Brandfolio

Brandfolio™ Be yourself; everyone else is already taken Oscar Wilde

Revealing your brand from the inside out.

About Studio Pinpoint was founded in 2007 by Founder & President, Romana Mirza who has 25 years experience as head of marketing in manufacturing, design and professional service companies in the US and Canada.

Studio Pinpoint is a brand strategy firm specializing in:

Corporate brand strategy

Brand revitalization & re-launch

Reflecting core values internally & externally: matching who

you are on the inside with how you present yourself to the

outside world.

Brandfolio™ Successful sprinters understand the importance of a good start. It’s where big races are won and lost. And the same is true in business. That’s why a brand platform is important to your organization. It starts you cleanly out of the blocks by defining who you are and what you are about.

A Brandfolio brand platform puts your team members on the same page and provides a common jumping off point so there is stability within the company, how you deliver your product/ services, and your communication to the outside world. A brand platform establishes consistency…which builds trust…which breeds success.

Many businesses fail to establish it. Without a clearly defined vision, common set of standards, and a company culture where everyone understands the offer and how it differentiates the organization, they lose traction…waste movement…miss handoffs…and fall behind.

With the Brandfolio you’ll lead the field with your eye on a clear goal, know what’s needed to reach it, and move with fluidness and a strong sense of teamwork. And you’ll minimize mistakes by measuring decisions against what does and doesn’t fit with your brand. Use the Brandfolio as a guideline to hire, promote internally, develop selling strategies, deliver effective marketing campaigns, and maintain a vibrant vision that consistently moves you forward.

3

What is a Brand Platform?

Your brand is your culture. It permeates the experience of all who touch your business.

Your brand is the outer expression of what your organization stands for and promises.

A Brand Platform is the guideline visionary leaders use to lead their team.

It is the standard to which everyone representing the brand is held accountable.

All the money, time, and resources you invest will guarantee a ROI when you paint an accurate picture of who you are through your brand platform.

5

Why a Brand Platform?

Credibility When your promise is delivered consistently across the organization, the credibility you gain builds trust, which breeds success.

Cost Efficiency There’s no guessing on how the brand is delivered – when everyone shares a well-defined vision, they work and spend more efficiently.

Timeliness There’s no hesitation when you understand the brand. Decisions are made quickly and business moves nimbly.

Breakthrough the Clutter A clear brand differentiates you from your competition in a manner that is relevant, accurate, and defensible.

7

When to develop a Brand Platform.

When a lack of consistency across the organization has a negative impact on your reputation, growth, and profitability.

When you want to create your own image rather than let it evolve in the media and public opinion.

When multiple people represent the brand.

When you feel like your company has lost its story and lost its way.

When the price of entry is no longer good enough (quality, service, innovation).

When you want your brand to rise from good to great.

9

Brandfolio™ is made up of:

Brand Platform Your brand is made up of four elements that inform an understanding of your organization.

Brand Essence: the underlying truth Brand Positioning: unique differentiation Brand Promise: the commitment Brand Personality: the way you do it

11

Brand Essence Brand essence refers to the core values and beliefs that motivate and inspire members of a business. It’s an inherent quality, like DNA, that begins with top leadership and resonates throughout the organization so it exists both individually and corporately. Like a fine wine has subtle qualities in taste, brand essence is the flavour of your organization.

Although intangible and hard to define, its reality is demonstrated by the common statement often made after an employee is dismissed: “She/He wasn’t a good fit for us.” Because of its shared nature, brand essence fosters a company culture that generates enthusiasm, unifies employees behind common goals, and mobilizes for greater productivity.

Brand Essence serves as a litmus test for all activities, transformation, and growth within a business. It guides your focus, informs your actions, and underlies your brand promise.

When all decisions are made with the brand essence in mind it ensures an organization is living its absolutely unique brand.

13

Brand Positioning Of the four elements in the brand platform, your brand position is the only one shared externally for public consumption. It’s typically a one or two sentence statement that clearly differentiates you from the competition by expressing your points of differentiation. It reaches beyond the standard marketing speak of quality, innovation, and service, which actually are the points of entry for any business.

Brand positioning is an important jumping off point that often mentions your industry or the product/service you offer. It inspires your marketing materials so they are consistent in what you say and how you say it. When properly employed, those materials will retain the quality and feel of your positioning statement.

In addition your positioning statement must be: • Relevant — to your organization and all stakeholders.

• Accurate — it reflects who you are.

• Defensible — there is proof to support your claim.

15

Brand Promise The key ingredient to forming a lasting relationship—any relationship—is commitment.

That’s what the brand promise establishes with all your stakeholders. It’s related to your core values and how you want your organization to be experienced. It sets expectations, both internally and externally, and ties a knot that holds everyone together.

Internally, it establishes the goals for your team members, executive leaders, and stakeholders. It’s what you all aspire to—generally not specific to your industry, but inherent in your identity.

Externally, it sets expectations and allows customers to know where your business stands, as well as what they stand to gain through association with your brand. Your promise is not related to specific deliverables, but your overall approach. It’s how your brand satisfies expectations, gratifies desires, and fulfills needs.

Your brand promise is specific, and yet it’s the broadest claim you can make that is readily substantiated and therefore believed. It binds you to your customers and gains their loyalty in return—which further strengthens the relationship.

17

Brand Personality Your organization is made up of individuals with distinct personalities. Collectively, they also form a personality on an organizational level. Brand personality is this sum of individual qualities that create a distinct impression of the brand, both through its communications and in the actual experience of interacting with the brand. It’s validated by the organization’s culture and values, the intrinsic quality of service, and the customer’s perceptions.

Consider, for example, if you described yourself as…

Worldly, exciting, and fun or

Meaningful, approachable and skilled Each suggests unique images. How they are presented will involve differences in colour palette, designs—even the language and voice you speak. Brand Personality creates a match between who you are on the inside with how you present yourself to the outside. It is embedded with these three elements:

• Core — Values and beliefs that are inherent in the company culture.

• Aspirational — What you constantly strive for.

• Subtle — Supports and enhances the other two.

Brand personality inspires a way of living for your team. It’s reflected in your culture, values, quality of service, customer perceptions, and unique identity within the marketplace. Keeping it ensures that you stay true to your own identity while distinguishing yourself from others in the market.

19

Knowing your brand saves time, because it cuts through all the not knowing and wandering down other paths. It helps you know where you’re going, define yourself and retool where you are headed.

Luca Crescia, Founder, STORM Hair Group

Having worked with the team I know that Studio Pinpoint is on the leading edge, ahead of the thinking on this stuff. Their approach allows a company to create a long-term residual legacy, and build your company upon values, because that’s what you leave behind. Brand is an important piece of that legacy.�

Michael McInerney, Vice President, AonHewitt

Our company needed to review its core brand elements and messaging in order to tell the story of who our company is after a period of change. We wanted to work with a brand strategist who really understood our objectives, and who could help guide us to a clear vision of our brand’s story. We chose to work with Romana Mirza of Studio Pinpoint, and the results achieved during our sessions with her far exceeded our expectations. We started the journey with Romana full of questions about our own identity, and we emerged with a clear, strong view of who we are and what our story is.

Joel Berman, founder and president

Our focus on your true self takes you down a path that forms a picture perfect brand.

Call today to get started on a path to your

Brandfolio™ 888 281 9465 www.studiopinpoint.com romana@studiopinpoint.com

©2011 Romana Mirza Group Inc. Studio Pinpoint™ and Brandfolio™ are trademarks of Romana Mirza Group Inc. This document is proprietary and confidential and may be legally privileged.

1235 Bay Street, Suite 400, Toronto, ON M5R 3K4 phone 416 619 0362 fax 567 429 0922 www.studiopinpoint.com