ensure they are both brand compliant but also provide their own unique addition to the visual branding. Read More...
The Key To Ensuring Smooth Sailing When Creating Your Brand
There you are. Right in the middle of building your brand, and things couldn’t be going any better. It’s been smooth sailing the whole time – you have created a name that you love, your visual brand development process has produced logos, color palates and collateral that are aesthetically appealing and have you sure they are on the fast track to iconic status.
But don’t start printing the “best new brand” certificates quite yet. Read More...
How Do You Know If You've Achieved True Brand Loyalty?
A consumer is at the store, faced with a specific need and a wall full of potential solutions, looking to make a purchase decision.
This is the moment of truth for any brand – the first barrier to purchase has been crossed – the consumer is in the door and is considering that brand as an option. But success has not yet been achieved, as there are a number of factors and situations which play into a purchase decision, all of which are running through their mind as they work through the decision.
But just then, another consumer walks down the aisle toward our subject, heading straight toward the same wall of products. The difference in this instance, however, is that the second consumer heads straight toward a particular brand, without hesitation or pause.
Curious at how such a quick decision could be made, the first consumer asks the second what made it seem so easy?
“I knew exactly which brand I would get on my way here,” the second one says. “To be honest, I couldn’t even tell you what other brands make this product. It’s Brand X for me, every time.”
There it is – the goal of any brand in a competitive marketplace. To have consumers who put your brand above all others without question. It takes time and effort to achieve and maintain. It’s brand loyalty.
Consumers become loyal to certain products and brands for a number of reasons.
In some instances, the loyalty is driven by prudence. If a product provides consistently superior quality or a good price, then it’s common sense that a consumer would establish brand loyalty. Who wouldn’t lean toward the brand that is bigger, better, faster or cheaper than the competition?
The problem comes when this gets mistaken for true brand loyalty. In reality, it rarely has anything to do with the brand itself.
Plus, it’s difficult to put much weight in the “loyalty” aspect of the equation when a product that is even bigger, better faster or cheaper than the original comes along and with it goes the same consumer from before.
No, true brand loyalty supersedes these traditional purchase drivers, revealing itself as a force upon the consumer to which typical purchase-driving factors do not apply. Much like the situation above, loyalty brands are first, last and everything in between when it comes to choices for their loyal consumers.
How can you really know if you’ve achieved brand loyalty? Here are three indicators:
Consumers seek out your brand time after time, regardless of if there’s a new kid on the block.
It’s the worst nightmare for any well-established, legacy-type brand: you’re comfortably sitting at the top of the heap, but then a new brand hits the market, looking to steal the eyes and purchases of your core consumer base. However, this is really only an issue for those brands who have mistaken a sense of brand loyalty for the aforementioned common sense loyalty.
But true brand loyalty? That will make a consumer look at the new kid on the block and think, “no way I’m switching – I’ve got my brand.” Be that brand.
When your brand is a part of the consumer’s life even when they aren’t purchasing.
They don’t technically work for your brand, but it’s safe to say that these people do just as much, if not more, to spread the word for your brand than even your own employees. They’re called “brand ambassadors,” and they are defined as consumers whose loyalty doesn’t end when they make a purchase.
The connection with your brand is so strong that they want others to have what they have – in other words, your brand ambassadors fancy themselves as members of an exclusive, brand-connected club, and they want to expand the membership.
When your brand can evolve and change, without fear of losing your core consumers.
Every brand must evolve throughout its lifetime to keep up with ever-changing consumer wants and needs. These evolutionary shifts can touch all aspects of a brand, whether it is a visual branding update or a verbal brand name change, even well-established and successful brands know that complacency leads to stunted growth, and eventually, being passed by the competition.
As the saying goes, “you can’t judge a book by its cover” – for a brand going through a brand evolution, the loyalty aspect speaks to this point. Brand loyal consumers know that despite any visual or verbal changes, the core aspects of what makes a brand loyalty-worthy did not change, and they know each and every interaction with the brand will serve to reinforce their loyalty.
Has your company recently experienced change or growth? Due to changes in business strategies, acquisitions, internal organizational changes or the addition of new products to a portfolio, your brand strategy may need to evolve over time. Click here to download your free copy of “Your Brand’s Guide to Corporate Change” today, and learn how to align your brand and business strategy for success!
March Madness: When Even the Floor is Branded
This week, 68 teams from around the country will take the floor to battle for a national championship in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. “March Madness” as it’s known to millions of fans (some more casual than others), is one of the biggest sporting events in the country each year. And as any branding expert will tell you, that much attention brings an even bigger need for a strong branding production.
We’ve covered how the tournament can help the brand efforts of smaller schools who make a strong appearance, and the brand strength of the term “March Madness” is well-known, but the branding of this event literally and truly starts from the ground up.
The NCAA, although classified as a non-profit organization, knows the monetary value of all of those sets of eyes on their event from start to finish, with every game of the tournament broadcast on television and millions of brackets filled out, causing even more attention to be paid to even the earliest games.
They also know not to pass up a chance to brand every element of the tournament, from the “First Four” games where eight teams battle in Dayton, Ohio in what essentially count as play-in games to the main tournament, all the way to the NCAA logo sewn into every jersey of every player on every team participating.
What to learn more about how you can build your brand? Let's talk.
But there’s one branded element that may hold the title as the most watched and most overlooked branding of the entire event – the actual floors on which the games are played.
Yes, March Madness branding is so all-encompassing that even the very playing surfaces are incorporated into the overall brand profile and given a high level of attention to ensure they are both brand compliant but also provide their own unique addition to the visual branding.
The branding of the floor starts with at the middle, where each court is anchored by the logo of March Madness, stretching across almost from three-point-line to three-point-line and serving as the eye-catching visual branding element of the court.
Here's a sneak peek at what the #MarchMadness courts will look like this year! pic.twitter.com/CxAIAs4ALL
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 2, 2017
Then, along the edge of the court, along the one baseline and both sidelines, the basic information is provided – where the game is being played, what round it is, and who is the host team/conference. The tournament tagline, “The Road to the Final Four” stretches across the other baseline, joining the halfcourt logo as the consistent brand aspect across each location.
Now, some have clamored for the return to the old way of doing things, where the floor of each venue stayed the same as it was the entire season for whomever played there, providing a kaleidoscope of colors, logos, designs and wood finishes whenever you switched from game to game. The only sign that you were watching a Tournament game was the NCAA logo decal placed somewhere on the court.
While it may have made things more visually interesting, the NCAA knew that it was the very opposite of what they needed to do to strengthen the brand. March Madness is one of their most prized events, one that brings in enough money and attention to drive the majority of the association’s work. And when you have an asset this strong, you do everything you can to tie it back to you.
Today, with the similar-but-not-identical designs and the focus on key elements of the overall March Madness and NCAA brands at the forefront, each court serves its purpose as both informational and branded – oh yea, it also is counted on to host the actual games.
The Key to Ensuring Smooth Sailing When Creating Your Brand
There you are. Right in the middle of building your brand, and things couldn’t be going any better. It’s been smooth sailing the whole time – you have created a name that you love, your visual brand development process has produced logos, color palates and collateral that are aesthetically appealing and have you sure they are on the fast track to iconic status.
But don’t start printing the “best new brand” certificates quite yet.
It could make itself known in a number of ways. Maybe you have a dream of one day expanding your offerings to include new products, and you realize your current name would be outdated. Or maybe your logo, for all its beauty, is unable to stand on its own as a representative of your brand.
However it comes up, the problem is still the same – in the race to a new brand, you forgot one important piece of equipment: a strong brand strategy.
Not to worry – this is a situation in which many organizations find themselves when developing their brands. The need to get out of the blocks quickly and to get tangible brand elements created often overshadows the need or desire to make step one of the process a strategic one.
As you can probably guess at this point, this is a mistake. A strong brand strategy is the crucial foundation on which a brand is built, and without one (to keep going with the construction metaphor), your brand is likely to crumble.
Build Your Brand Like You’d Build a Product
To put it another way, let’s compare building your brand to creating a new product, such as a new toy.
Now, it would be nearly impossible to find an organization that would begin production of the new toy before doing the necessary background research and answering the key questions that will outline the toy’s features. Market analysis, competitor audit, features discussion, and more – these decisions drive the rest of the toy production process, and without the associated answers, production would resemble a directionless trek toward a hopeful (but unlikely) success.
Brand development falls in this same path. And the brand strategy is equivalent to making the decisions that drive the process. In fact, many of the same questions that are answered in toy production are also answered in brand strategy development, such as where will the brand/product fit in the competitive landscape, who is the target audience, and what is the desired end result?
The answers to these questions serve as the starting point for the entirety of the brand strategy, and overall branding, development. They touch each aspect of the process, driving how your brand will look, sound, present and position itself, etc.
Not to mention, these answers will identify in which areas there is an opportunity to connect across elements – for instance, you may find that your audience does the majority of their shopping online, therefore your strategy will involve a heavy digital section, ensuring that your name is easy to spell and has an available URL, and that your logo is easily translated to digital screens of all shapes and sizes.
Look Long Term Now, So You Don’t Have to Try Again Later
It’s not enough to just look at these questions in a vacuum, however. One of the hallmarks of a successful brand strategy development and planning concept is to examine each section with a big-picture and long-term mentality. This will prevent a short-sidedness that inevitably creates a brand that is on the fast track for rebranding status much sooner than it should.
Take the aforementioned name issue, where your organization expands or changes its product offering, rendering your name outdated and unconnected to what the brand currently represents. In this case, the decision must be made to either stick with the current name, hoping that any brand equity that has been built up is enough to bridge the newly formed gap between name and brand, or move in a new verbal branding direction, essentially starting over in your brand’s path to relevancy and recognition.
In summary – do you want to create a long-lasting, differentiating brand in a way that is truly smooth sailing? Do you want to ensure that your brand development process covers all of the necessary elements, setting the brand up for success now and in the future?
Welcome to Brands We Love Week 2016!
Welcome to the third annual edition of Brands We Love Week! All week, we will be revealing what brands our resident brand fanatics thought stood out this year. Whether it was because of something they did, or a great experience they had with a brand, Brands We Love Week is a chance to tell our favorite brand stories! If you missed the inaugural series, you can catch up here, and check out Brands We Love 2015 here.
Additionally, we want to hear who you'd add to the list! Let us know what brands you loved in 2016, using the hashtag #BrandsWeLove, or let us know directly on Twitter @AddisonWhitney.
Kicking off this year's Brands We Love is Betsy, who is a huge fan of the Goldie Blox brand:
"Goldie Blox has been a great new entry into learning and STEM focused toys that are also girl focused.
With two girls at home, I'm always looking for strong female influences and role models. Goldie Blox combines play, learning, building and reading, so we can have fun together in different ways."
Dave is up next with a pair of great brands he loved - Spotify and Levi's:
"Exploring new music is something I consider vital and while I may not be able to justify spending money on it like I did when I was 23, Spotify allows me to keep finding and enjoying new stuff. It’s also great for work, helping me to focus when I need to get into a creative state of mind.
Levi’s manages to find a perfect balance for me – I can pledge loyalty to an established, trusted branded, while the number system for different cuts of jeans allows me the cognitive dissonance necessary to maintain a sense of individuality and personalization."
We wrap up day one of Brands We Love by kicking up our boots with Susan and her favorite brand, Frye:
"I chose Frye because I have a little bit of a shoe obsession but boots in particular. Frye is a very high quality and well crafted boot that feels good and consistently delivers a stylish yet long lasting beautiful product.
The fit of every pair I own is precise and after an initial “break in period” feels like a well tailored custom shoe that was designed just for me. They look good, feel good and when I purchase a pair I know I am getting a quality product that will last."
Day two of Brands We Love week starts off with Cathleen and a brand that helped her stay connected halfway across the world, Viber!
"Living in Australia for most of 2016, Viber made it easy to connect with my family and friends. I was able to celebrate with my parents on the day I got engaged using the video function. Now that I'm living in America, I use it every day to talk to my fiancee. I even got my 88-year-old grandmother to install it when she travelled to Italy and was able to check in on her adventures.
Thanks to Viber, I'm closer than ever with the people that mean the most to me no matter the distance!"
Hungry? Then you'll love Ashley's brand she loves, Chef Alyssa's Kitchen!
"The brand I’ve been most impressed with in 2016 is Charlotte’s own Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen. They’ve created a signature look and feel that they maintain throughout their kitchen, at events and online.
When you’re at Chef Alyssa’s, everything is their signature green from the recipes books to the mixers to the tool box of kitchen supplies. Outside of the cooking, they’ve created an atmosphere of great customer service that makes it a great place to learn a new skill."
Kyle rounds out day two of Brands We Love week on a positive note with his favorite brand of the year, Life is Good:
"Life Is Good: I have always known of this brand, but once I learned of the history and what makes it so successful, I was hooked. From the two brothers selling t-shirts out of their van in Back Bay, Boston to becoming an uplifting global brand, Life Is Good has stayed true to their roots. They have found a way to invoke a feeling of hope and positivity in all they do.
The company's mission to spread the power of optimism, is just so relatable and easy to connect with. I encourage any and everyone to just take a glance at the their website for some awesome and encouraging stories to brighten your day! 'Life is not easy. Life is not perfect. Life is good.'"
Stacy leads off the midway point of Brands We Love week with a trio of brands that make life easier, with the added bonus of brands who also give back, Amazon, Venmo and TOMS:
"With Amazon, specifically Amazon Prime, I get TV shows, movies and TWO DAY FREE SHIPPING! Also, you have the option to send a percentage of your purchase to a charity of your choice with Amazon Smiles.
I think Venmo is one of the greatest inventions of all time. My friends and I go out to eat (a lot) so it’s easier to not split a check and just "Venmo people" to pay them back. Also, it’s easier to pay coworkers back since I never have cash.
TOMS: Comfortable shoes that give a pair shoes to someone in need. What more can I say?"
We continue our Wednesday spotlight with Jennifer and Carolina Shuckers, a brand that not only brings back wonderful memories, but helps spread those memories to those she cares about!
"As a native North Carolinian and growing up with frequent trips to the eastern part of the state, oysters were an early part of my childhood, and over the years, my love for them has only grown. I love reminiscing with my family about that one Christmas Eve my parents were stuck in a cold mechanic’s garage, putting together a kitchen play set, while the rest of the family was at the local oyster bar. Believe me, 30+ years later, I still don’t think they’re over it.
When a dear friend decided to move home to Florida from Charlotte, I knew I wanted to send her on her way with something that would hopefully remind her of me and the state I hold so close to my heart. She had only recently discovered an affinity for oysters and when I found Carolina Shuckers, I knew that a hand-forged oyster knife, handcrafted in the town my little family now spends our summer vacations in, was the perfect going away gift.
The gift, for me, wasn’t just about the knife. It was more about the experiences I grew up with, those that we had shared together and the ones she’ll share with her old and new friends back home. If a brand can establish that type of relationship with me, it belongs on my short list of favorites."
Kelly brings Brands We Love day to a close with three brands that fill her days and make her life better, Coca-Cola, Hallmark and Bath and Body Works!
"I love Coca-Cola as it is always focusing on the positive. The "Share a Coke with..." campaign was great and really encouraged a community atmosphere. Plus I love the soda!
Hallmark is all about creating positive and fun experiences, how could you not love that?
I have a problem with this Bath and Body Works... namely that I have an serious love for the products. I have enough lotion and candles to supply an army!"
Kaitlin is giving us a great start to day four of Brands We Love week, with brands whose strengths extend far beyond just their amazing products, TCBY and inkWELL Press!
"Since opening in 1981, the TCBY brand has stood the test of time! When ice cream shops transitioned to frozen yogurt, TCBY adjusted their logo and adapted to the newest trends. The vibrant logo is hard to miss and the ingredients are always fresh. This brand reminds me of my childhood and was a fan favorite in my house this year!
A friend introduced me to inkWELL Press in 2015, but I was not a full believer until I purchased my first daily docket notepad and planner this year. The founder of this company is a family-oriented, organized and hard-working woman, which spoke to me immediately. Her mission is to help women find peace through productivity and organization, two things that I am super passionate about. I am excited to try out my new planner in the new year and grow my inkWELL press love!"
Wendy continues our Thursday edition of Brands We Love with a brand that makes both dogs and dog owners happy, Subaru!
"Subaru shows a lot of dogs in their advertising, knowing that their audience loves dogs.
Even when I went in to the Subaru dealer for service, their waiting room was dog-friendly with treats and a Subaru-branded dog pillow for my fur baby to sleep on while we waited."
Need to get somewhere quickly and stay connected? Then Lisa's two favorite brands - Waze and Snapchat - are for you!
"Waze is vital in helping me get to work on time (most days)!
Snapchat gives me another chance to communicate with my teenagers since Facebook and Instagram are apparently for 'old people!'"
We have come to the final day of this year's edition of Brands We Love week, and Matt is starting us off with a brand that stands out across the board, Ole Mason Jar!
"This is a brand that has its priorities in all the right places. Their brand's mission is dedicated to providing high quality products made in North Carolina, giving back to help make a positive impact in the world and embracing a lifestyle they are passionate about.
When a brand can achieve success in their products while also establishing a positive emotional connection with consumers, it's a rare and appreciated combination. It doesn't hurt that they are based in Charlotte and have helped make my hometown a better place, and I always love supporting local brands!"
We continue our love of local brands with Joshira and her trio of favorites, AerialCLT, Move That Dough and Lenny Boy!
"For me, 2016 solidified my love for local brands! AerialCLT is more than just a brand; it is my community; this gym knows how to get its students heavily involved and invested in the studio’s growth and treats everyone like family. It was born from the heart of one woman’s passion and has blossomed into a community of over 1,000 regular students! I loved it so much; I became a part-time teacher this year!
Move That Dough baking company is a gem of a traveling bakery with the BEST doughnutsI’ve ever had (and I’ve had plenty of doughnuts)! They are delicious and made vegan with organic ingredients - their strawberry doughnut has real strawberries on top (my personal favorite)! Not only do they make you feel good eating, but the founder, Kacie, is very passionate about food education and the arts, so she is always supporting local art shows and even volunteered to make lunches for low income schools!
Lastly, Lenny Boy has become my favorite place to grab a kombucha and relax on Sundays. Their kombucha flavors are so good, and they pride themselves on using organic ingredients as well. They are also very engaged with the community and have created great partnerships with other local brands."
Last but certainly not least for Brands We Love 2016 is Olivia, who has three brands that definitely close our this edition on a high note, Philosophy, 9Round Fitness and Nowait!
"I love how Philosophy brands their skin care products. It is very clean and simple, just like the their motto of embracing all things natural!
I’m semi-obsessed with the 9Round concept. A different workout for nine rounds with a 30-second break in between is a total body work out in under 30 minutes. Count me in! The trainers push you till you cannot be pushed anymore, and it’s over before you know it – all at a reasonable price. This unique and fun workout, and with no class times is extremely hard to pass up.
With the Nowait app, the wait is over! There are so many great restaurants that don’t take reservations and it can be huge turn-off to hear you have a two-hour wait. With the Nowait app, you can put your name on the list while you’re still getting ready and check in on your spot in line. This app is such a great idea in a big city with so many options."
Action over Activity – 5 Ways to Efficiently Develop Your Brand
Developing a brand is not a knee-jerk process; moving too quickly and looking to take shortcuts will produce a brand that is incomplete and behind the game even before its launch. However, the amount of time spent on the brand development is not alone enough to ensure whether it will find success.
No, it doesn’t matter as much HOW much time you spend, but WHAT you do in that time. The old business adage, “action always trumps activity” can also be applied to branding. Monitoring and making sure that your brand development is heavy on the action and light on activity, you can point the brand in the direction of efficiency from the very beginning. Here are a few ways to ensure this happens:
- Start – and stick to – a game plan
One of the main causes of activity-driven issues is that there is no plan for those involved to adhere. The same goes with brand development. Start your process by establishing and creating a strong strategic road map for your brand, from concept to launch. But it’s not enough just to create the brand strategy – you must adhere to it throughout. Make each move, decision and process with the greater brand goal in mind, and you will cut out the unimportant parts that slow things down.
- Make sure everyone stays in their lane
In the aforementioned brand strategy plan, all those involved should have well-defined and well-understood roles, each of which will help move the brand forward. And no matter how much they may want to cross over into other roles, work to keep them focused on what they have been designated. For instance, when your brand logo is in development, having your visual branding team having to also worry about the brand naming process will split their focus, sap their creative reserves and lead to a final product that can come off as halfway and not up to standards.
- Cover all of the bases
Have you ever had to make a U-turn after realizing you forgot something back at your previous destination? It’s the very definition of an inefficient activity. You are literally going back to where you just came, wasting time and effort. When developing a brand, you don’t want to have to take a proverbial U-turn if you realize that you skipped a crucial step, didn’t do enough background research, missed an important target audience identification, or any other aspect in the branding process.
- Make the big decisions first
There’s a story of a professor who was illustrating to his students the importance of prioritization in their studies. He took a jar and put next to it a set of large rocks, and next to that, placed a bucket of sand. He then told them that in order to fit all of these objects into the jar, it was crucial to put the rocks in first, starting off with the biggest objects involved. This same line of thinking can be applied to brand development. Along with your brand strategy (which is hopefully already completed first), in order to ensure efficiency; look to make the “big rock” decisions early in the process. These can include brand positioning, brand architecture, brand name, logo, color scheme and tagline. These brand aspects will serve as the most visible parts of the brand, and as such will both drive many of the ensuing decisions, and will allow the brand to begin building equity before everything is finalized.
- Then fill in the spaces
To continue the above story, the professor, having filled the jar with the large rocks, was able to fit the entirety of the bucket of sand in the jar, as the grains were able to fill each empty space, no matter how small. Once you’ve reached the “sand” portion of brand development, your time should now be spent finalizing the process, completing the tasks necessary to bring the brand to life. And if you’ve followed the above steps successfully, you’ll be amazed at how efficiently your time was spent throughout.
Has your company recently experienced change or growth? Due to changes in business strategies, acquisitions, internal organizational changes or the addition of new products to a portfolio, your brand strategy may need to evolve over time. Click here to download your free copy of “Your Brand’s Guide to Corporate Change” today, and learn how to align your brand and business strategy for success!