A brand is an intangible asset. It’s influential, definitive and radically important to primary, secondary and tertiary objectives in the environment in which it operates.
There is a conventional or traditional way of perceiving what a brand is.
Most believe it to be a logo, a tagline or an image. Different people will provide you with their own definitions of a brand or the process of branding. Others will provide you with different reasons for its importance or sustainability.
What many don’t see is the depth to which a brand reaches within the organization and its publics.
Intent Identity Strategy
I come from the school of thought that believes a brand should be tightly and intrinsically tied to an organization’s core business objectives.
Many forget that in today’s saturated marketplace, which is exacerbated by difficult economic times, the importance of defining an organization’s true intent, identity and strategy is at an all time high.
As an organization or as an individual there needs to be a focus on intent, a connection and an experience that is tied to your bottom line.
However, defining your intent, identity and strategy is not a one-off tactic. Rather, it is a gradual and at times organic process that requires a different way of thinking.
There are many ways of achieving this, but with social media’s impact on a brand and its ongoing strategy, there is a need to redefine how an organization embraces this medium.
Socialize The Enterprise
Many organizations use social media – some better than others.
It’s a tool that has redefined the corporate communications structure. Social media is an innovative tool that is a real-time branding vehicle – always on and always open.
But instead of the conventional structure of a centralized social media team, why not integrate this medium across an organization – involving your entire company from the top down?
By encouraging, teaching and regulating the use of social media within the workplace an organization’s brand can expand its reach and presence. For instance, Dell revolutionized how social media was used across its brand.
Dell employees are encouraged to take part in social media by listening and engaging with their publics. What they have essentially done is create 3,300 brand ambassadors, internally.
Think for a moment if your company included senior managers, executives and intermediate associates in its ongoing social media strategy.
Picture how the company’s overall brand would be perceived. Social Media provides a human element behind the brand identity. It connects with people in new and ever-changing ways. Isn’t that how it should be?
What this translates to is a far-reaching, humanized and integrated strategy that provides companies like Dell with the ability to increase engagement, insight and participation.
Risks And Regulation
Much can be learned from Dell’s company-wide social media strategy. It highlights the opportunities that can be created if employees within an organization are involved in social media – from the top down and the bottom up.
However, it is important to understand that this practice needs to be regulated and that employees acknowledge and respect that content is tied to the corporate brand indirectly.
There are risks to this type of program, but there are also significant benefits. Success and benefits necessitate a certain level of risk. This is the common cost-benefit situation that social media thrives on.
Most notable is the fact that instead of people building a relationship with the overarching corporate brand, a social brand strategy offers the opportunity to build humanized relationships with employees themselves in numerous capacities. This in turn increases positive engagement, trust and brand loyalty.
What do you think the risks are with this type of strategy and do you think it’s for all companies to explore?
About Tyler Orchard
@belllindsay Thrilled! Thanks for the opportunity, Linds and @JugnooMe.
@TylerOrchard @JugnooMe My pleasure – thank YOU!
@jasonkonopinski Thank you, Jason. Flattered as always. I hope you enjoyed the read.
“As an organization or as an individual there needs to be a focus on intent, a connection and an experience that is tied to your bottom line.” Agreed! A brand is more than an image. The connection, the experience – this is where the value of a brand comes from. Take Apple as an example. Anyone can make tech, but Apple has taken the technology and created a captivating experience (for most – I am an Android girl at heart) that brings in billions in sales. The brand’s value is in both the products and the experience. As for bottom line, well, they certainly aren’t hurting.
Defining the brand experience can be a tough one to tackle at first, but it’s crucial to your brand’s success – no matter how big or small your company. Great advice, Tyler!
JulieTyios Thank you very much for the compliment. I was thrilled to write a guest post for JugnooMe. You identified a great example in Apple. Tech is expansive and one of the most competitive industries to be successful in. Yet we see Apple have $150-billion in sales over five years with their iPhone alone. Yes, their technology is a main driver for brand loyalty, but it isn’t the sole factor. It is, as you noted, their culture, the experience they have created, and the connection they have made between their brand and their consumers. A brand experience is definitely one of the toughest tasks for any company. It really is more than developing the story or the narrative, it’s what people feel, do and experience when they interact with that brand or its employees. However, and as you cautioned, it is one of the most important processes a company needs to tackle…and quickly as it will forever steer their business.
I know that JulieTyios already said it but it is CRAZY to me how many people think that their brand is what you see visually. Did I say crazy yet? On that point often times in client meetings I will ask everyone to bring their business cards to the meeting. Most thin we are just to exchange them, until I ask them to put them on the table. Traditionally this right after they tell me they have strong brand. 2 out of 3 times, there will be more than 1 style of business cards places on the table. I have to ask them, so can you define strong brand for me? Because visually it is already falling apart and we’re just looking at business cards.Thanks for helping us think about this TylerOrchard
@JustInTheSouth Thank you for the comment, Justin. Your example of business cards is a perfect one. It seems that many clients, companies and organizations hold this very cosmetic perception of “brand”. This leads them to be content with a small design here or a catchy tagline there. To them that’s what a brand should be. However, they completely forget and ignore the direct lineage between what a brand truly is (a story, a culture, an experience, an identity) and their bottom line. It’s a fiercely competitive market today, regardless of industry, and to stand out you must have a deep brand that is integrated into everything a company does and says. In my opinion, a brand defines your success and sustainability as a company. Ignoring the impact it has on all levels and streams of a business is flawed. My suggestion to any company (startups or established entities seeking to rebrand) would be to invest time and resources into clearly building a brand, because it will shape the relationships, loyalty, business development, marketing, PR, and employee culture/retention streams. Thanks again, Justin.
There’s a reason Apple are probably the most iconic brand today – they stuck to their goals all the way through. They wanted to be the most user-friendly product around, where everything made sense to whoever the user was. It’s why they’re screaming ahead, while previous competitor RIM lost track of their brand (enterprise security to failed consumer products). There’s a message there for folks. Great stuff, Tyler, and awesome to see you over here at Jugnoo house!
@Danny Brown It’s terribly sad that when we compare Apple and RIM today there is almost no similarities between the two. Their trajectories could not be more deviated. There is a message in there alright and it all comes back to branding and brand communications. If you design a brand strategy (from start to finish and deeply connect it to every aspect of an organization) and keep your brand messaging focused, succinct, concise and on-point, you have a remarkably better chance to boost loyalty, awareness, share of voice and a whole slew of other metrics and analytics that mean a great deal to a company. Branding is an ongoing process – we must always remember that. Thank you for the opportunity to guest post here. I was thrilled to write for Jugnoo. Cheers, Danny.
@Tyler Orchard @Danny Brown Point. I feel that RIM focused too much on functionality vs. benefits in their marketing in recent years, and when a tactile keyboard is the only reason people stay with your product, you definitely have a brand problem. It takes me back to the Apple vs. PC ads in the 80s, and the (relatively) recent Apple vs. PC TV ads. While both companies had their successes in different ways, you can clearly see which brand won over the years. Cheers!
@JulieTyios @Danny Brown You’re completely right. Not to mention their marketing strategy was very disjointed and dysfunctional. They began with a solid focus in terms of branding, but once competition heated up it threw a monkey wrench in almost everything they tried to do. They never stayed true. I fully believe their fall from grace is a case study that will be used in business schools for decades. It’s just unfortunate that they were such a strong Canadian company.
@Tyler Orchard @Danny Brown Have faith, they’ll be back. But not necessarily as a smartphone manufacturer. They have the patents and technology capabilities to become a serious player in the emerging tech field, and I think they can build their brand back up in this area, they just need to give up on the smartphone and focus on it. Go Canada!
@JulieTyios This is true! It will be interesting to see how their company changes in the coming months and years (even though the CEO is certain there is “nothing wrong”).
JulieTyios I was a blackberry fan before going Apple a few years ago. I’ve often wondered if they failed to see were technology was going and adapt. Their APP store was so late to the game that most people gave up on getting what they really wanted and jumped brands. Blackberry users were willing to sacrifice security for convenience. I agree with you all they need to get back to their Roots and stay true to what they good at. I bet you see a large swing back to them for companies who provide their staff with a mobile device.