Most organizations realize that having a strong brand identity brings many benefits, among them more motivated employees, competitive advantage in the marketplace and a clear brand promise to engage customers and stakeholders.
But it’s not always clear how to build a strong identity if you don’t already have one. What does it take? And how do you know what to aim for?
If you read a lot of the branding and naming advice that’s out there on the Internet, it would be easy to think that the only time an organization should worry about its brand identity is when it is first getting started. What should you name your company? How should you position it against competitors? These are important questions for startups and new brands, but the truth is that large, complex organizations are just as often in need of identity strategy.
Having worked on more than 300 identity programs over the course of our careers—for all types of clients, ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies like GE, Boeing, Apple and Walt Disney—we’ve seen that the value of a strong brand identity cannot be underestimated. It can be the difference between success and failure for an organization, no matter how big or small.
From marketing and advertising to operations, investments and recruiting, everything you do begins with identity. It’s the organizing principle that makes your organization unique and meaningful. And because it is of such strategic importance, a strong identity drives tremendous value through your organization.
We recently made a video that distills our thinking about the value of organizational identity—why it’s important and what it can do for you.
Please take a look and share to anyone you think might be interested in learning more about why identity matters.
What makes some brand naming systems stronger than others, and what’s the benefit of a system when naming your products and services?
Because your company will likely establish multiple products or services over its lifetime, it’s important to think about the system your product names create so your products will reinforce your brand promise.
Ask yourself these questions:
1. How does the new product deliver your brand promise?
2. How does each product deliver uniquely?
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How do you establish a strong and distinctive mission, and why should it matter?
Vision, Mission and Strategy are critical to a company’s uniqueness and vital to success. We have a very simple way to think about Vision, Mission and Strategy that can help you develop a unique, compelling, and clear way to differentiate your company, inspire your employees, and guide your company forward.
In this video, we define these elements and use the example of IBM to illustrate each one.
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For companies looking to successfully achieve positive brand positioning, a good rule of thumb is “the fewer brands a company has, the better.”
Without discipline, brands tend to proliferate because as new products or services are developed, it is natural to want a unique name, logo and story to rally behind. In some cases, this leads to confusion, with too many brands for customers to distinguish.
The more brands you have, the more expensive it is to keep those promises distinct and relevant in your audiences’ mind.
Do you want to improve your branding and corporate identity efforts? Marshall Strategy has a proven track record of making a difference for our clients. Make a business inquiry today to find out how Marshall Strategy can do for you. Find out what we’re doing in the social world by “Liking” us on Facebook, following us on Twitter and subscribing to our YouTube channel. Also, find us on LinkedIn and follow our blog for more useful industry information.
What’s the difference between branding vs. advertising campaigns? And, is it smart to have both a brand agency and an advertising agency for your business?
Do you want to improve your branding and corporate identity efforts? Marshall Strategy has a proven track record of making a difference for our clients. Make a business inquiry today to find out how Marshall Strategy can do for you. Find out what we’re doing in the social world by “Liking” us on Facebook, following us on Twitter and subscribing to our YouTube channel. Also, find us on LinkedIn and follow our blog for more useful industry information.
Company Branding and Brand strategy is the process of identifying and articulating who you are, what you do and why you matter – as clearly and compellingly as possible in ways that are unique, motivational, sustainable and meaningful to all of your critical audiences.
It can be difficult for an executive team to step back from the flow of business for any period of time and think holistically about where the business is going. What are the big ideas will drive their critical audiences? And, how can the executive team arrive at a consensus when multiple ideas are generated at the decision table?
A clear brand strategy can be a powerful tool for the overall company branding, and finding the right consulting team to gain strategic branding advantage is critical.
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Managers and CEOs often want to base their brand decision on measurable market research. So, how much market research should you do?
Research can never give you all the answers, but it can be effectively used to understand how target audiences might receive a new idea, or to find a new market opportunity.
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A critical and often underappreciated discipline in marketing is brand architecture, which are the defined relationships of a company’s brands to each other and to the corporate brand.
When new brands are created, sometimes they’re just added to a company’s portfolio without clearly thinking through the long-term ramifications of their impact. Whatever your brand architecture strategy may be, it’s critical that you consider how you can manage, and market, all of the brands in your portfolio.