“Great brands are about who we are—how we communicate our essence, our character.”
—Tom Peters

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Welcome!
This edition of our quarterly newsletter focuses on branding. It has new tips to enhance your brand, visibility and profits. (If you missed our fall edition of eNews, click here to catch up.)
—Shannon Wilkinson, President, Cultural Communications

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Branding in 2008
“Branding” is the marketing buzzword of the decade. Once upon a time, a brand merely referred to a distinctive name or trademark. Businesses understood that clear, simple and bold brand names increased sales of products by creating recognition, trust and familiarity.

Branding Defined
Today “branding” has expanded into a term that can be applied to businesses, services, projects and people. But don't be confused by it. A brand is just the perception that others have of a person’s career or creative projects, or of a business or organization and its products.

There are two ways to control your brand: by managing that perception through how you present yourself and your career/business/creative project, or by allowing others to manage it for you.

Why Brand?
Effective branding is worth pursuing because it helps you win advocates, clients, sales and greater visibility. If your competitors more consistently market and have clearer, more well-established brands, they are twice as likely to attract opportunities. That is true even if your business/creative project/product is superior.

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Start Now
This edition of eNews is dedicated to helping you assess the effectiveness of your personal brand, or that of your company, service or creative endeavor. The first step is to identify the image that comes to mind when people think of you or your business/creative project/organization. After that, determine whether that is the image you want them to have.

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Your Marketing
Every marketing piece—advertising, brochures, postcards and Web sites—is a vehicle that conveys your brand. They should not look homemade, unmatched or boring. Nor should they utilize impersonal, pretentious or cookie-cutter language. After all, none of those attributes reflect the essence of your career/business/creative project/organization. The following branding toolkit will walk you through the process of assessing and possibly redefining your brand.

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Branding Toolkit
First, analyze your current brand:

• Are its identity, qualities and differentials clear to clients, customers, the media and new acquaintances?
• And does it convey the benefits it offers to clients/customers?
• If not, why?
• How do your clients/customers perceive your brand? (If you don't know, ask.)
• Is that how you want it perceived?
• If not, what branding tools and marketing actions will help change their perception?
• Do your current marketing materials clearly communicate the brand? Are they consistent throughout?

Once you complete this analysis, you are ready to refine your brand—or to rebrand altogether. Here are four action steps to achieve a rebranding:

1. Define your brand in one sentence. (This is popularly referred to as the “elevator intro.” Make it clear, simple and strong.) If you find yourself trying to convey a multitude of specialties in this one sentence, think again. Your brand is likely unclear and will confuse the public. Experts say it is always better to focus on a single specialty because you can then better differentiate your brand's unique qualities.
2. Consider whether your brand conveys the image you want. If not, study the marketing images of brands that appeal to you. How do their logos, typography, colors and design effectively communicate their qualities?
3. Make a plan for creating all of the elements you need to rebrand, including any professional services necessary to do so. It might help to create a collage or folder of colors, symbols, logos and taglines that you feel convey a part of your brand’s essence.
4. Last, map out a budget, timetable and launch date for your rebranding program.

When you are ready to create a new set of branding tools, the following branding checklist will help you stay on track.

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Branding Checklist
To create an effective brand identity, develop the following:

1. A strong symbol, a memorable name (secure thatname.com immediately) or both.
2. A simple statement that describes your brand’s value or identifies what it does. This is also known as a tagline.
3. A list of the qualities that differentiate your brand from its competitors, giving it value. You may decide that your brand needs only subtle refinements, or that it needs a complete makeover. In either case, get help from a consultant, a designer or both. (Cultural Communications is a trusted resource.)

When you’re done, you are ready to communicate your new, improved brand through a fresh, targeted marketing initiative.

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Launch
Spend up to three months assessing, fine-tuning and launching a new or refined brand. To launch it, consider using a new brochure, direct mail, a newsletter, your Web site and postcards (the fastest and cheapest vehicle). And begin expanding your marketing list now, because it is the critical piece of the puzzle.

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P.S.
Remember: Every day you put off marketing requires five to catch up. So after forgoing it for one month it will take five months to get back up to speed...and five years for every one in which you do not proactively promote your brand.

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About Cultural Communications
Cultural Communications promotes clients in the arts, book publishing, financial services and related lifestyle industries serving high–net worth consumers.