HOW’S YOUR BRAND WORKING?UNLEASH THE POWER

OF YOUR BRAND

September 1, 2009

© 2009, Brand Insights LLC

Nancy Resnick

Alan Bergstrom

WELCOME

What to expect

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ABOUT US

We are a brand-centered consulting agency

focused on helping organizations “activate” and

unleash the full power their brand to improve

market success. Our goal is to provide

measureable and meaningful impact on the

organization’s bottom line.

We help organizations use their brand to discover

opportunities and deliver them in extraordinary ways

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ABOUT US

Nancy Resnick

Chief Customer Officer

Nancy has over 20 years of marketing and customer

research experience. Much of her career was with a

international financial services company where she

created the direct response marketing department,

established the marketing information function, and

headed the qualitative research section. Nancy is

passionate about the power of customer information to

drive company success.

Alan Bergstrom

Chief Strategy Officer

Alan has over 20 years of brand strategy and implementation

experience, working with clients of all types and categories

to enhance brand performance. He is a nationally renowned

expert with deep experience in positioning, operationalizing,

measuring, and guiding brands to greatness. Previously, he

founded and led one of the top three brand agencies in the

US. Alan is a frequent speaker and writer on brand issues

and solutions.

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OVERVIEW

What is a brand?

Definition

Components

Examples

Three keys to brand success

Q & A

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WHAT IS A BRAND?

HOW DO THEY GET THERE?

Brands live in the minds of the customer

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WHAT IS A BRAND?

A brand is a combination of functional and emotional

characteristics that define an image or personality which

appeals to certain customer segments—it’s the core essence of

a company or organization

It’s something that is both tangible and intangible. It’s the sum

of experiences that a customer has with your

organization…good, bad, or indifferent

Very simply, a brand is about making a promise and keeping that promise, day-in and day-out

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WHAT IS A BRAND?—COMPONENTS

Name

Logo (visual identity)

Company/organization (what’s behind the brand)

Attributes/characteristics

Personality

Promise of some benefit(s)

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WHAT IS A BRAND?

o Name…

o Often descriptive, invented, experiential, or evocative

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Abbreviated Descriptive Invented Experiential Evocative Named

IBM General

Motors

Google Explorer Yahoo! Ford

AT&T Huggies Ebay Target Nike Sony

IKEA Coca-Cola Oreo Sunkist Apple Hewlett-

Packard

BMW Pizza Hut Velcro Starbucks Virgin Macy’s

WHAT IS A BRAND?

…yet, you’d be surprised how some companies

select a brand name

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WHAT IS A BRAND?

Logo...

o Generally designed to reinforce the name—can be creative,

symbolic, include an icon, or merely grab attention

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WHAT IS A BRAND?

…or, then again, completely defy logic

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WHAT IS A BRAND?

Company/organization (what’s behind the brand)

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WHAT IS A BRAND?

Attributes/characteristics

Emotional

Attributes:

Functional

Attributes:

“What does it do for me?”

“How does it make me feel?”

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WHAT IS A BRAND?

What are this brand’s attributes?

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WHAT IS A BRAND?

What are this brand’s attributes?

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WHAT IS A BRAND?

o Personality

o Those “human traits” that are often buried in our

subconscious—what we think of if the brand were a person

o Often used as the background, or “language” in advertising

and marketing communications

o But, they are real…they allow us to relate to various brands

on a human level

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WHAT IS A BRAND?

What is this brand’s personality?

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Gender?

Age?

Life stage?

Occupation?

Dress style?

Hobbies?

Personality traits?

WHAT IS A BRAND?

What is this brand’s personality?

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Gender?

Age?

Life stage?

Occupation?

Dress style?

Hobbies?

Personality traits?

WHAT IS A BRAND?

o Promise

o Simple, “core idea” or message that a brand tries to convey

as its primary benefit to customers

o Can be functional or emotional

o Sometimes captured in the brand’s tagline or slogan

o But, have to be believable and capable of being delivered

(real)

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WHAT IS A BRAND?

What is this brand’s promise?

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“create magical encounters and memories”

WHAT IS A BRAND?

What is this brand’s promise?

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“celebrate self-esteem and creativity”

KEYS TO BRAND SUCCESS—DEVELOP A UNIQUE

AND COMPELLING POINT OF DIFFERENCE

• Unless your brand is comparably

different, you’re becoming a commodity

• Uniqueness can generate higher

prices and greater loyalty

• Strong brands don’t attempt to be

everything to everyone

# 1

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KEYS TO BRAND SUCCESS—RELATIONSHIPS

DEPEND ON RELEVANT BRAND PROMISES

• Most customers don’t purchase merely a

“product” or “service”• They buy trust, quality, reputation, and

relevance

• Successful brands understand their

customers’ needs and maintain

relevance—expressed as a promise

# 2

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KEYS TO BRAND SUCCESS—DELIVER YOUR

BRAND PROMISE ACROSS ALL TOUCHPOINTS

• Great customer experiences are the result

of intentional, coordinated internal action• All employees and organization

departments contribute to deliver the

promise at every customer encounter

• Extraordinary customer experiences

create brand evangelists who rave about

their experiences to others

# 3

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QUESTIONS?

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