Brand Development

For some people, like singer/songwriter Jann Arden, branding is an important but evolutionary process*. For others it is a very deliberate process that takes place before the brand is launched. Whether you’re nurturing a new brand or a mature brand, here are a few things brand experts keep in mind. *CBC Winnipeg, Friday September 25, 2009.

If you don’t know where you want to go with your brand, any road will take you there!

Brands with passion and focus cut through the pack and become category leaders and opinion leaders. They help define the utility and viability of the entire product category. Think: iPhone™	Successful Brands have great brand propositions that are simple to understand and support. The brand promise is the essence of all who work with and for the brand. Maxwell House Coffee: Good to the last drop!
Relevance Matters big time. To cut through the product / service clutter your brand message must be relevant. Brands that don’t get it right or think they know better than the customer lose big time. Think: The BIG THREE!	The Brand Creed Look around you. Virtually every product promises honesty, integrity and satisfaction. Only a few deliver on that promise consistently. Walk your talk or your customers will walk away. Think: The Liberals!
Research David Ogilvy – a key founder of modern advertising - observed that some "use research like a drunken man does: to prop himself up - rather than to light the way." There is no such thing as too much information... unless you don’t act on it. Then even one question is a waste of time. Think: Disney™	Brand Perception vs. Reality How you want your product or service to be used and how your high volume / high value customers use them are two very different things. Park your ego and your brand perceptions - invite your customers to tell you about you and your brand. Think: Duct Tape™
Counterfeiting™ The greatest advantage franchisers have is that one store is an operational and marketing clone of the other. Their greatest threat is piracy, knowledge theft & counterfeiting. Your brand equity is the most valuable commodity you have to trade and deserves to be managed that way. Think: Midas™ & Speedy™ \| Loblaws™ & Sobeys™	Line Extensions are the second cousin of relevance. Your products and services exist in a sphere of influence that needs to make sense to your loyal followers as well as to early adopters. Canadian Tire™ can add infinite tools to their product line but they will never do Craftsman™ Cosmetics.
Great ads celebrate your operations. Great ads showcase the unique benefits of your operation in interesting and relevant ways. Retail versions of brand ads feature a time sensitive call to action framed in the context of your consumer’s needs, not in the context of what you need to sell. Think "Clearance Sale". Boring.	The bigger they are the harder they fall. With today’s online technology anyone can scrape together some smart copy and visual eye candy to make a new product look like an established brand. Here’s our guarantee: when your product/service promise exceeds your real life product/service experience you will lose customers and untold referrals. Think General Motors.