Andy Brand Book by Simon Bocko

Visibility leads to favourability Brand strategy a business-to-business guide

1 why brand? 2 what is a brand? 3 how do you brand? 4 what do you brand? 5 where do you brand? 6 when to review your brand strategy? 7 how do you control your brand?

Understanding brand strategy Intuitively, we are all experts in brand strategy. We all use brand strategies every day, to make ourselves visible, to define who we are, to make our allegiances clear, to choose what we eat, where we are seen and how we dress. Brand strategy is not only relevant to a consumer context; it can bring Perhaps unconsciously patronising - brand competitive advantage to business-to-business companies and increase strategy is obviously important to B2B their value too. There are volumes written on brand strategy – worthy tomes all – but too many perpetrate the myth that it is a black art to be administered only by the brand magicians! This is not so. Brand experts can sometimes get tangled up and we think it is time to redress the balance and give branding back to you, the brand leader or owner and in the process we hope to make a stand for simplicity and common sense.

Perhaps they over-complicate rather than “get tangled up”

1 Why brand?

In life: it pays to read the signs Branding isn’t unique to us humans, branding is a natural phenomenon – nature knows the power of branding using signs to communicate between members of the same and different species the common language of sex, danger, deception and attraction. Nature uses signs to convey messages that say “stay close, leave alone…” We believe that this natural process is at the centre of even the most complex business brand strategy. Nature is a cornucopia of signs – safe, dangerous, edible, poisonous, come closer, stay away – the white tail of a rabbit to distract the hawk or fox, the yellow and black of the wasp warning of danger. The use of signs is part of the natural world, not something we humans invented and it would be arrogance to think otherwise. Signs and therefore brands provide a shortcut to recognition and understanding, speedily accessing memory and experience aiding our very survival.

Warn off predator

Be one of the gang

Deceive a predator

Attract a mate

In business, it is advisable not to overcomplicate the concept of branding – reading and making signs comes naturally to us all. We benefit greatly if we become conscious of their value and power. When we use nature as our guide, it makes the ambitions of the politically naïve, who wish to lobby for a brand-less world, seem a denial of the very essence of our existence. If we are in business we deny the power of brands at our peril. If we embrace this power we grow and protect our assets both today and in the future.

Possible re-wording?: Branding isn’t unique to us humans, but is used throughout the animal kingdom to communicate the common languages of...

Visibility increases value: A technology start-up that invests in a brand strategy increases its value by

between 25%

and 50% [true story]

evidence?

Brands make value visible In nature the making and reading of signs is a matter of life and death, so it is surprising that we spend so little time valuing this in our business-to-business life. How to stand out would appear to be the overwhelming strategy, although by no means the only one. In business as in nature, we sometimes turn the duplicity of the chameleon to our advantage, or use signs of bigger animals to become something that we are not, like the eyespots on the wings of a moth. Too often small companies inadvertently communicate their smallness through their brand, when in fact they could use signs to their advantage to convey an image many times their actual size. All of these natural strategies are available to us as brand strategies for our business too. In business we need to make an informed choice whether we wish to stand out or be part of the crowd. Often in businessto-business our brands blend in, when really they need to stand out or vice versa.

Branding Benefits the Brave In business terms we are not making danger or sexual attraction visible but we are demonstrating ownership, performance and customer promises. Maybe a word of caution here: it is a fact that visibility is a double-edged sword. Visibility makes you more accountable to customers. A brand shows the customer where to go when all goes wrong as much as whom to praise when all goes right. Consumer companies are willing to trade this perceived risk for the rewards in increased margin and profitability that come with a well-executed brand strategy. Far from being airy fairy, or fluffy; adopting a highly visible brand strategy is not for the faint-hearted. On the contrary – branding benefits the brave! Business-to-business companies struggle to value this visibility and can’t equate their small market to consumer markets where brand visibility is essential to success. The audience may be smaller but the need for visibility is no less significant. The aim of business-to-business brand strategy is to be visible in the particular business context. It is true that these companies do not need the visibility of Nike or Coke, but in their own community visibility remains a key differentiator and competitive advantage. The more visible your company the more likely you are to be front of mind – in preference to your competitor. The boundaries of the desired visibility are very specific in businessto-business and defined by their sector alone and not the general consumer population. So when looking for examples of successful business-to-business brands it is often difficult to see their value, as they may not resonate with the market you understand and you do not know why, or what they are branding, or valuable for. This should not be used as an excuse for denying the effectiveness of brand strategy.

Has anyone said it’s airy-fairy? – is this over-defensive?

Needs rewriting more smoothly. How about: The boundaries of the desired visibility are very specific in business-tobusiness and defined by their sector alone and not the general consumer population. It's therefore difficult to demonstrate successful B2B brands, as they are usually "local heroes" – high achievers in their sector or industry but relatively unknown to the rest of us. This should not be used as an excuse for denying the effectiveness of brand strategy.

Invest in brand strategy “I do not know of any valuable business-to-business brands” does not mean we can draw the conclusion that “therefore brand strategy is of little importance or use to a business-to-business company.” Quite the opposite is true: because branding is seen functionally rather than strategically in business-to-business it makes the rewards from brand strategies much greater for those that are prepared to invest and adopt them. The value of investing in brand strategy in a business-to-business arena is two-fold:

Needs grammatical smoothing! How about: “I don't know any valuable B2B brands” doesn't mean that there aren't any or that branding is of little use to a B2B company.

need to buy these and shoot, found the images on the tesco site for ref only. The prices below are correct on 17SEP09

Perhaps also mention the disproportionate benefits of being an early-adopter in an immature market?

Firstly, a consistent brand strategy increases visibility and visibility leads to favourability – if your brand is seen more than others then you are more likely to be ‘front of mind’ and receive preference from your audience Secondly, a considered brand strategy makes differentiation visible by branding both the tangible (products, services, assets, innovations, people etc) and the intangible (ideas, values, concepts, morale etc) The ultimate test of a brand strategy is reflected in the price customers are prepared to pay for their preferred brand – in consumer terms this can be as much as double the price of the own label or the generic product. Whilst the increased margin might not be so obvious in business-to-business, there are all the other benefits of investing in a brand strategy e.g. Increased market share, stronger relationships and ultimately increased shareholder value.

82p

£1.60p

Business-to-business boardrooms are still sceptical of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;brand effectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in their context. Paradoxically this gives great advantage to those that do invest. A brand strategy will strengthen relationships, increase and protect competitiveness, reduce wasted effort and duplication and make best use of resources, thereby protecting and increasing shareholder value. When doing some research for a machine tool oil brand we were interviewing a distributor. He told us a story of a machine tool cutting bit that was made by one manufacturer and sold under no fewer than four different brand names. Machine engineers, a rational breed by all accounts, would swear that one bit out-performed the other three and they paid a premium price for it. There was no rational or analytical basis for their buying preference. It was a matter of belief in the brand only.

A well-executed brand strategy can increase

margin

in even the most rational of business-to-business sectors.

2 what is a brand?

A brand is a mark of ownership To understand branding in a business context it is useful to use the Wild West and cattle ranching as the metaphor. In Texas there are 250,000 registered ‘brands’ and in Texas, as in business, a brand is a mark ownership – i.e. this steer comes from the ‘Double Bar’ ranch and has these qualities and that one comes from the ‘Triple X’ ranch and has those qualities etc. The distinguishing differences made visible by the different brands. So, the concept of a brand strategy is a simple one: establish the market context (cattle ranching) choose and design your brand (double bar) then decide on the things (‘the steers’) you wish to brand. The aim is to make your ownership visible: the physical things, the conceptual things like ideas, values, and even music, textures, and smells too (car manufacturers and supermarkets both brand smells and scents in order to add differentiation). By separating the ‘brand’ from the ‘steers’ you desire to brand gives you the greatest flexibility. These are the choices that define your brand strategy. The difficulty, in business terms, is the fact that often we have many contexts, different levels of ownership, and numerous tangible and intangible things to brand. The aim is to use brand strategy to provide clarity and whilst this concept of brand strategy is simple it doesn’t make it easy to do.

The ‘brand’

The ‘steer’

It takes time and strategic thinking to provide the customer with the clarity they require and consequently the competitive advantage you and your business desire.

3 how do you brand?

Keep it simple, memorable and functional As we said, to keep the definition simple it is useful to keep the brand separate from the things that we place the brand on. This allows us to make clear choices and adjustments, to the brand itself and what we brand independent. The brand is made up of four distinct elements: the name, the colour, the typeface and the symbol (if you have one). It is the combination of these elements applied consistently over time that leads to visibility and brand recognition.

Name

Choose a brand name Brand names are usually single words or acronyms. The name needs to be short and phonetic in many languages with no obviously negative associations (different words can be problematic in different languages like the Vauxhall Nova, which means ‘no go’ in Spanish. Or CRAP toothpaste from Sweden!)

Typeface Colours Symbol

Businesses-to-business companies are sometimes tempted to use the complete company name as their brand. This does not increase visibility and recognition – it hinders it. A brand name must function physically; it must be visible and it must stand out. In a ranching context, the brand itself is burnt into the rump of the animal; this is enough to declare ownership. Business-to-business companies often want to do the equivalent of brand the whole flank of the animal! They often end up shouting their ownership at their customers and believe that “more is more” when we all know the maxim that less is so, and in branding terms as a rule this definitely is the case.

I'm confused as to whether we're talking about corporate or product branding RB

Often the first task is to shorten the brand name, definitely take off the description of the company and its limited or plc status; this is not the brand, it’s the company name and appears at the bottom of the letterhead not where the brand should be. I’ll never forget at the beginning of our business-to-business journey when we won a pitch we were told that we could do anything we like with the marketing but “… you cannot change the name…” and this was the first thing we recommended and did! To be recognised you just need to be seen – a brand is a whisper not a bellow. We don’t need to visually ‘shout’ to be visible. Brand strategy is a tool of seduction not domination! The shorter the word the bigger the point size, the more the brand stands out – it’s as simple as that. Less is definitely more. One of the most attractive things to human beings is intrigue – what you leave out is often more interesting than what you put in.

Q: Which brand is more visible – ‘a’ or ’b’? A: ‘b’ – which is the same company with a different brand

Globally, brand naming conventions fall into one of five categories. These definitions are not rigorous, and boundaries blur, and there are numerous hybrid examples like IKEA which is sponsored (founder: Ingvar Kampard; village and farm name Elmtaryd & Agunnaryd) reduced to an acronym, and which looks invented! However, these distinctions serve to assess a route that is acceptable to you and your board. The name itself is only one part of the brand, and all five groups can demonstrate both household names and forgotten non-entities! It is not the brand name that defines success or failure; it is the value of the business or product itself. To blame the brand name is to make a scapegoat of it. Often the choice is dictated by which route is most acceptable to the board.

Sensor Highway a: 1999

What’s in a name?

b: 2000

It is vital that the brand functions, is protectable as a trademark and does not have problematic associations. Often these criteria are more important than the choice of the brand name itself. Brand naming is often an emotive subject, but it is advisable to take a pragmatic approach when choosing one.

Sponsored e.g. Kellogs

Possible re-wording: However, these categories are a useful tool when considering the selection of possible names.

Authentic e.g. Post-it

Acronym e.g. IBM

Brand name?

Appropriated e.g. Virgin

Invented

e.g. Accenture

Sponsored The most common sponsored brand name is a derivative of the founder’s name itself: Cadbury, Dunlop, Kellogg, Dyson, Hewlett Packard, Ferrari, Schlumberger and Hutchinson all use the name of the founder to add legitimacy, provenance and accountability.

The individual who sponsors the product with their name is the guarantee. Their personal integrity is made visible through the brand name. At the turn of the century, before effective trading standards, many products were often adulterated. At Cadbury World in Bournville there is an exhibit that explains how the Cadbury brand guaranteed quality at a time when many chocolate powders were adulterated with brick dust! The founder often remains integral to brands even when the brand does not take the founder’s name, e.g. Branson and Virgin, Gates and Microsoft, Jobs and Apple, Roddick and Bodyshop – every selfrespecting brand should have one! A founder’s name adds reassurance and legitimacy. Brand marketers know this and have used this strategy to invent names that have no real provenance at all such as Häagen Dazs, Murphy’s, Crabtree and Evelyn. Marketing teams cashing in on the reassurance of a name make up these brands.

Dyson

There are three subsets of the sponsored brand: the geographical brand e.g. British Airways, Cornish Pasty Company the category brand e.g. Cheddar, Champagne, Parma etc the celebrity-sponsored brand e.g Picasso, Beckham, etc The second subset is all add value to the brand name because of their provenance. geographical too!

Lara is sourcing this direct from Dyson

Hewlett & Packard

need to shoot

I can't get any licence info on this shot I am awaiting an image of Ferdinand Porsche from Porsche head office to use instead

Have emailed everyone to see if anyone has access to a Xsara Picasso

Authentic These brands rely on their genuineness and authenticity. The brand name encapsulates exactly what the product or company does.

Referencing the features and functionality of the product itself is another effective form of brand of creation. In this way the brand declares ownership of the authentic product features denying those features to their competitors. This relies on firstmover advantage – Dyson’s Dual Cyclone technology brand, denies others from using the name and therefore takes the authentic position. The competition technology is always going to be the follower. Maintaining TM protection for this type of brand name can prove more challenging if the name itself is also a generic term. However many brands have successfully achieved authenticity and TM protection through creative juxtaposition – Utterly-Butterly, Post-It, Dual Cyclone, Easyjet, First Direct, Bottle Green, EasyWell, Body Shop etc. This is a common business-to-business branding solution for both products and companies. In the 1950’s Nasa was looking for a water dispersant to prevent corrosion on rockets that were exposed to extreme temperature desert air. They were looking for a fine oil to avoid freezing condensation adversely affecting safe launching. Water Dispersant 40 (the 40th prototype) was the answer – better known to you and me as WD40.

need to shoot

Appropriated All brands are symbolic in some way but these are more so. These brand names take ownership of a word that somehow encapsulates the mood and values of the brand:

Nike – victory Egg – brave new approach Polo – sporty Orange – optimism

heritage?

British Racing Green – excitement

Sports shoes

Internet banking

Fashion

Mobile network

These brands appropriate the associated and symbolic values that they represent (Nike is the goddess of victory in Greek mythology. An image of the goddess was on every medal at the Sydney Olympics – not a bad piece of appropriation by Nike the shoe brand!). Often these brands tap into a customer zeitgeist somehow connecting at a deeper subconscious level than their competitors. A brave approach sometimes used to position a new brand in a new context like ‘Egg’ in internet banking. It is not common for business-to-business companies to take this overly emotional approach. But it could be highly effective if someone was brave enough to try!

Invented These brand names begin their life with no intrinsic ownership of provenance, concept, value, feature or benefit. All these associations have to be made after the birth of the brand. Remembering these brands is therefore an issue particularly in the early days. They are often the preferred solution in markets which are crowded and where trade mark protection is key. Pharmaceuticals and cars are two such markets. There has also been a corporate fashion for madeup brand names. Some of these brands have been more successful than others, Accenture being recognised as a success, Consignia a resounding failure. The problem with these brands is that they can at first appear hollow, empty and meaningless â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which they are. There are no collective association or reference points for these brands and unless this is assimilated quickly they can flounder. Sometimes when there is a large corporate merger, acquisition, or disposal, it seems the best way to go, as there are no founders or geographies to declare ownership, features are unspecific and appropriating a name would seem a step too far. So, the sensible option is to make something up, achieve TM protection and dot.com. status and create visibility from day one. These benefits outweigh the take-up challenges for many.

NB: Brands of the world say you have to individually seek an approval to use. See alternative spread overleaf

The problem with these brands is that they can at first appear hollow, empty and meaningless â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which they are. There are no collective association or reference points for these brands and unless this is assimilated quickly they can flounder. Sometimes when there is a large corporate merger, acquisition, or disposal, it seems the best way to go, as there are no founders or geographies to declare ownership, features are unspecific and appropriating a name would seem a step too far. So, the sensible option is to make something up, achieve TM protection and dot.com. status and create visibility from day one. These benefits outweigh the take-up challenges for many.

Acronym This is an extremely common branding solution. It is part of the natural process of refinement associated with established brands. Over time it requires less and less of the original name in order to make the mental connection in the consumer â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the trigger becomes refined to the acronym or the colour or the symbol alone. Often customers forget what the acronym stands for, and they no longer need to know the name in order to recognise the brand.

It is the ultimate accolade of a successful brand strategy when a smallest reference point triggers recognition. This makes these brands highly competitive based on awareness and recall alone. All brands should aspire to this reduction and should actively encourage it. Paradoxically, in brand development terms letting elements go is an indication of strength, not weakness â&#x20AC;&#x201C; less is more. All business-to-business brands should aspire to refinement from the beginning. Reduction is part of the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s growth. These brand names can have their roots in any of the previous name groups.

Bayerische Motoren > Werke

British Broadcasting > Corporation

Dual Cyclone >

Ingvar Kampard > Elmtaryd Agunnaryd

International Business > Machines

International Chemical > Industries

Motorsport >

National Aeronautics and Space Administration >

DC 21

Alternative spread ??? Acronym This is an extremely common branding solution. It is part of the natural process of refinement associated with established brands. Over time it requires less and less of the original name in order to make the mental connection in the consumer â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the trigger becomes refined to the acronym or the colour or the symbol alone. Often customers forget what the acronym stands for, and they no longer need to know the name in order to recognise the brand.

Bayerische Motoren > Werke

British Broadcasting > Corporation

Dual Cyclone >

Ingvar Kampard > Elmtaryd Agunnaryd

International Business > Machines

International Chemical > Industries

Motorsport >

National Aeronautics and Space Administration >

BG requires a heavy black to match image BG

Choose a brand colour Choosing colours is a natural process i.e. we look to nature for the values of colour:

Sunshine, warmth, vibrancy – yellow; Life-blood, energy, passion – red; Sea & sky, constancy, trust – blue; Vegetation and earth, natural caring – green/brown; Night, mystery, depth – black; Light, clarity, purity, simplicity, perfection – white;

nature’s inspiration

Rare metals, precious, shiny, special – gold & silver. Colours can be chosen to reinforce your values, obviously the optimism of ‘orange’ and the trust of Amex and IBM ‘blues’ and the environmental concern of Bodyshop ‘green’ for example. Different cultures have different meanings for colours. In the west red is the colour of energy and aggression, the red of Ferrari, or the Manchester United ‘red devils’; in China it represents good luck on birthdays and at New Year. On a physiological and psychological level red stimulates the brain more than other colours. Maybe it is not surprising then that the teams wearing red football kit have won the European cup a disproportionate number of times. Many, many successful brands use red as their corporate colour: HSBC, Coca-Cola, Chevron, Vodaphone, 3M, Ferrari.

BG requires a heavy black to match background across spread To have red as part of your brand brings energy to it. Not only brands but also many countries use red to communicate their energy and the blood of conquest and revolution. As an aside – if you are creating a new brand abroad it’s a good idea to see if you can leverage the national colours for your brand – another kind of appropriation.

in their national flags

life-blood energy passion

The most common colour for a corporate identity is blue, the colour of constancy. You know where you are with blue, and it’s a colour you can trust. ICI, BMW, BA and Unilever are good ‘blue’ companies – solid ‘blue chips’, these are the equities we can always trust to deliver. The greens and browns are the colour of nature and increasingly common in an environmentally aware and organic world. Brands like Bodyshop, Waitrose and BP use green very effectively. Arguably the M&S colours support their food offer well too. Green and brown says organic. Yellow is almost too vibrant to often be used as the primary brand colour. The notably exception is in the contracting machinery sector where to stand out not only communicates high energy but is safer too. CAT and JCB are two brands that come to mind using a predominance of yellow. Yellow is often used as a secondary colour to add a zingy accent. Yellow is uplifting. Mystery, depth and the aesthetic are associated with black. Often used by premium consumer brands, jewellery, watches, perfumes etc. Brands in these sectors are intriguing because of their absence of colour – Armani, Paul Smith, Hermes, and in the corporate world Sony, Nike, Orange and NatWest use the intrigue of black. Black communicates a premium offer in business-to-business too, and is underused in the business-to-business colour palette.

strength depth confidence

clarity simplicity perfection

sea and sky consistent trusted

sunshine vibrant optimistic

earth natural organic

have red as part of your brand brings energy to it. Not only To brands but also many countries use red to communicate their energy and the blood of conquest and revolution. This is an aside but if creating a new brand in a new country it is a good idea to check to see if you can leverage the national colours for your brand - another kind of appropriation. The most common colour for a corporate identity is blue, the colour of constancy. You know where you are with blue, and it’s a colour you can trust. ICI, BMW, BA, and Unilever are good ‘blue’ companies - solid blue-chips, these are the equities we can always trust to deliver.

NB this is an alternative spread note - have edited the previous page’s text but not this one - RB

The greens and browns are the colour of nature and increasingly common in an environmentally aware and organic world. Brands like Bodyshop, Waitrose, and BP use green very effectively. Arguably the M&S colours support their food offer well too. Green and brown says organic. Yellow is almost too vibrant to often be used as the primary brand colour. The notably exception is in the contracting machinery sector where to stand out is not only communicating high energy but is safer too. CAT and JCB are two brands that come to mind using a predominance of yellow. Yellow is often used as a secondary colour to add an accent of zing. Yellow is uplifting. Mystery, depth and the aesthetic are communicated with black. Often used by premium consumer brands, jewellery, watches, perfume etc. These brands are intriguing because of their absence of colour - Armani, Paul Smith, Hermes and in the corporate world Sony, Nike, Orange, and NatWest use the intrigue of black. Black communicates a premium offer in business-to-business too, and is underused in the business-to-business colour palette.

Black is a sign of strength, depth and confidence

White is the colour of purity, simplicity, calm and leadership. From the white robes of the Celtic druid to the white coat of the medical surgeon and dog collar of a priest, white commands attention. It is no surprise that white is a common colour in the corporate palette, particularly in pharma and medical sectors.

We can choose to stand together or we can choose to stand apart from our competitors. Your choice of colours is a considered one and is a fun thing to do. Ultimately, after years of consistent application, the sight of the colour alone in a given context can represent the brand.

Can you recognise the brands opposite? Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something about gleaming metals that appeals to our shared consciousness. For millennia, pure metal must have been exceedingly rare and desirable both as jewellery and weapons. It is not surprising that these colours appeal to us deeply. These metals often had highly cultural meanings and were revered. Therefore, silver and gold are colours of premium quality and high status. Silver is often used in the technology and automobile sectors. Silver can be quite a masculine colour. Gold on the other hand is more alluring, more feminine (more expensive!) Gold is often used on premium consumer brands from beers to chocolates. Gold top, gold crest etc. Tesco uses silver on its finest brand. The ultimate premium colour selection is a combination of gold, black, white and red. Communication is not limited to the colour itself, we can also choose tones and shades: deep colours denote value; bright colours appeal to children and are used by budget brands; pastel colours are softer and more feminine.

However, the more colours you choose for your brand, the more expensive it is to maintain consistency and reproduce the brand when applying it. It is wise to choose a primary colour, accent colour and complementary palette. Many highly successful brands just use black or a single colour in their marque and allow additional colours to come from the things that they choose to brand â&#x20AC;&#x201C; products etc. This demonstrates the confidence that comes when a brand is established and reduced. The BBC is a great example of a brand that moved from the multiple colours of broadcasting to the simplicity and quality of black and white. Sony is another quality brand that just uses black.

NB: Brands of the world say you have to individually seek an approval to use. Or we could hand draw them again â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it does add interest to the design

Can you recognise the brands opposite?

Alternative spread

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something about gleaming metals that appeals to our shared consciousness. For millennia, pure metal must have been exceedingly rare and desirable both as jewellery and weapons. It is not surprising that these colours appeal to us deeply. These metals often had highly cultural meanings and were revered. Therefore, silver and gold are colours of premium quality and high status. Silver is often used in the technology and automobile sectors. Silver can be quite a masculine colour. Gold on the other hand is more alluring, more feminine (more expensive!) Gold is often used on premium consumer brands from beers to chocolates. Gold top, gold crest etc. Tesco uses silver on its finest brand. The ultimate premium colour selection is a combination of gold, black, white and red. Communication is not limited to the colour itself, we can also choose tones and shades: deep colours denote value; bright colours appeal to children and are used by budget brands; pastel colours are softer and more feminine.

Choose a brand symbol Not every brand needs the addition of a symbol. Often the name, typography or the colours alone are symbolic enough, but sometimes a symbol can really add to the visibility of a brand. Nature exhibits a natural symbolism, read by animals at a subconscious level. In nature, signs communicate messages: when and whom to mate with, what to eat, where to find food, who your friends are and who to avoid in the forest. It seems only natural for human beings to take this to the conscious level and to adopt these natural symbols to demonstrate company culture to themselves and others: friend or enemy, freeman or slave, priest or farmer, trendy, boring. In society everything is symbolised as it is in nature.

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Man mimics nature.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; All societies appropriate items from their surroundings and make them symbolic to their own group. In nature these symbols are intrinsic to different species; in humans we create this species-like differentiation by codifying things. Almost anything can be made symbolic. Take the symbol used by the Rolling Stones based on Mick Jaggerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lips! Over the millennia human beings acquired the ability to adopt, adapt and manipulate symbols mirroring the natural world. For all the complexity of our human societies, paradoxically it is often the natural world that becomes symbolic in them.

Invest in brand strategy Often it is the things that are closest to us whose significance we understand intuitively that the group chooses to make symbolic: the stars of the US flag, the cedar tree of Lebanon, the Southern Cross of Australia. It is as if their natural boundaries mirror our own shared consciousness â&#x20AC;&#x201C; events, nature, geography, race, and environment all are acquired and made symbolic of the group that we belong to.

The symbol is next to valueless until it is imbued with meaning and shared memory

patriotic

luck

remembrance

Symbols range from the super-valued (the symbols of culture and religious faith) via the symbols of politics (the elephant of the republicans and the rose of New Labour) through the symbols of business (the bull and the bear of the stock exchange, the Nike tick. But the symbol is next to valueless until it is imbued with meaning and shared memory. I heard that the designer who came up with the Nike tick design was a student who was paid $35. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be interesting to speculate how much this symbol is worth now!). If you want a symbol for your brand then it helps if you know your deepest values so you can mirror them with something from your world - either natural or man-made - that share these values, or can have these values projected onto them. This brings your comapny closer to your customer on an emotional level by creating a powerful connection with the members of the group who share the knowledge of the sign.

Choose a brand typeface Another key component of your brand is the typeface. When choosing a typeface there are some fundamental decisions to be made. And not just the typeface itself - it can be serif, sans serif, script, condensed, bold, light, extended, italic, capitals, lower case etc. there are literally thousands of combinations to choose from and these choices say something about your brand.

To be shot

‘ Type is encoded with meaning not unlike colour. The Perrier logotype is ‘je ne sais quoi?’– so French.’ Type can indicate the brand’s nationality, cultural roots and historical period. Often type is used by consumer brands to reinforce provenance either perceived or real. The traditional typeface of Crabtree and Evelyn communicates a quintessential Englishness, when in fact it is an American creation. Type is fashionable and defines and resonates with different periods - art deco; World War II; the swinging sixties. Pizza Express still retains that flower power look. Type tells the viewer so much. Type helps to position the brand in the sector. A typeface can be used to align your brand to a sector or stand out from the crowd e.g. Virgin’s use of the scripted V visually reinforces the brand’s differentiation from the traditional corporation. Similarly a typeface can be adopted to signify belonging. In this case differentiation is not an advantage. E.g. all US sports teams are linked by their use of bold slab serif faces; and pharmaceutical and technology sectors’ preference for clean, modern styles. It would seem inevitable that Dyson chose a sans serif face to position their reputation for technological innovation, design and performance. These choices are part of developing your brand strategy and quickly connect you with the values of your customers. Often it pays to design a unique logotype to reinforce differentiation, your sense of ownership and aid registration and trade mark protection.

Pizza Express logo is Art Nouveau-inspired rather than Flower Power

PSD work required on image

the brand It is the consistency and application of the brand elements over time that delivers the visibility and favourability. And favourability is proportionate to value.

what to brand or not to brand?

Your Environment Your Products Your People Your Services Your Assets

Your Comms Tools

Tangible

YOUR BRAND STRATEGY: YOUR CHOICE

tangible Your Concepts

Your Behaviour Your Customer Values

The ‘steers’ are split into two groups the tangible and the intangible - and we wish to create visibility and reinforce differentiation by branding both. Text refers to diagram opposite. The one above isn't really explained.

Your Vision Your Attitude

Your Promises

Brand the tangible

If our aim is to be visible then the brand must be discreetly present on everything. Look at your building, your car park, your people and particularly your reception area. Does your brand surround your customer and embrace them in a differentiated experience? If your brand environment is uninspiring or the same as others then you are selling yourself short, keeping your value hidden, not visible. You do not stand out.

The first task is to choose the tangible / physical objects of your business that you intend to brand, and make your ownership of them visible. First you need to audit all internal and external, tangible branding opportunities:

‘ First impressions are memorable – use the brand to make them so.’ Your own physical environment is not the only place to make your brand visible. Make the brand visible on partners’ products if you can and if it is relevant. (Hamley’s toyshop sweatshirts are dual-branded with both Hamley’s and Ever Ready, making the relevant association between toys and batteries). offices

websites

people

packaging

stationery

vehicles

Finding additional tangible branding opportunities is a creative challenge. Using sponsorship and events is a common way of tangibly extending brand visibility - the opportunity is to find relevant connections between your customer, your product and the chosen branding opportunity. Consumer companies have Marlboro don't sponsor F1 now, done this for years - Marlboro branding motor racing and snooker; Landrover but Red Bull does sponsoring Gatcombe Horse trials. business-to-business companies use industry events, golf days, rugby and football matches for relationship building but sometimes do not maximise the brand visibility. If the brand is prominent, it is more likely that the benefit from the event will be much longer lasting than the day itself as memories of the event will be linked with your brand. It is also desirable to brand physical items that customers will take into other areas of their lives. It is possible to get your brand into their office, or even into their home. Seeing the trigger will stimulate a continuous reminder of the brand. The physical side of branding - This is the brand that we can see in the world. Andy - not sure what this last sentence is trying to say?

signage

receptions

product

The ultimate branding coup must surely be Coca Cola’s branding of Father Christmas in the 1940’s and 50’s - “The Santa image may have been standardized before Coca-Cola adopted it for their advertisements, but CocaCola had a great deal to do with establishing Santa Claus as a ubiquitous Christmas figure in America at a time when the holiday was still making the transition from a religious observance to a largely secular and highly commercial celebration. In an era before color television (or commercial television of any kind), color films, and the widespread use of color in newspapers, it was Coca-Cola’s magazine advertisements, billboards, and point-of-sale store displays that exposed nearly everyone in America to the modern Santa Claus image. Coca-Cola certainly helped make Santa Claus one of the most popular men in America, but they didn’t invent him.” Urban Legends Reference Pages © 1 9 9 5 - 2 0 0 5

When branding the tangible, the aim is to be

in your chosen market

Brand the intangible It is desirable to brand the things we cannot see - the things that exist in the mind of the customer. We want our brand to be present in their subconscious, usually associated with positive values; with their desires, memories and beliefs. Occasionally the brand may also be associated with their fears and anxieties too. Your brand being top of the customer's mind should be your goal. Being remembered first is a great advantage as it is very difficult for a competitor to usurp your position if it is your brand that is associated with the intangible value first. This makes Volvo’s desire to change their perceived value from safety to lifestyle an uphill challenge for them.

Suggested re-working of first sentence: It's also desirable to brand intangible concepts and values.

‘ To be competitive we must brand more than the tangible things we own. When branding the intangible, the aim is to get inside the customer’s head.’ The consumer sector has known this for years, and this is where business-to-business brands can achieve outstanding results, because B2B companies are locked into the tangibility of their fixed assets, products and services. Too often they do not spend the thinking time to evaluate the intangible things that can be branded in the mind. All companies, customers, people, products and services have intangible attributes that can increase their value if made visible with branding.

I fit in. I want that. I am part of this. We do that like this. Remember this? I would like more of that. We do it like that? I am afraid of this. I love that.

Brand the customer’s contexts The first intangible that we have an opportunity to brand is the customer context itself. The customer context is the stimulus for the customer’s anxieties and desires; branding these things gets you and the customer into the same mindset.

One brand, many contexts...

The above campaign is now out of date. Review of Orange's campaign "I am" (July 2008): http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jul/03/advertising.marketingandpr (also mentions B2B) Orange's latest campaign "Monkey" (Sept 2009) "Orange Brief: To launch Monkey pay as you go, which gives you access to loads of music for free and you can share it with your mates" http://newsroom.orange.co.uk/2009/09/01/orange-launch-marketingcampaign-for-monkey-with-tv-ads-across-channel-4-stations/ Have downloaded press pack which is in AW folder

In the desire to ‘close’, business-to-business companies too often go straight to branding the product and miss out the customer’s story completely. A consumer business would never do this. They realize that to brand the customer context delivers greater levels of empathy and rapport. This is branding the ‘open’. Making the customer’s story visible and branding it is a highly competitive opportunity that needs to be addressed with care and attention. Orange has done a spectacular job of branding specific customer contexts, taking relevant and different imagery from particular customer groups and imbuing it with the black, white and orange palette of the brand: the quirky illustration of Dracula for 16-year-olds, the sponsorship of the BAFTAs for the 40-plus AB’s, young adult with dog for the x-generation and orange pinstripe suit for business customers. Orange gains by successfully declaring a deep level of understanding to every customer segment. The maxim here is ‘one brand, many contexts’ rather than many brands many contexts – unless you are able to support a multiple brand strategy like Unilever or P&G.

need new review of the current campaign/s

Brand the vision and promise ‘If you can express what is wrong, you can position yourself to make it right!’ This is the big idea at the centre of a leading brand strategy.

‘ If your company can express what is wrong, you can position it to make it right!’ Brand the vision

Would this be better? "If you can express what's wrong with your company, you can position it to make it right!" RB

Every company should have a promise that they can brand. The promise represents the customer’s desire. A clear promise always puts the customer first. The promise is attractive because it always provides customers with a vision that distances their anxieties and invites their desires. A promise affects people emotionally. A promise gives the customer a vision of the future that they can believe in. If the customer believes in the promise then the promise-maker achieves greater control.

‘A promise defines what you stand for.’ This is the “I have a dream…” passion that drives successful companies. Companies cannot be driven by the P&L alone - they need to have The values of safety, toughness, status the emotional fuel to improve something, put something back, make and optimism don't seem particularly the world a better place - and then they need to brand it. Volvo has altruistic, so the second sentence branded ‘safety’, CAT has branded ‘toughness’, BMW brands ‘status’, doesn't align with the first. RB Orange has branded ‘optimism’. All these promises are denied to the competition because these brands “owned” them first - it is not first to market, it is first to mind! This is where a company needs to show leadership to its target customer group. The best brands lead us by engaging actively with the future. Leading companies literally brand the customer’s vision for them.

Brand the values There are so many values to choose from when preparing a brand strategy, and yet so few business-to-business companies bother to choose unique values to brand. Not many companies think about the values that are really attractive to their customers. This is surprising, as these are the values that reinforce differentiation. Values are derived from the promise; the values are the way to deliver what is promised. Values should be used to set the criteria on which your competitors are judged and set the criteria for all your competition. In this way you can brand your strengths and expose the competitors’ weaknesses. Too often business-to-business companies make a couple of fundamental mistakes: They brainstorm a random list of disconnected values that articulate their own rather than the customer’s values. They may feel good but these values will rarely engage the customer. They choose the basic, off-the-shelf values like quality, service and innovation. Too often these are the old favorites. This list no longer provides differentiation unless you are Rolls Royce, Claridges or 3M, when these values can still be differentiating and defining. These days the basic values are now the ‘get to game’ rather than the ‘win the game’. The company values we choose must be meaningful and we must be able to believe in them together with our customers. If they do, then this will increase our relevance to them and encourage engagement with the business. When we make a stand for certain values they keep our attitudes and behaviours on track. If we stray it becomes obvious, that’s why the values must be thought through and meaningful - if they are not, then in the mind of the customer, we’re just like every other company in our sector. Values are best expressed in threes which makes them more easily memorised. The just-quoted "safety, toughness, status and optimism" aren't expressed in threes. RB

is the magic number

Three is a powerful conceptual construct: -

Faith, hope and charity; Liberté, egalité, fraternité; God, queen and country; Third time lucky

In a geometrical sense the triangle is the strongest shape and a stool can stand when it only has three legs. Three is an economical solution. A set of three branded values is very memorable, especially when repeated. (Tony Blair even talked in sets of three when making speeches). Now a dated reference? RB

Invest in the time to: explore the values you share with your customers; oil them down into a set of three that you are prepared b to be accountable for, and be measured by romote them consistently to your staff and customers p use repeatedly to establish ownership and deny your competitiors their use. If you live by the values you brand you will increase your differentiation and strengthen your competitive advantage. BUT - if you promote these values and do not live by them then you are breaking the promise to your customers. Richard Branson has admitted that difficulties with Virgin Rail, which were largely beyond his control, have had a negative effect on the brand in the UK. He has stoically stuck to the task to turn this company around, but if you are the “consumers’ champion” then this does not sit well with the fact that Virgin trains are consistently late. A poor product will always reduce the value of the brand that makes customers’ values visible. The second half of this last sentence confuses me! RB

where do you brand? Context

Brand

Channel: On-line High street Specialist

ebay John Lewis Runners World

Manufacturer: Sports equipment Nike Asics New Balance Puma Product: Running shoes

Nike Air Structure Asics Gel NB RX Terrain Puma Cellerator

Context provides relevance. Every brand competes against other brands in generic market contexts. Brands give customers signposts that help them to find what they want to buy. In a context with competing products and services it is the brand that communicates the difference between. The context provides boundaries for the customer to make their brand assessments and choices. For example, when out shopping we can choose brands in many contexts, and even within one market, say ‘running’, there are many contexts and many brand choices: So many brands, so many contexts, so many choices – it’s no wonder brands need to be visible. Brands are positioned in every context to aid customer choices on the purchasing journey either outside-in, from the channel to the product, or inside-out from the product to the channel.

Context - Outside-in:

Channel - Manufacturer - Product Context - Inside-out:

Product - Manufacturer - Channel In business-to-business it works in exactly the same way, except there can be either more or fewer contexts e.g. the sector, the segment, the application, the service, the products, the technology etc. In a brand strategy we need to make decisions about where it is most effective to create the highest levels of visibility. Most business-to-business brands focus on naming and branding their products, making them highly visible in trade shows and literature. This is not wrong, however significantly more value can be added if the visibility of the parent brand as well as the product is increased in the contexts of the sector, segment and application. This does not necessarily mean diminishing the development of product brands but it does mean improving the brand strategy by increasing the visibility of the parent brand otherwise potential value could be lost.

Would this be clearer? "In a market with competing products and services, it is the branding that provides differentiation." RB

when do you review brand strategy? I think this is their current logo RB

Reviewing the brand strategy should be a continuous task, but there are times of particular focus.

Principally there are three times to consider the brand strategy – when introducing a new company, product, service when the market shifts and customers or competitors change

Feature more current brands?

when there is new ownership or leadership. ‘ It is the quality of the things you brand, that creates value. The brand makes this value visible.’ credit for quote?

Brand strategy for a new company or product

MG Rover collapsed in 2005 RB

Much of this book discusses the creation of a new brand – the reasons why we do it; choosing name, colour and symbol and how and where and when to apply it. Before we embark on the investment of brand creation we must always ask ourselves: “Is our new product, service or company worthy of the investment it takes to create a new brand?” Too often we are tempted to dive straight in and brief the design and creative professionals. It pays to stop and think. A brand is for life not just for Christmas. Sometimes we feel the need to brand things when in fact we just need to market the current brand better. This is particularly so when the parent is weakened by acquisition, poor decisions or poor leadership. Sometimes it is better to come up with a new product name rather than a brand. To get a new brand launched is like launching a rocket into orbit; it takes a lot of energy to escape gravity but without this impetus a new brand may never fly. If you do decide to launch something new remember to choose strategically whether you wish to stand out from the crowd or look like your competitors.

Bit of an afterthought? RB

Alternative spread ???

when do you review brand strategy?

Reviewing the brand strategy should be a continuous task, but there are times of particular focus. Principally there are three times to consider the brand strategy –

when introducing a new company, product, service when the market shifts and customers or competitors change when there is new ownership or leadership.

‘ It is the quality of the things you brand, that creates value. The brand makes this value visible.’ Brand strategy for new company or product Much of this book discusses the creation of a new brand – the reasons why we do it; choosing name, colour and symbol and how and where and when to apply it. Before we embark on the investment of brand creation we must always ask ourselves – is our new product, service or company worthy of the investment it takes to create a new brand. Too often we are tempted to dive straight in and brief the design and creative professionals. It pays to stop and think. A brand is for life not just for Christmas. Sometimes we feel the need to brand things when in fact we just need to market the current brand better, this is particularly so when the parent is weakened by acquisition, poor decisions or poor leadership. Sometimes it is better to come up with a new product name rather than a brand. To get a new brand launched is like launching a rocket into orbit, it takes a lot of energy to escape gravity but without this impetus a new brand may never fly. If you do decide to launch something new remember to choose strategically whether you wish to stand out from the crowd or look like your competitors.

Bit of an afterthought? RB

Abbey was acquired by Santander last year and is now being phased out. See PDF below... RB

Brand strategy for brand extension

Brand strategy for market positioning A new brand alone will not change a company’s fortunes Abbey, BA, Post Office (Consignia) and M&S all undertook expensive re-branding exercises without effect, because there was something fundamentally wrong with the position of their businesses at the time. The brand change is usually made the scapegoat, much to the delight of the press, when in fact it is the business position that has the problem. This is a convenient sleight of hand.

Extending the brand is best done from a strong conceptual position.

If a brand is known to stand for highly customercentric values then it is feasible to develop parallel markets with ease. Even though from a manufacturing point of view, the transfer is not always legitimate. Caterpillar, the famous plant machinery brand had always marketed the reputation for rugged and hard-working machinery and since 1999 has used these values to brand its outdoor and work wear clothing products – the idea of ‘hardworking’ appears to be very transferable. In truth it is unlikely that an intimate knowledge of plant machinery has any relevance at all for the intricacies of clothing manufacture and marketing. Apparently the punters do not question this lack of experience. Similarly, the German sports car brand Porsche markets values of performance and design for household appliances from kettles to corkscrews.

1. Same brand different position Lucozade originally branded its position as a recuperative health drink with the strap line ‘Lucozade Aids Recovery’. When the Aids pandemic struck in the 80’s Lucozade was forced to change the position to ‘Energy’ without changing the brand. Paradoxically, by branding this changed position, using sports stars such as Daley Thompson (sponsored brand) at the time, allowed Lucozade to retain the health reputation whilst at the same time entering new sports and recreation markets.

need to shoot CAT toy and boots

2. Different brand, same position Conversely, Anderson the highly successful accounting and consulting firm, retained the same position but successfully changed the brand to Accenture. This shows that the brand and the positions you brand can change independently. This is an important distinction. The brand and the positioning are not necessarily intrinsically linked – one can change without the other. The truth is that changing the brand alone without changing the value of the items you brand will change nothing. Similarly, if the value of the products increases but the brand is perceived as low value or poor quality then achieving the right reputation is challenging but not impossible – VW’s work repositioning Skoda has turned this brand challenge into a spectacular success story.

A fundamental shift in position will also lead to a review of the brand – for example when BP moved to position itself ‘Beyond Petroleum’, or when Lucozade became an energy drink.

It is really important to remember that it is the quality of the things you brand, not the brand itself that creates the value. The brand makes the value visible. This is the purpose of brand strategy. Beware the brand agency offering excessive promises. A re-branding will not increase the value unless the thing that is branded is of value. In ranching terms, a poor quality steer is thin and feeble no matter how fancy the brand!

Brand strategy for new leadership or ownership Brands are a mark of ownership so it follows that when this changes, it is time to revisit the brand strategy. Often the acquirer will impose their brand on the company acquired, sometimes without appropriate communication and therefore with damaging consequences. Employees and customers are often loyal to the original owner - if ownership changes it follows that there needs to be respect shown to the original brand. Replacing one brand with another without communication is discourteous and confusing. This doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean that the original brand needs to be over-indulged either. Being decisive and communicating well is often the best policy. Some highly acquisitive companies like GE have developed this process into a fine art. Sometimes companies will not only merge the business but will merge the brands themselves e.g. LloydsTSB. This is the least satisfactory solution as it is unclear who the true owner is - brand compromises are rarely the best solution. Without new ownership, new product or new position there is rarely a reason to dramatically change the brand. When ownership is consistent the brand needs only to be refreshed to keep pace with contemporary style and design. Shell, IBM, Barclays and 3M have all had many iterations in their lifetimes.

It is advisable to refresh the brand every five years.

LoydsTSB is now a house of brands:

how to control your brand

In business-to-business, brand strategy is often not directed from the boardroom. This would never be the case in a consumer business where brand strategy is most definitely on the board’s agenda. In B2B a brand strategy vacuum sometimes exists. Branding is sometimes misunderstood and not deemed relevant, after all …“we don’t have thousands of customers… ” This may be true but does not justify reducing the importance of the brand strategy in the competitive advantage mix. Doing so reduces visibility and offers competitive advantage to the opposition. Relying on the products to be the brands can weaken rather than strengthen the value of the brand owner. In the business-to-business boardroom there is a problem with definition and there is a tendency to call everything a brand. This can be very misleading and confusing.

A well-executed brand strategy can release as much as 25% or 30% increased shareholder value. Evidence? RB

This has two serious consequences:

The brand is not viewed as an asset and therefore neglected

allowing competitors the potential to take a competitive opportunity. Paradoxically, the board's lack of interest in the brand and branding in others provides the first mover with considerable advantage in a B2B context. A well-executed brand strategy can release as much as 25 or 30% increased shareholder value.

Forceful product teams in B2B companies create a branded

approach for their area often out of frustration and a belief in the power of brand strategy to create value. However, because this is reactive rather than strategic it can divert precious resources in the process. Rather than increasing brand value this can often serve to confuse customers and weaken the strength of the parent brand. The product begins to usurp the owner, which would not be allowed to happen in the consumer arena. It may look like the consumerfacing product brands are in the driving seat, but this is an illusion. The brand owner is very much in control and making highly considered strategic branding choices.

“House of brands” or “branded house”?

In business there are many things we wish to make more visible via branding and we need to develop a strategy that encourages the recognition that we desire.

The Unilever house of brands. We have this on the OBG system NEED TO DROP IN

There are fundamentally two approaches: 1. choosing to use many brands in many contexts, the “house of brands” like Unilever, Kraft and P&G 2. or one brand in many contexts, the “branded house” like BP, BMW, ICI and DHL. 2. Branded house - link the products to the owner brands. More often than not the distinction is less clear-cut and in reality many consumer companies are a hybrid. We know that the iPod is brought to us by Apple, KitKat is from Nestlé and BMW brings us the M series. Knowing where the product comes from is very important - the brand owner ultimately delivers and protects the customer’s value. A word of caution here for business-to-business brand strategists. Consumer companies have the resources and expertise to support and market multiple brands; they can afford a creative approach. Business-to-business needs to be selective about how many brands they support. Too many can weaken the visibility of the parent or ultimate brand owner. Many times we have been required to consolidate product names for B2B companies and make the principal brand more visible. Brand culling can be a very liberating experience for B2B companies. This is not only a business-to-business phenomenon; both Unilever and 3M culled numerous brands to strengthen and consolidate their overall brand visibility.

have deleted "have recently"

The rules and the players When considering the implementation of a brand strategy it is useful to consider boundaries of responsibility. Football is a helpful analogy. In football there are the players who play the game on the pitch – these are like the sales and marketing teams within an organisation – and then there is FIFA which is the body that writes the rules – this is like the management team that creates the brand strategy. Ideally we need a great set of rules that keeps the game fair and enhances the play and the spectacle. The rules need to give the players the space to play creatively and safely on the pitch. Everyone needs to understand the rules. There is a balance between the rules and the play. It’s that simple.

? ? ? ?

‘ Sometimes in business the lines between the brand rules and the brand play get blurred and in the absence of clear strategy the players have a tendency to get creative!’ Imagine if the players wrote the rules of football… mayhem. In business as in football it is usually pointless to move the game from the pitch to the car park. This is what happens when there is weak direction of the brand strategy - people start playing in all the wrong areas. This can lead to a waste of resources at one level and more significantly the creation of multiple brands that compete with each other and reduce the value of the parent brand itself. We believe that organisations need to be very clear what their brand rules are and to encourage the players to play creatively on the right “brand pitch”.

7 Park St Bristol BS1 5NF United Kingdom T +44 (0)117 934 0988 F +44 (0)117 934 0989 www.onebrandgroup.com