Chuck Kent | creativeoncall

STEP BRANDINGPROCESS amp WORKSHOP

3How to locate

differentiate and

communicate

the power of

your brandrsquos

simple truth

INTRODUCTION

PREPARATION

PROCESS

STEP 1 Discover

Research and review

External discovery

Internal discovery and branding workshop

STEP 2 Define

Brand elements essence benefits amp personality

STEP 3 Develop

Brand-positioning statement

Master creative strategy

FIRST PRODUCTS

Brand identity

Brand voice

THE SELL-IN

Presenting to the organization

ADDENDUM TEMPLATES

Leadership interview

Pre-workshop questionnaire

Workshop outline

Brand map

Master creative strategy

A WORD ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Chuck Kent is a freelance branding strategist and writer who has

worked with clients from A (American Girl) to Z (Zurich) and for

marketers and their agencies of all sizes He is the creator and

moderator of The Branding Roundtable for Branding Magazine for

which is also a Contributing Editor Find him on Twitter LinkedIn

and his own company website and blog creativeoncallcom

CHUCK KENT

3124207051

kentcreativeoncallcom

Table of contents

Text copy Creative on Call IncMay be used and shared with attribution

2

Herersquos the most important thing you can learn from this eBook

branding is not about your brand

Itrsquos about your customers prospects and employees and what your

product or service ndash in fact your whole company ndash can honestly do

and be for them As such branding isnrsquot about positioning in the

sense of posturing itrsquos the task of locating the simple truth about

your brand This search requires taking three steps

1 DIscover the needs and attitudes of all constituencies

2 Define the brand essence its rational and emotional value

3 Develop a differentiating positioning statement and master

creative strategy

Identifying what your brand can honestly do and be requires

complete honesty with yourself in the process a need that may

be best served by hiring an independent consultant or branding

firm (says the experienced consultant writing this) But even if you

decide to pursue branding or rebranding internally

this eBook will help you discover

define and develop the

essential elements of

a strong meaningful

well-differentiated

brand

This is about

brandingSo itrsquos notabout you

(Itrsquos about her)

3

There are two critical reasons to involve your people at all levels

bull Leadership needs to be invested in the branding process

if they are going to champion (and fund) the outcome

bull Employees deliver the brand experience good or bad

planned or not they must have and feel ownership

Of course investing people requires educating them first

How to Explain Branding to Your Leadership

1 Tell them what a brand is Even experienced business people

often misunderstand what a brand really is thinking itrsquos just

a logo or an image There are many definitions my favorite

states that a brand is a promise made and kept

2 Explain the ROI of branding Familiarize yourself with the

research that explains the bottom line benefit of having a clear

strong brand One report for instance states that ldquoStrong

brands have been shown to be effective strategies for achiev-

ing sustainable profits and returns Furthermore strong brands

also demonstrably enhance shareholder wealth via higher firm

stock [prices]rdquo

3 Describe the organizational benefits Well-defined and

differentiated brands help attract retain and best of all

inspire employees Conversely a recent study noted that ldquoA

weak brandcan lead to poorer candidates disengaged and

resentful employees higher turnover and ultimately reduced

organizational performance

Whether you do it one-to-one or in more formal meetings it pays

to explain up front how branding profits everyone

Before you take that first step

bring your people along

No company is a stock as these people so no brand positioning can rely on stock answers You

need to listen closely to your organization at all levels if you

want to hear what really makes your brand experience unique

4

There are two critical reasons to involve your people at all levels

bull Leadership needs to be invested in the branding process

if they are going to champion (and fund) the outcome

bull Employees deliver the brand experience good or bad

planned or not they must have and feel ownership

Of course investing people requires educating them first

How to Explain Branding to Your Leadership

1 Tell them what a brand is Even experienced business people

often misunderstand what a brand really is thinking itrsquos just

a logo or an image There are many definitions my favorite

states that a brand is a promise made and kept

2 Explain the ROI of branding Familiarize yourself with the

research that explains the bottom line benefit of having a clear

strong brand One report for instance states that ldquoStrong

brands have been shown to be effective strategies for achiev-

ing sustainable profits and returns Furthermore strong brands

also demonstrably enhance shareholder wealth via higher firm

stock [prices]rdquo

3 Describe the organizational benefits Well-defined and

differentiated brands help attract retain and best of all

inspire employees Conversely a recent study noted that ldquoA

weak brandcan lead to poorer candidates disengaged and

resentful employees higher turnover and ultimately reduced

organizational performance

Whether you do it one-to-one or in more formal meetings it pays

to explain up front how branding profits everyone

Before you take that first step

bring your people along

No company is a stock as these people so no brand positioning can rely on stock answers You

need to listen closely to your organization at all levels if you

want to hear what really makes your brand experience unique

4

The quickest route to ineffective branding is for a marketer to insist

that they already thoroughly understand and can articulate exactly

what their customers want and need ndash and that they are ready to

simply jump to creating branding statements This can be done

but all it produces is a formalization of preconceived notions and

political biases ndash in short the problems yoursquore trying to overcome

only get more entrenched

Useful insight requires in-depth listening and learning fresh

perspectives and as emphasized before complete honesty

Whomever is leading your branding effort should be expected

(and allowed) to

1 Review current client materials and plans

Provide your project leader with your latest business plans

(redact as you must but let them in on the basics) along with

key marketingcommunications materials plus whatever

competitor materials and information you have

2 Review existing industry research and social signals

Hopefully your company conducts on-going research on con-

sumer and customer attitudes needs and trends and rou-

tinely whittles your own Big Data down to manageable size

Equip your project leader with that information as well as any

related industry studies If you do not have any current propri-

etary research seriously consider investing the time and money

to conduct new research (many new marketing research tools

make this a faster more affordable endeavor than ever)

3 Interview the executive team one-on-one

Once the project leader has digested all of the above he

or she should interview the executive project owners to focus

your discovery and challenge assumptions (See the Leadership

Discussion Guide example in the Addendum)

4 Interview clients one-on-one

If you have no current information and feel you canrsquot

afford to do even the slightest bit of new research at least

do this identify 10-12 representative customers who

would be willing to do a 30 minute phone interview

with your project leader These should

definitely be recorded as the verbatim remarks

even the inflection of the comments can be

very revealing factually and emotionally

STEP 1Discover

5

A well-executed discovery phase gathers and prioritizes the data

you need ndash but therersquos still a huge gap between raw information

and real insight In the definition phase you must pare away all

non-essentials until you are left with nothing but your brandrsquos

simple truth (again we are about positioning here not posturing)

At this point your branding consultant or internal project leader

must take a strong lead in defining

1 Brand elements

What are your products organizational structure

personality and symbols

2 Brand essence

How do the above net out as the core of what you are

and do

3 Brand benefits

What difference ndash rationally and emotionallyndash does that

essence make to customers (and all stakeholders)

4 Brand personality

How is your brand most accurately personified as part of that

all-important customer relationship

STEP 2Define

The Branding Workshop Begins

Experience shows that while your consultant needs to craft initial

definitions of the above using a Brand Map (see the

template in the Addendum) once those are complete

itrsquos time to involve your larger leadership team in the

branding process

Schedule a half-day off-site session during which the

consultant can guide a group of 10-12 key internal

decision makers and influencers through the

Brand Map soliciting their input and challenges

and challenging their assumptions and biases

in return (see the Workshop Outline)

This teamwork not only adds valuable

organizational insight ndash it also invests your

leaders in the outcome of the branding process giving them both

ownership in and responsibility for its success

6

A Special Note About Discerning Your Brandrsquos Personality

An effective brand personality is not a fictional character contrived

to attract but rather it is your brandrsquos true internal character

revealed As such it canrsquot be a mask it must be a reflection

Hold a Mirror Up to Your Organization

There are many ways to get your organization to see and say

what it is One of the best is the photo sort an exercise that

invariably engages and enlivens the leadership team more than any

other single exercise in the half-day branding workshop If your

consultant isnrsquot familiar with the photo sort herersquos how it works

1 Assemble a wide range of portraits

The objective is to compile a deck of 20 or so photos of

well-known personalities (famous people or archetypes)

On the one hand you should be mindful of personality types

that represent known qualities or aspirations of your organ-

ization On the other hand itrsquos wise to throw in a few wild

cards simply to see what reactions they spark

2 Divide your workshop group into teams

Provide a complete deck of 5x7 photos for teams of 3-4

workshop participants each (ideally a total of 3 teams)

3 Challenge the teams

Ask each team to select (in separate sequential exercises)

six photospeople that represent a key aspect of a) your

competitors b) your organization now and c) what they

believe your organization can be in five years

4 Require the teams to present and explain their choices

Have each team select a presenter who will place the six

choices up on a poster-size Post-It labeling each with

just one adjective (Note be sure to photograph each of these

Post-Its before starting the next round as teams will need to

re-use photos)

After the workshop the consultantproject leader should

compile and distill the results aiming to divine an essential thread

throughout the comments The consultantrsquos summation is most

usefully presented as a six-photo selection each photo described

by one key adjective

Photo sorts can also be used to excellent effective if you are able to

conduct customerconsumer focus groups

STEP 2Define

Us ndash in 5 years

easy going expert inquisitive

exciting experienced welcoming

7

This is the step where your brand positioning comes together ndash or

not It is deceptively simple a one sentence brand-positioning

statement followed by a one-page master creative strategy that

looks like a fill-in-the-blank template This however is also where

the Big Idea happens where all you have discovered and defined

must get distilled into clear differentiating usable statements

Brand-Positioning Statement

Simplicity brevity and specificity rule in creating a brand

positioning statement which should take the follow form

To (target audience) (productservice name) is the (adjective)

brand that provides (this key benefit)

The statement should be phrased to be as competitively unique

as possible

Master Creative Strategy

Up until now wersquove been concerned with internal language (which

is to say no you should not use your brand-positioning statement

in literal form with any of your key audiences) Making all this

effort meaningful in the marketplace requires converting it

into a practical brand messaging strategy ndash a master creative

strategy to inform and guide all communications

In the Addendum you will find a QampA template for

encapsulating key considerations to be observed whether

writing a website ad or employee newsletter (each of

which likely deserves its own specific version to clarify

exact communication deliverables of specific goal-

driven projects) This document not only guides

creative development it also provides as objective a

a yardstick as is possible for judging creative work

in the subjective realm of marketing creativity

STEP 3Develop

8

It is important that you not only complete the organization-facing

statements but also proceed to ldquomaterializingrdquo the promise of this

new positioning in customer-facing uses This will help you

bull Prove the practicality of your brand direction

bull Embed it in the organization through real-world use

Brand Identity

For new brands or completely repositioned brands a new name

andor visual identity (not just a logo but also colors fonts

and overall visual approach) are likely the first order of creative

business Done well these can be very involved time-consuming

andor expensive propositions but regardless of the scope of your

identity projects they all require the brand-positioning work to be

completed and completely understood first

Brand Voice

Establishing a distinctive brand voice through specific copy creation

is one of the best ways to establish your brand personality As most

branding projects for smaller to medium-sized brands are typically

followed by the development of a new website that copy creation

is your best opportunity to begin to work out and exhibit your

unique brand voice

Sales Deck

Many companies reach their first level of success through

pure ldquoold-fashionedrdquo salesmanship and branding comes to

the fore only when such companies grow past the low-

hanging fruit and need to support broader sales through

disciplined marketing (not to mention needing to build

greater brand equity for owners or shareholders) For such

sales-centric companies there is no better first project (other

than the website) than updating that old warhorse the

PowerPoint sales deck A well-designed consistent differenti-

ating and strategically more persuasive deck can be a great

way to make brand believers (and ambassadors) out of your sales

force and management

First Products

9

Yoursquove done the hard work of brand positioning Yoursquove started

to bring it to life with the first customer-facing expressions of your

promise and personality Everybodyrsquos onboard and itrsquos full speed

ahead right Well not quite

Sing it Dance it Sell it

Many companies fall into the trap of simply launching into new

brand communications without first getting buy-in from the entire

organization Yes if yoursquove followed this process you have at least

involved your management and key leadership team but there is

an army of make-or-break brand stewards out there ndash that is to

say the entire organization ndash that needs to get informed and get

excited about what the new branding means to them

Minimally you need to make a formal presentation to the troops

(no an email wonrsquot do) Ideally yoursquoll invest in an employee-

involving internal communications campaign Depending on the

nature (and budget) of your organization this might include

bull A teaser campaign to pique employee interest (think of a

series of only semi-revealing messages whether in-location

signage postcards videos get creative)

bull An organization-wide presentation to create a shared

ldquomoment of changerdquo

bull An on-going effort to keep communicating and correlating

employeesrsquo brand boosting with performance (HR needs to

be part of bringing the brand alive)

Donrsquot Forget Your Brand Co-Creators

Of course in this era of the hyper-empowered consumer both

new branding and rebranding projects are wise to not only respect

the customerrsquos sense of brand ownership but actively work to culti-

vate and inform it In the Discover phase of the branding process

this can mean anything from social listening to active solicitation

of input Once its time to launch the new branding it also means

being intentional about reaching out to the most committed (and

vocal) brand advocates evangelists agitators Consider special

ldquopreviewrdquo communications contests and other incentives tied into

understanding and socially amplifying the new brand messaging

The Sell-in

10

Addendum

TEMPLATES

Leadership Interviews

Pre-Workshop Questionnaire

Workshop Outline

Brand Map

Master Creative Strategy

This sample is specifically for a B2B services firm but can be

adapted to B2C firms and individual productservice branding It

is recommended that you ask permission to record and transcribe

this interview both for clarity of information gathering and

potential use (as quotes) in your reporting

LeadershipInterview

1 Your Firm a In one sentence as briefly as possible describe the business yoursquore in b What are your near term business goals c Long-term goals d What is the firmrsquos greatest strength e Greatest weakness

2 Client Profiles amp Needs a Describe your current clients by i Industry ii Company iii Decision-makers (positions demographics psychographics) iv Greatest needs pain points v Greatest personalcareer needsfears vi Media habits vii Top reason(s) they choose you b Describe your ideal prospects by i Industry ii Company iii Decision-makers (positions demographics psychographics) iv Greatest business needs pain points v Greatest personalcareer needsfears vi Media habits vii Top reason(s) they will or wonrsquot choose you

3 Marketplace Dynamics a Who are your top 2-3 competitors today i What do you see as their competitive differentiators ii What are their marketplace advantages b Who (by description if not name) are likely to be your top 2-3 competitors in 3-5 years i What will be their competitive differentiators ii Marketplace advantages c Over the past few years from a clientrsquos view of your industry what has been i hellip the most exciting change ii hellip the most difficult challenge d Answer both of the above from a your firmrsquos perspective e As clients look ahead what is likely to be your industryrsquos i hellip most exciting change ii hellip most difficult challenge f Answer the above from your firmrsquos perspective

12

At least a week before the half-day workshop send this

questionnaire out to the participants You will need to get it back

in time to synthesize composite answers to help inform your

exploration and discussion in the workshop

Pre-Workshop Questionnaire

3-Step Branding Process Workshop Name _____________________________________Leadership Team Questionnaire Title _____________________________________

Please briefly answer the following questions your input will help inform our brand-positioning process Please type your answers directly following the questions when there are multiple responses to a single question please numerically prioritize your answers Simply email your completed questionnaire directly to [project leader] at [email]

1 In one sentence as distilled as possible please answer the question ldquoWhat does your [organization name] dordquo

2 What do you see as [organization namersquos] greatest competitive a Strength b Weakness

3 Describe [organization namersquos] current clients by a Industry b Position c Needs d Reasons they work with [organization name] e Reasons they donrsquot ndash ie why do you lose projects from current clients or prospects

4 Describe the clients you think [organization name] should have in the future by a Industry b Position c Needs

5 What types of productsservices should [organization name] be offering that it is not now to attract those desired future clients and expand business with the clients we currently have

6 What obstacles to you see in getting to points 4 and 5 above a Internal b External

7 Who do you see as [organization namersquos] top competitors a Today b In five years

13

This outlines the approximately 3 12 hour facilitated workshop

envisioned for a key leadership team of 10-15 people To ensure

focus itrsquos best to hold this off site This requires only a comfortable

conference room with ample food and drink available (and use of

devices discouraged except at breaks)

Workshop Outline

A) What is a brand ndash and why does it need to be positioned bull Ask for definitions bull Share a well-positioned brand should do three things 1 Present a compelling benefit to the prospective customer 2 Identify the benefit provider (brand identity and personality) 3 Differentiate the product or service from the competition (this is the combined effect of the first two points)

B) Who are you bull Share their definitions broadly compiled from the pre-workshop questionnaire into one composite description bull Walk participants through the brand map (the leaderconsultant should have hisher own answers in hand but solicit input from the group before sharing or adding those in)

C) Who are your customers present amp future bull What are their needsdesirespain points bull What are your customers like Personality Media habits

D) Who is your competition bull Talk about ones most often mentioned in their questionnaires

E) Benefit differentiation matrix Place your company and competitors on a matrix of relevant key benefits (functional benefits on one axis emotional benefits on the other) Do the exercise first for today and again to represent where you want to see relative positions five years from now (these four benefits are only for purposes of illustration)

Confidence

Data Insight

Safety

F) Brand personality photo sort Benefit is only part of it ndash personality counts in the human decision-making equation Reason (benefit) + emotion (response to personality) = decision Using the process outlined on page 7 have each team create and present their photo selects for bull The brand at present bull The brand aspired to (future)

14

Use this template to tease out the core elements of the brand It

is recommended that the consultant or project leader have his

her own answers defined but solicit imput from the workshop

participants before sharing or adding those definitions

BrandMap

Brand map

Brand Essence Two or three key words that describe the essential brand benefits

Brand Personality Descriptors that personify the company

Brand products List the key productsservices

Brand Organization - Who are you - How are you organized

Brand Symbols Visualize the brand via current or new images

Brand Value Functional Describe what your productservice does on a core functional level Emotional Describe how your brand makes its users feel (try formatting

as a user quote) Self What does the user as an individual get out of the brand

15

Use this format to distill all the branding work yoursquove done into a

focused manageable message And please ndash keep it to one page

The discipline of communicating the essentials begins here and

whether your vehicle is a website or a print ad you must make the

most of limited space and even more limited attention spans

Creative Strategy

16

The first step is to select an experienced brand strategist from out-

side your organization (my recommendation both for purposes of

expertise and objectivity) If that is not in your budget then select

a project leader from your internal team and empower her or him

with enough authority and independence to make a difference

How to Get Started

Chuck Kent

As a brand strategist and a writer I can not only help you find

your brandrsquos simple truth I can also convert your discoveries into

compelling communications (one is after all really no use without

the other) Irsquove helped do it for global leaders like GE Motorola

and Zurich as well as upstart innovators and a host of small-to-

midmarket companies

This eBook should give you a good idea of how I think If yoursquod

like to know a little more about me personally try one of my most

popular posts

ldquo3 Things You Need to Know About Chuck Kent Before Hiring Himrdquo

3124207051

kentcreativeoncallcom

creativeoncallcom

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I did not originate all these the tools and techniques fea-tured here they include my best synthesis of ideas from other brand thinkers over decades of branding experience presented in a format that I have honed to be the most effective My appreciation goes out to all with apologies that specific names cannot be included in my thanks

17

Text copy Creative on Call IncMay be used and shared with attribution

A well-executed discovery phase gathers and prioritizes the data

you need ndash but therersquos still a huge gap between raw information

and real insight In the definition phase you must pare away all

non-essentials until you are left with nothing but your brandrsquos

simple truth (again we are about positioning here not posturing)

At this point your branding consultant or internal project leader

must take a strong lead in defining

1 Brand elements

What are your products organizational structure

personality and symbols

2 Brand essence

How do the above net out as the core of what you are

and do

3 Brand benefits

What difference ndash rationally and emotionallyndash does that

essence make to customers (and all stakeholders)

4 Brand personality

How is your brand most accurately personified as part of that

all-important customer relationship

STEP 2Define

The Branding Workshop Begins

Experience shows that while your consultant needs to craft initial

definitions of the above using a Brand Map (see the

template in the Addendum) once those are complete

itrsquos time to involve your larger leadership team in the

branding process

Schedule a half-day off-site session during which the

consultant can guide a group of 10-12 key internal

decision makers and influencers through the

Brand Map soliciting their input and challenges

and challenging their assumptions and biases

in return (see the Workshop Outline)

This teamwork not only adds valuable

organizational insight ndash it also invests your

leaders in the outcome of the branding process giving them both

ownership in and responsibility for its success

6

A Special Note About Discerning Your Brandrsquos Personality

An effective brand personality is not a fictional character contrived

to attract but rather it is your brandrsquos true internal character

revealed As such it canrsquot be a mask it must be a reflection

Hold a Mirror Up to Your Organization

There are many ways to get your organization to see and say

what it is One of the best is the photo sort an exercise that

invariably engages and enlivens the leadership team more than any

other single exercise in the half-day branding workshop If your

consultant isnrsquot familiar with the photo sort herersquos how it works

1 Assemble a wide range of portraits

The objective is to compile a deck of 20 or so photos of

well-known personalities (famous people or archetypes)

On the one hand you should be mindful of personality types

that represent known qualities or aspirations of your organ-

ization On the other hand itrsquos wise to throw in a few wild

cards simply to see what reactions they spark

2 Divide your workshop group into teams

Provide a complete deck of 5x7 photos for teams of 3-4

workshop participants each (ideally a total of 3 teams)

3 Challenge the teams

Ask each team to select (in separate sequential exercises)

six photospeople that represent a key aspect of a) your

competitors b) your organization now and c) what they

believe your organization can be in five years

4 Require the teams to present and explain their choices

Have each team select a presenter who will place the six

choices up on a poster-size Post-It labeling each with

just one adjective (Note be sure to photograph each of these

Post-Its before starting the next round as teams will need to

re-use photos)

After the workshop the consultantproject leader should

compile and distill the results aiming to divine an essential thread

throughout the comments The consultantrsquos summation is most

usefully presented as a six-photo selection each photo described

by one key adjective

Photo sorts can also be used to excellent effective if you are able to

conduct customerconsumer focus groups

STEP 2Define

Us ndash in 5 years

easy going expert inquisitive

exciting experienced welcoming

7

This is the step where your brand positioning comes together ndash or

not It is deceptively simple a one sentence brand-positioning

statement followed by a one-page master creative strategy that

looks like a fill-in-the-blank template This however is also where

the Big Idea happens where all you have discovered and defined

must get distilled into clear differentiating usable statements

Brand-Positioning Statement

Simplicity brevity and specificity rule in creating a brand

positioning statement which should take the follow form

To (target audience) (productservice name) is the (adjective)

brand that provides (this key benefit)

The statement should be phrased to be as competitively unique

as possible

Master Creative Strategy

Up until now wersquove been concerned with internal language (which

is to say no you should not use your brand-positioning statement

in literal form with any of your key audiences) Making all this

effort meaningful in the marketplace requires converting it

into a practical brand messaging strategy ndash a master creative

strategy to inform and guide all communications

In the Addendum you will find a QampA template for

encapsulating key considerations to be observed whether

writing a website ad or employee newsletter (each of

which likely deserves its own specific version to clarify

exact communication deliverables of specific goal-

driven projects) This document not only guides

creative development it also provides as objective a

a yardstick as is possible for judging creative work

in the subjective realm of marketing creativity

STEP 3Develop

8

It is important that you not only complete the organization-facing

statements but also proceed to ldquomaterializingrdquo the promise of this

new positioning in customer-facing uses This will help you

bull Prove the practicality of your brand direction

bull Embed it in the organization through real-world use

Brand Identity

For new brands or completely repositioned brands a new name

andor visual identity (not just a logo but also colors fonts

and overall visual approach) are likely the first order of creative

business Done well these can be very involved time-consuming

andor expensive propositions but regardless of the scope of your

identity projects they all require the brand-positioning work to be

completed and completely understood first

Brand Voice

Establishing a distinctive brand voice through specific copy creation

is one of the best ways to establish your brand personality As most

branding projects for smaller to medium-sized brands are typically

followed by the development of a new website that copy creation

is your best opportunity to begin to work out and exhibit your

unique brand voice

Sales Deck

Many companies reach their first level of success through

pure ldquoold-fashionedrdquo salesmanship and branding comes to

the fore only when such companies grow past the low-

hanging fruit and need to support broader sales through

disciplined marketing (not to mention needing to build

greater brand equity for owners or shareholders) For such

sales-centric companies there is no better first project (other

than the website) than updating that old warhorse the

PowerPoint sales deck A well-designed consistent differenti-

ating and strategically more persuasive deck can be a great

way to make brand believers (and ambassadors) out of your sales

force and management

First Products

9

Yoursquove done the hard work of brand positioning Yoursquove started

to bring it to life with the first customer-facing expressions of your

promise and personality Everybodyrsquos onboard and itrsquos full speed

ahead right Well not quite

Sing it Dance it Sell it

Many companies fall into the trap of simply launching into new

brand communications without first getting buy-in from the entire

organization Yes if yoursquove followed this process you have at least

involved your management and key leadership team but there is

an army of make-or-break brand stewards out there ndash that is to

say the entire organization ndash that needs to get informed and get

excited about what the new branding means to them

Minimally you need to make a formal presentation to the troops

(no an email wonrsquot do) Ideally yoursquoll invest in an employee-

involving internal communications campaign Depending on the

nature (and budget) of your organization this might include

bull A teaser campaign to pique employee interest (think of a

series of only semi-revealing messages whether in-location

signage postcards videos get creative)

bull An organization-wide presentation to create a shared

ldquomoment of changerdquo

bull An on-going effort to keep communicating and correlating

employeesrsquo brand boosting with performance (HR needs to

be part of bringing the brand alive)

Donrsquot Forget Your Brand Co-Creators

Of course in this era of the hyper-empowered consumer both

new branding and rebranding projects are wise to not only respect

the customerrsquos sense of brand ownership but actively work to culti-

vate and inform it In the Discover phase of the branding process

this can mean anything from social listening to active solicitation

of input Once its time to launch the new branding it also means

being intentional about reaching out to the most committed (and

vocal) brand advocates evangelists agitators Consider special

ldquopreviewrdquo communications contests and other incentives tied into

understanding and socially amplifying the new brand messaging

The Sell-in

10

Addendum

TEMPLATES

Leadership Interviews

Pre-Workshop Questionnaire

Workshop Outline

Brand Map

Master Creative Strategy

This sample is specifically for a B2B services firm but can be

adapted to B2C firms and individual productservice branding It

is recommended that you ask permission to record and transcribe

this interview both for clarity of information gathering and

potential use (as quotes) in your reporting

LeadershipInterview

1 Your Firm a In one sentence as briefly as possible describe the business yoursquore in b What are your near term business goals c Long-term goals d What is the firmrsquos greatest strength e Greatest weakness

2 Client Profiles amp Needs a Describe your current clients by i Industry ii Company iii Decision-makers (positions demographics psychographics) iv Greatest needs pain points v Greatest personalcareer needsfears vi Media habits vii Top reason(s) they choose you b Describe your ideal prospects by i Industry ii Company iii Decision-makers (positions demographics psychographics) iv Greatest business needs pain points v Greatest personalcareer needsfears vi Media habits vii Top reason(s) they will or wonrsquot choose you

3 Marketplace Dynamics a Who are your top 2-3 competitors today i What do you see as their competitive differentiators ii What are their marketplace advantages b Who (by description if not name) are likely to be your top 2-3 competitors in 3-5 years i What will be their competitive differentiators ii Marketplace advantages c Over the past few years from a clientrsquos view of your industry what has been i hellip the most exciting change ii hellip the most difficult challenge d Answer both of the above from a your firmrsquos perspective e As clients look ahead what is likely to be your industryrsquos i hellip most exciting change ii hellip most difficult challenge f Answer the above from your firmrsquos perspective

12

At least a week before the half-day workshop send this

questionnaire out to the participants You will need to get it back

in time to synthesize composite answers to help inform your

exploration and discussion in the workshop

Pre-Workshop Questionnaire

3-Step Branding Process Workshop Name _____________________________________Leadership Team Questionnaire Title _____________________________________

Please briefly answer the following questions your input will help inform our brand-positioning process Please type your answers directly following the questions when there are multiple responses to a single question please numerically prioritize your answers Simply email your completed questionnaire directly to [project leader] at [email]

1 In one sentence as distilled as possible please answer the question ldquoWhat does your [organization name] dordquo

2 What do you see as [organization namersquos] greatest competitive a Strength b Weakness

3 Describe [organization namersquos] current clients by a Industry b Position c Needs d Reasons they work with [organization name] e Reasons they donrsquot ndash ie why do you lose projects from current clients or prospects

4 Describe the clients you think [organization name] should have in the future by a Industry b Position c Needs

5 What types of productsservices should [organization name] be offering that it is not now to attract those desired future clients and expand business with the clients we currently have

6 What obstacles to you see in getting to points 4 and 5 above a Internal b External

7 Who do you see as [organization namersquos] top competitors a Today b In five years

13

This outlines the approximately 3 12 hour facilitated workshop

envisioned for a key leadership team of 10-15 people To ensure

focus itrsquos best to hold this off site This requires only a comfortable

conference room with ample food and drink available (and use of

devices discouraged except at breaks)

Workshop Outline

A) What is a brand ndash and why does it need to be positioned bull Ask for definitions bull Share a well-positioned brand should do three things 1 Present a compelling benefit to the prospective customer 2 Identify the benefit provider (brand identity and personality) 3 Differentiate the product or service from the competition (this is the combined effect of the first two points)

B) Who are you bull Share their definitions broadly compiled from the pre-workshop questionnaire into one composite description bull Walk participants through the brand map (the leaderconsultant should have hisher own answers in hand but solicit input from the group before sharing or adding those in)

C) Who are your customers present amp future bull What are their needsdesirespain points bull What are your customers like Personality Media habits

D) Who is your competition bull Talk about ones most often mentioned in their questionnaires

E) Benefit differentiation matrix Place your company and competitors on a matrix of relevant key benefits (functional benefits on one axis emotional benefits on the other) Do the exercise first for today and again to represent where you want to see relative positions five years from now (these four benefits are only for purposes of illustration)

Confidence

Data Insight

Safety

F) Brand personality photo sort Benefit is only part of it ndash personality counts in the human decision-making equation Reason (benefit) + emotion (response to personality) = decision Using the process outlined on page 7 have each team create and present their photo selects for bull The brand at present bull The brand aspired to (future)

14

Use this template to tease out the core elements of the brand It

is recommended that the consultant or project leader have his

her own answers defined but solicit imput from the workshop

participants before sharing or adding those definitions

BrandMap

Brand map

Brand Essence Two or three key words that describe the essential brand benefits

Brand Personality Descriptors that personify the company

Brand products List the key productsservices

Brand Organization - Who are you - How are you organized

Brand Symbols Visualize the brand via current or new images

Brand Value Functional Describe what your productservice does on a core functional level Emotional Describe how your brand makes its users feel (try formatting

as a user quote) Self What does the user as an individual get out of the brand

15

Use this format to distill all the branding work yoursquove done into a

focused manageable message And please ndash keep it to one page

The discipline of communicating the essentials begins here and

whether your vehicle is a website or a print ad you must make the

most of limited space and even more limited attention spans

Creative Strategy

16

The first step is to select an experienced brand strategist from out-

side your organization (my recommendation both for purposes of

expertise and objectivity) If that is not in your budget then select

a project leader from your internal team and empower her or him

with enough authority and independence to make a difference

How to Get Started

Chuck Kent

As a brand strategist and a writer I can not only help you find

your brandrsquos simple truth I can also convert your discoveries into

compelling communications (one is after all really no use without

the other) Irsquove helped do it for global leaders like GE Motorola

and Zurich as well as upstart innovators and a host of small-to-

midmarket companies

This eBook should give you a good idea of how I think If yoursquod

like to know a little more about me personally try one of my most

popular posts

ldquo3 Things You Need to Know About Chuck Kent Before Hiring Himrdquo

3124207051

kentcreativeoncallcom

creativeoncallcom

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I did not originate all these the tools and techniques fea-tured here they include my best synthesis of ideas from other brand thinkers over decades of branding experience presented in a format that I have honed to be the most effective My appreciation goes out to all with apologies that specific names cannot be included in my thanks

17

Text copy Creative on Call IncMay be used and shared with attribution

A Special Note About Discerning Your Brandrsquos Personality

An effective brand personality is not a fictional character contrived

to attract but rather it is your brandrsquos true internal character

revealed As such it canrsquot be a mask it must be a reflection

Hold a Mirror Up to Your Organization

There are many ways to get your organization to see and say

what it is One of the best is the photo sort an exercise that

invariably engages and enlivens the leadership team more than any

other single exercise in the half-day branding workshop If your

consultant isnrsquot familiar with the photo sort herersquos how it works

1 Assemble a wide range of portraits

The objective is to compile a deck of 20 or so photos of

well-known personalities (famous people or archetypes)

On the one hand you should be mindful of personality types

that represent known qualities or aspirations of your organ-

ization On the other hand itrsquos wise to throw in a few wild

cards simply to see what reactions they spark

2 Divide your workshop group into teams

Provide a complete deck of 5x7 photos for teams of 3-4

workshop participants each (ideally a total of 3 teams)

3 Challenge the teams

Ask each team to select (in separate sequential exercises)

six photospeople that represent a key aspect of a) your

competitors b) your organization now and c) what they

believe your organization can be in five years

4 Require the teams to present and explain their choices

Have each team select a presenter who will place the six

choices up on a poster-size Post-It labeling each with

just one adjective (Note be sure to photograph each of these

Post-Its before starting the next round as teams will need to

re-use photos)

After the workshop the consultantproject leader should

compile and distill the results aiming to divine an essential thread

throughout the comments The consultantrsquos summation is most

usefully presented as a six-photo selection each photo described

by one key adjective

Photo sorts can also be used to excellent effective if you are able to

conduct customerconsumer focus groups

STEP 2Define

Us ndash in 5 years

easy going expert inquisitive

exciting experienced welcoming

7

This is the step where your brand positioning comes together ndash or

not It is deceptively simple a one sentence brand-positioning

statement followed by a one-page master creative strategy that

looks like a fill-in-the-blank template This however is also where

the Big Idea happens where all you have discovered and defined

must get distilled into clear differentiating usable statements

Brand-Positioning Statement

Simplicity brevity and specificity rule in creating a brand

positioning statement which should take the follow form

To (target audience) (productservice name) is the (adjective)

brand that provides (this key benefit)

The statement should be phrased to be as competitively unique

as possible

Master Creative Strategy

Up until now wersquove been concerned with internal language (which

is to say no you should not use your brand-positioning statement

in literal form with any of your key audiences) Making all this

effort meaningful in the marketplace requires converting it

into a practical brand messaging strategy ndash a master creative

strategy to inform and guide all communications

In the Addendum you will find a QampA template for

encapsulating key considerations to be observed whether

writing a website ad or employee newsletter (each of

which likely deserves its own specific version to clarify

exact communication deliverables of specific goal-

driven projects) This document not only guides

creative development it also provides as objective a

a yardstick as is possible for judging creative work

in the subjective realm of marketing creativity

STEP 3Develop

8

It is important that you not only complete the organization-facing

statements but also proceed to ldquomaterializingrdquo the promise of this

new positioning in customer-facing uses This will help you

bull Prove the practicality of your brand direction

bull Embed it in the organization through real-world use

Brand Identity

For new brands or completely repositioned brands a new name

andor visual identity (not just a logo but also colors fonts

and overall visual approach) are likely the first order of creative

business Done well these can be very involved time-consuming

andor expensive propositions but regardless of the scope of your

identity projects they all require the brand-positioning work to be

completed and completely understood first

Brand Voice

Establishing a distinctive brand voice through specific copy creation

is one of the best ways to establish your brand personality As most

branding projects for smaller to medium-sized brands are typically

followed by the development of a new website that copy creation

is your best opportunity to begin to work out and exhibit your

unique brand voice

Sales Deck

Many companies reach their first level of success through

pure ldquoold-fashionedrdquo salesmanship and branding comes to

the fore only when such companies grow past the low-

hanging fruit and need to support broader sales through

disciplined marketing (not to mention needing to build

greater brand equity for owners or shareholders) For such

sales-centric companies there is no better first project (other

than the website) than updating that old warhorse the

PowerPoint sales deck A well-designed consistent differenti-

ating and strategically more persuasive deck can be a great

way to make brand believers (and ambassadors) out of your sales

force and management

First Products

9

Yoursquove done the hard work of brand positioning Yoursquove started

to bring it to life with the first customer-facing expressions of your

promise and personality Everybodyrsquos onboard and itrsquos full speed

ahead right Well not quite

Sing it Dance it Sell it

Many companies fall into the trap of simply launching into new

brand communications without first getting buy-in from the entire

organization Yes if yoursquove followed this process you have at least

involved your management and key leadership team but there is

an army of make-or-break brand stewards out there ndash that is to

say the entire organization ndash that needs to get informed and get

excited about what the new branding means to them

Minimally you need to make a formal presentation to the troops

(no an email wonrsquot do) Ideally yoursquoll invest in an employee-

involving internal communications campaign Depending on the

nature (and budget) of your organization this might include

bull A teaser campaign to pique employee interest (think of a

series of only semi-revealing messages whether in-location

signage postcards videos get creative)

bull An organization-wide presentation to create a shared

ldquomoment of changerdquo

bull An on-going effort to keep communicating and correlating

employeesrsquo brand boosting with performance (HR needs to

be part of bringing the brand alive)

Donrsquot Forget Your Brand Co-Creators

Of course in this era of the hyper-empowered consumer both

new branding and rebranding projects are wise to not only respect

the customerrsquos sense of brand ownership but actively work to culti-

vate and inform it In the Discover phase of the branding process

this can mean anything from social listening to active solicitation

of input Once its time to launch the new branding it also means

being intentional about reaching out to the most committed (and

vocal) brand advocates evangelists agitators Consider special

ldquopreviewrdquo communications contests and other incentives tied into

understanding and socially amplifying the new brand messaging

The Sell-in

10

Addendum

TEMPLATES

Leadership Interviews

Pre-Workshop Questionnaire

Workshop Outline

Brand Map

Master Creative Strategy

This sample is specifically for a B2B services firm but can be

adapted to B2C firms and individual productservice branding It

is recommended that you ask permission to record and transcribe

this interview both for clarity of information gathering and

potential use (as quotes) in your reporting

LeadershipInterview

1 Your Firm a In one sentence as briefly as possible describe the business yoursquore in b What are your near term business goals c Long-term goals d What is the firmrsquos greatest strength e Greatest weakness

2 Client Profiles amp Needs a Describe your current clients by i Industry ii Company iii Decision-makers (positions demographics psychographics) iv Greatest needs pain points v Greatest personalcareer needsfears vi Media habits vii Top reason(s) they choose you b Describe your ideal prospects by i Industry ii Company iii Decision-makers (positions demographics psychographics) iv Greatest business needs pain points v Greatest personalcareer needsfears vi Media habits vii Top reason(s) they will or wonrsquot choose you

3 Marketplace Dynamics a Who are your top 2-3 competitors today i What do you see as their competitive differentiators ii What are their marketplace advantages b Who (by description if not name) are likely to be your top 2-3 competitors in 3-5 years i What will be their competitive differentiators ii Marketplace advantages c Over the past few years from a clientrsquos view of your industry what has been i hellip the most exciting change ii hellip the most difficult challenge d Answer both of the above from a your firmrsquos perspective e As clients look ahead what is likely to be your industryrsquos i hellip most exciting change ii hellip most difficult challenge f Answer the above from your firmrsquos perspective

12

At least a week before the half-day workshop send this

questionnaire out to the participants You will need to get it back

in time to synthesize composite answers to help inform your

exploration and discussion in the workshop

Pre-Workshop Questionnaire

3-Step Branding Process Workshop Name _____________________________________Leadership Team Questionnaire Title _____________________________________

Please briefly answer the following questions your input will help inform our brand-positioning process Please type your answers directly following the questions when there are multiple responses to a single question please numerically prioritize your answers Simply email your completed questionnaire directly to [project leader] at [email]

1 In one sentence as distilled as possible please answer the question ldquoWhat does your [organization name] dordquo

2 What do you see as [organization namersquos] greatest competitive a Strength b Weakness

3 Describe [organization namersquos] current clients by a Industry b Position c Needs d Reasons they work with [organization name] e Reasons they donrsquot ndash ie why do you lose projects from current clients or prospects

4 Describe the clients you think [organization name] should have in the future by a Industry b Position c Needs

5 What types of productsservices should [organization name] be offering that it is not now to attract those desired future clients and expand business with the clients we currently have

6 What obstacles to you see in getting to points 4 and 5 above a Internal b External

7 Who do you see as [organization namersquos] top competitors a Today b In five years

13

This outlines the approximately 3 12 hour facilitated workshop

envisioned for a key leadership team of 10-15 people To ensure

focus itrsquos best to hold this off site This requires only a comfortable

conference room with ample food and drink available (and use of

devices discouraged except at breaks)

Workshop Outline

A) What is a brand ndash and why does it need to be positioned bull Ask for definitions bull Share a well-positioned brand should do three things 1 Present a compelling benefit to the prospective customer 2 Identify the benefit provider (brand identity and personality) 3 Differentiate the product or service from the competition (this is the combined effect of the first two points)

B) Who are you bull Share their definitions broadly compiled from the pre-workshop questionnaire into one composite description bull Walk participants through the brand map (the leaderconsultant should have hisher own answers in hand but solicit input from the group before sharing or adding those in)

C) Who are your customers present amp future bull What are their needsdesirespain points bull What are your customers like Personality Media habits

D) Who is your competition bull Talk about ones most often mentioned in their questionnaires

E) Benefit differentiation matrix Place your company and competitors on a matrix of relevant key benefits (functional benefits on one axis emotional benefits on the other) Do the exercise first for today and again to represent where you want to see relative positions five years from now (these four benefits are only for purposes of illustration)

Confidence

Data Insight

Safety

F) Brand personality photo sort Benefit is only part of it ndash personality counts in the human decision-making equation Reason (benefit) + emotion (response to personality) = decision Using the process outlined on page 7 have each team create and present their photo selects for bull The brand at present bull The brand aspired to (future)

14

Use this template to tease out the core elements of the brand It

is recommended that the consultant or project leader have his

her own answers defined but solicit imput from the workshop

participants before sharing or adding those definitions

BrandMap

Brand map

Brand Essence Two or three key words that describe the essential brand benefits

Brand Personality Descriptors that personify the company

Brand products List the key productsservices

Brand Organization - Who are you - How are you organized

Brand Symbols Visualize the brand via current or new images

Brand Value Functional Describe what your productservice does on a core functional level Emotional Describe how your brand makes its users feel (try formatting

as a user quote) Self What does the user as an individual get out of the brand

15

Use this format to distill all the branding work yoursquove done into a

focused manageable message And please ndash keep it to one page

The discipline of communicating the essentials begins here and

whether your vehicle is a website or a print ad you must make the

most of limited space and even more limited attention spans

Creative Strategy

16

The first step is to select an experienced brand strategist from out-

side your organization (my recommendation both for purposes of

expertise and objectivity) If that is not in your budget then select

a project leader from your internal team and empower her or him

with enough authority and independence to make a difference

How to Get Started

Chuck Kent

As a brand strategist and a writer I can not only help you find

your brandrsquos simple truth I can also convert your discoveries into

compelling communications (one is after all really no use without

the other) Irsquove helped do it for global leaders like GE Motorola

and Zurich as well as upstart innovators and a host of small-to-

midmarket companies

This eBook should give you a good idea of how I think If yoursquod

like to know a little more about me personally try one of my most

popular posts

ldquo3 Things You Need to Know About Chuck Kent Before Hiring Himrdquo

3124207051

kentcreativeoncallcom

creativeoncallcom

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I did not originate all these the tools and techniques fea-tured here they include my best synthesis of ideas from other brand thinkers over decades of branding experience presented in a format that I have honed to be the most effective My appreciation goes out to all with apologies that specific names cannot be included in my thanks

17

Text copy Creative on Call IncMay be used and shared with attribution

This is the step where your brand positioning comes together ndash or

not It is deceptively simple a one sentence brand-positioning

statement followed by a one-page master creative strategy that

looks like a fill-in-the-blank template This however is also where

the Big Idea happens where all you have discovered and defined

must get distilled into clear differentiating usable statements

Brand-Positioning Statement

Simplicity brevity and specificity rule in creating a brand

positioning statement which should take the follow form

To (target audience) (productservice name) is the (adjective)

brand that provides (this key benefit)

The statement should be phrased to be as competitively unique

as possible

Master Creative Strategy

Up until now wersquove been concerned with internal language (which

is to say no you should not use your brand-positioning statement

in literal form with any of your key audiences) Making all this

effort meaningful in the marketplace requires converting it

into a practical brand messaging strategy ndash a master creative

strategy to inform and guide all communications

In the Addendum you will find a QampA template for

encapsulating key considerations to be observed whether

writing a website ad or employee newsletter (each of

which likely deserves its own specific version to clarify

exact communication deliverables of specific goal-

driven projects) This document not only guides

creative development it also provides as objective a

a yardstick as is possible for judging creative work

in the subjective realm of marketing creativity

STEP 3Develop

8

It is important that you not only complete the organization-facing

statements but also proceed to ldquomaterializingrdquo the promise of this

new positioning in customer-facing uses This will help you

bull Prove the practicality of your brand direction

bull Embed it in the organization through real-world use

Brand Identity

For new brands or completely repositioned brands a new name

andor visual identity (not just a logo but also colors fonts

and overall visual approach) are likely the first order of creative

business Done well these can be very involved time-consuming

andor expensive propositions but regardless of the scope of your

identity projects they all require the brand-positioning work to be

completed and completely understood first

Brand Voice

Establishing a distinctive brand voice through specific copy creation

is one of the best ways to establish your brand personality As most

branding projects for smaller to medium-sized brands are typically

followed by the development of a new website that copy creation

is your best opportunity to begin to work out and exhibit your

unique brand voice

Sales Deck

Many companies reach their first level of success through

pure ldquoold-fashionedrdquo salesmanship and branding comes to

the fore only when such companies grow past the low-

hanging fruit and need to support broader sales through

disciplined marketing (not to mention needing to build

greater brand equity for owners or shareholders) For such

sales-centric companies there is no better first project (other

than the website) than updating that old warhorse the

PowerPoint sales deck A well-designed consistent differenti-

ating and strategically more persuasive deck can be a great

way to make brand believers (and ambassadors) out of your sales

force and management

First Products

9

Yoursquove done the hard work of brand positioning Yoursquove started

to bring it to life with the first customer-facing expressions of your

promise and personality Everybodyrsquos onboard and itrsquos full speed

ahead right Well not quite

Sing it Dance it Sell it

Many companies fall into the trap of simply launching into new

brand communications without first getting buy-in from the entire

organization Yes if yoursquove followed this process you have at least

involved your management and key leadership team but there is

an army of make-or-break brand stewards out there ndash that is to

say the entire organization ndash that needs to get informed and get

excited about what the new branding means to them

Minimally you need to make a formal presentation to the troops

(no an email wonrsquot do) Ideally yoursquoll invest in an employee-

involving internal communications campaign Depending on the

nature (and budget) of your organization this might include

bull A teaser campaign to pique employee interest (think of a

series of only semi-revealing messages whether in-location

signage postcards videos get creative)

bull An organization-wide presentation to create a shared

ldquomoment of changerdquo

bull An on-going effort to keep communicating and correlating

employeesrsquo brand boosting with performance (HR needs to

be part of bringing the brand alive)

Donrsquot Forget Your Brand Co-Creators

Of course in this era of the hyper-empowered consumer both

new branding and rebranding projects are wise to not only respect

the customerrsquos sense of brand ownership but actively work to culti-

vate and inform it In the Discover phase of the branding process

this can mean anything from social listening to active solicitation

of input Once its time to launch the new branding it also means

being intentional about reaching out to the most committed (and

vocal) brand advocates evangelists agitators Consider special

ldquopreviewrdquo communications contests and other incentives tied into

understanding and socially amplifying the new brand messaging

The Sell-in

10

Addendum

TEMPLATES

Leadership Interviews

Pre-Workshop Questionnaire

Workshop Outline

Brand Map

Master Creative Strategy

This sample is specifically for a B2B services firm but can be

adapted to B2C firms and individual productservice branding It

is recommended that you ask permission to record and transcribe

this interview both for clarity of information gathering and

potential use (as quotes) in your reporting

LeadershipInterview

1 Your Firm a In one sentence as briefly as possible describe the business yoursquore in b What are your near term business goals c Long-term goals d What is the firmrsquos greatest strength e Greatest weakness

2 Client Profiles amp Needs a Describe your current clients by i Industry ii Company iii Decision-makers (positions demographics psychographics) iv Greatest needs pain points v Greatest personalcareer needsfears vi Media habits vii Top reason(s) they choose you b Describe your ideal prospects by i Industry ii Company iii Decision-makers (positions demographics psychographics) iv Greatest business needs pain points v Greatest personalcareer needsfears vi Media habits vii Top reason(s) they will or wonrsquot choose you

3 Marketplace Dynamics a Who are your top 2-3 competitors today i What do you see as their competitive differentiators ii What are their marketplace advantages b Who (by description if not name) are likely to be your top 2-3 competitors in 3-5 years i What will be their competitive differentiators ii Marketplace advantages c Over the past few years from a clientrsquos view of your industry what has been i hellip the most exciting change ii hellip the most difficult challenge d Answer both of the above from a your firmrsquos perspective e As clients look ahead what is likely to be your industryrsquos i hellip most exciting change ii hellip most difficult challenge f Answer the above from your firmrsquos perspective

12

At least a week before the half-day workshop send this

questionnaire out to the participants You will need to get it back

in time to synthesize composite answers to help inform your

exploration and discussion in the workshop

Pre-Workshop Questionnaire

3-Step Branding Process Workshop Name _____________________________________Leadership Team Questionnaire Title _____________________________________

Please briefly answer the following questions your input will help inform our brand-positioning process Please type your answers directly following the questions when there are multiple responses to a single question please numerically prioritize your answers Simply email your completed questionnaire directly to [project leader] at [email]

1 In one sentence as distilled as possible please answer the question ldquoWhat does your [organization name] dordquo

2 What do you see as [organization namersquos] greatest competitive a Strength b Weakness

3 Describe [organization namersquos] current clients by a Industry b Position c Needs d Reasons they work with [organization name] e Reasons they donrsquot ndash ie why do you lose projects from current clients or prospects

4 Describe the clients you think [organization name] should have in the future by a Industry b Position c Needs

5 What types of productsservices should [organization name] be offering that it is not now to attract those desired future clients and expand business with the clients we currently have

6 What obstacles to you see in getting to points 4 and 5 above a Internal b External

7 Who do you see as [organization namersquos] top competitors a Today b In five years

13

This outlines the approximately 3 12 hour facilitated workshop

envisioned for a key leadership team of 10-15 people To ensure

focus itrsquos best to hold this off site This requires only a comfortable

conference room with ample food and drink available (and use of

devices discouraged except at breaks)

Workshop Outline

A) What is a brand ndash and why does it need to be positioned bull Ask for definitions bull Share a well-positioned brand should do three things 1 Present a compelling benefit to the prospective customer 2 Identify the benefit provider (brand identity and personality) 3 Differentiate the product or service from the competition (this is the combined effect of the first two points)

B) Who are you bull Share their definitions broadly compiled from the pre-workshop questionnaire into one composite description bull Walk participants through the brand map (the leaderconsultant should have hisher own answers in hand but solicit input from the group before sharing or adding those in)

C) Who are your customers present amp future bull What are their needsdesirespain points bull What are your customers like Personality Media habits

D) Who is your competition bull Talk about ones most often mentioned in their questionnaires

E) Benefit differentiation matrix Place your company and competitors on a matrix of relevant key benefits (functional benefits on one axis emotional benefits on the other) Do the exercise first for today and again to represent where you want to see relative positions five years from now (these four benefits are only for purposes of illustration)

Confidence

Data Insight

Safety

F) Brand personality photo sort Benefit is only part of it ndash personality counts in the human decision-making equation Reason (benefit) + emotion (response to personality) = decision Using the process outlined on page 7 have each team create and present their photo selects for bull The brand at present bull The brand aspired to (future)

14

Use this template to tease out the core elements of the brand It

is recommended that the consultant or project leader have his

her own answers defined but solicit imput from the workshop

participants before sharing or adding those definitions

BrandMap

Brand map

Brand Essence Two or three key words that describe the essential brand benefits

Brand Personality Descriptors that personify the company

Brand products List the key productsservices

Brand Organization - Who are you - How are you organized

Brand Symbols Visualize the brand via current or new images

Brand Value Functional Describe what your productservice does on a core functional level Emotional Describe how your brand makes its users feel (try formatting

as a user quote) Self What does the user as an individual get out of the brand

15

Use this format to distill all the branding work yoursquove done into a

focused manageable message And please ndash keep it to one page

The discipline of communicating the essentials begins here and

whether your vehicle is a website or a print ad you must make the

most of limited space and even more limited attention spans

Creative Strategy

16

The first step is to select an experienced brand strategist from out-

side your organization (my recommendation both for purposes of

expertise and objectivity) If that is not in your budget then select

a project leader from your internal team and empower her or him

with enough authority and independence to make a difference

How to Get Started

Chuck Kent

As a brand strategist and a writer I can not only help you find

your brandrsquos simple truth I can also convert your discoveries into

compelling communications (one is after all really no use without

the other) Irsquove helped do it for global leaders like GE Motorola

and Zurich as well as upstart innovators and a host of small-to-

midmarket companies

This eBook should give you a good idea of how I think If yoursquod

like to know a little more about me personally try one of my most

popular posts

ldquo3 Things You Need to Know About Chuck Kent Before Hiring Himrdquo

3124207051

kentcreativeoncallcom

creativeoncallcom

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I did not originate all these the tools and techniques fea-tured here they include my best synthesis of ideas from other brand thinkers over decades of branding experience presented in a format that I have honed to be the most effective My appreciation goes out to all with apologies that specific names cannot be included in my thanks

17

Text copy Creative on Call IncMay be used and shared with attribution

It is important that you not only complete the organization-facing

statements but also proceed to ldquomaterializingrdquo the promise of this

new positioning in customer-facing uses This will help you

bull Prove the practicality of your brand direction

bull Embed it in the organization through real-world use

Brand Identity

For new brands or completely repositioned brands a new name

andor visual identity (not just a logo but also colors fonts

and overall visual approach) are likely the first order of creative

business Done well these can be very involved time-consuming

andor expensive propositions but regardless of the scope of your

identity projects they all require the brand-positioning work to be

completed and completely understood first

Brand Voice

Establishing a distinctive brand voice through specific copy creation

is one of the best ways to establish your brand personality As most

branding projects for smaller to medium-sized brands are typically

followed by the development of a new website that copy creation

is your best opportunity to begin to work out and exhibit your

unique brand voice

Sales Deck

Many companies reach their first level of success through

pure ldquoold-fashionedrdquo salesmanship and branding comes to

the fore only when such companies grow past the low-

hanging fruit and need to support broader sales through

disciplined marketing (not to mention needing to build

greater brand equity for owners or shareholders) For such

sales-centric companies there is no better first project (other

than the website) than updating that old warhorse the

PowerPoint sales deck A well-designed consistent differenti-

ating and strategically more persuasive deck can be a great

way to make brand believers (and ambassadors) out of your sales

force and management

First Products

9

Yoursquove done the hard work of brand positioning Yoursquove started

to bring it to life with the first customer-facing expressions of your

promise and personality Everybodyrsquos onboard and itrsquos full speed

ahead right Well not quite

Sing it Dance it Sell it

Many companies fall into the trap of simply launching into new

brand communications without first getting buy-in from the entire

organization Yes if yoursquove followed this process you have at least

involved your management and key leadership team but there is

an army of make-or-break brand stewards out there ndash that is to

say the entire organization ndash that needs to get informed and get

excited about what the new branding means to them

Minimally you need to make a formal presentation to the troops

(no an email wonrsquot do) Ideally yoursquoll invest in an employee-

involving internal communications campaign Depending on the

nature (and budget) of your organization this might include

bull A teaser campaign to pique employee interest (think of a

series of only semi-revealing messages whether in-location

signage postcards videos get creative)

bull An organization-wide presentation to create a shared

ldquomoment of changerdquo

bull An on-going effort to keep communicating and correlating

employeesrsquo brand boosting with performance (HR needs to

be part of bringing the brand alive)

Donrsquot Forget Your Brand Co-Creators

Of course in this era of the hyper-empowered consumer both

new branding and rebranding projects are wise to not only respect

the customerrsquos sense of brand ownership but actively work to culti-

vate and inform it In the Discover phase of the branding process

this can mean anything from social listening to active solicitation

of input Once its time to launch the new branding it also means

being intentional about reaching out to the most committed (and

vocal) brand advocates evangelists agitators Consider special

ldquopreviewrdquo communications contests and other incentives tied into

understanding and socially amplifying the new brand messaging

The Sell-in

10

Addendum

TEMPLATES

Leadership Interviews

Pre-Workshop Questionnaire

Workshop Outline

Brand Map

Master Creative Strategy

This sample is specifically for a B2B services firm but can be

adapted to B2C firms and individual productservice branding It

is recommended that you ask permission to record and transcribe

this interview both for clarity of information gathering and

potential use (as quotes) in your reporting

LeadershipInterview

1 Your Firm a In one sentence as briefly as possible describe the business yoursquore in b What are your near term business goals c Long-term goals d What is the firmrsquos greatest strength e Greatest weakness

2 Client Profiles amp Needs a Describe your current clients by i Industry ii Company iii Decision-makers (positions demographics psychographics) iv Greatest needs pain points v Greatest personalcareer needsfears vi Media habits vii Top reason(s) they choose you b Describe your ideal prospects by i Industry ii Company iii Decision-makers (positions demographics psychographics) iv Greatest business needs pain points v Greatest personalcareer needsfears vi Media habits vii Top reason(s) they will or wonrsquot choose you

3 Marketplace Dynamics a Who are your top 2-3 competitors today i What do you see as their competitive differentiators ii What are their marketplace advantages b Who (by description if not name) are likely to be your top 2-3 competitors in 3-5 years i What will be their competitive differentiators ii Marketplace advantages c Over the past few years from a clientrsquos view of your industry what has been i hellip the most exciting change ii hellip the most difficult challenge d Answer both of the above from a your firmrsquos perspective e As clients look ahead what is likely to be your industryrsquos i hellip most exciting change ii hellip most difficult challenge f Answer the above from your firmrsquos perspective

12

At least a week before the half-day workshop send this

questionnaire out to the participants You will need to get it back

in time to synthesize composite answers to help inform your

exploration and discussion in the workshop

Pre-Workshop Questionnaire

3-Step Branding Process Workshop Name _____________________________________Leadership Team Questionnaire Title _____________________________________

Please briefly answer the following questions your input will help inform our brand-positioning process Please type your answers directly following the questions when there are multiple responses to a single question please numerically prioritize your answers Simply email your completed questionnaire directly to [project leader] at [email]

1 In one sentence as distilled as possible please answer the question ldquoWhat does your [organization name] dordquo

2 What do you see as [organization namersquos] greatest competitive a Strength b Weakness

3 Describe [organization namersquos] current clients by a Industry b Position c Needs d Reasons they work with [organization name] e Reasons they donrsquot ndash ie why do you lose projects from current clients or prospects

4 Describe the clients you think [organization name] should have in the future by a Industry b Position c Needs

5 What types of productsservices should [organization name] be offering that it is not now to attract those desired future clients and expand business with the clients we currently have

6 What obstacles to you see in getting to points 4 and 5 above a Internal b External

7 Who do you see as [organization namersquos] top competitors a Today b In five years

13

This outlines the approximately 3 12 hour facilitated workshop

envisioned for a key leadership team of 10-15 people To ensure

focus itrsquos best to hold this off site This requires only a comfortable

conference room with ample food and drink available (and use of

devices discouraged except at breaks)

Workshop Outline

A) What is a brand ndash and why does it need to be positioned bull Ask for definitions bull Share a well-positioned brand should do three things 1 Present a compelling benefit to the prospective customer 2 Identify the benefit provider (brand identity and personality) 3 Differentiate the product or service from the competition (this is the combined effect of the first two points)

B) Who are you bull Share their definitions broadly compiled from the pre-workshop questionnaire into one composite description bull Walk participants through the brand map (the leaderconsultant should have hisher own answers in hand but solicit input from the group before sharing or adding those in)

C) Who are your customers present amp future bull What are their needsdesirespain points bull What are your customers like Personality Media habits

D) Who is your competition bull Talk about ones most often mentioned in their questionnaires

E) Benefit differentiation matrix Place your company and competitors on a matrix of relevant key benefits (functional benefits on one axis emotional benefits on the other) Do the exercise first for today and again to represent where you want to see relative positions five years from now (these four benefits are only for purposes of illustration)

Confidence

Data Insight

Safety

F) Brand personality photo sort Benefit is only part of it ndash personality counts in the human decision-making equation Reason (benefit) + emotion (response to personality) = decision Using the process outlined on page 7 have each team create and present their photo selects for bull The brand at present bull The brand aspired to (future)

14

Use this template to tease out the core elements of the brand It

is recommended that the consultant or project leader have his

her own answers defined but solicit imput from the workshop

participants before sharing or adding those definitions

BrandMap

Brand map

Brand Essence Two or three key words that describe the essential brand benefits

Brand Personality Descriptors that personify the company

Brand products List the key productsservices

Brand Organization - Who are you - How are you organized

Brand Symbols Visualize the brand via current or new images

Brand Value Functional Describe what your productservice does on a core functional level Emotional Describe how your brand makes its users feel (try formatting

as a user quote) Self What does the user as an individual get out of the brand

15

Use this format to distill all the branding work yoursquove done into a

focused manageable message And please ndash keep it to one page

The discipline of communicating the essentials begins here and

whether your vehicle is a website or a print ad you must make the

most of limited space and even more limited attention spans

Creative Strategy

16

The first step is to select an experienced brand strategist from out-

side your organization (my recommendation both for purposes of

expertise and objectivity) If that is not in your budget then select

a project leader from your internal team and empower her or him

with enough authority and independence to make a difference

How to Get Started

Chuck Kent

As a brand strategist and a writer I can not only help you find

your brandrsquos simple truth I can also convert your discoveries into

compelling communications (one is after all really no use without

the other) Irsquove helped do it for global leaders like GE Motorola

and Zurich as well as upstart innovators and a host of small-to-

midmarket companies

This eBook should give you a good idea of how I think If yoursquod

like to know a little more about me personally try one of my most

popular posts

ldquo3 Things You Need to Know About Chuck Kent Before Hiring Himrdquo

3124207051

kentcreativeoncallcom

creativeoncallcom

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I did not originate all these the tools and techniques fea-tured here they include my best synthesis of ideas from other brand thinkers over decades of branding experience presented in a format that I have honed to be the most effective My appreciation goes out to all with apologies that specific names cannot be included in my thanks

17

Text copy Creative on Call IncMay be used and shared with attribution

Yoursquove done the hard work of brand positioning Yoursquove started

to bring it to life with the first customer-facing expressions of your

promise and personality Everybodyrsquos onboard and itrsquos full speed

ahead right Well not quite

Sing it Dance it Sell it

Many companies fall into the trap of simply launching into new

brand communications without first getting buy-in from the entire

organization Yes if yoursquove followed this process you have at least

involved your management and key leadership team but there is

an army of make-or-break brand stewards out there ndash that is to

say the entire organization ndash that needs to get informed and get

excited about what the new branding means to them

Minimally you need to make a formal presentation to the troops

(no an email wonrsquot do) Ideally yoursquoll invest in an employee-

involving internal communications campaign Depending on the

nature (and budget) of your organization this might include

bull A teaser campaign to pique employee interest (think of a

series of only semi-revealing messages whether in-location

signage postcards videos get creative)

bull An organization-wide presentation to create a shared

ldquomoment of changerdquo

bull An on-going effort to keep communicating and correlating

employeesrsquo brand boosting with performance (HR needs to

be part of bringing the brand alive)

Donrsquot Forget Your Brand Co-Creators

Of course in this era of the hyper-empowered consumer both

new branding and rebranding projects are wise to not only respect

the customerrsquos sense of brand ownership but actively work to culti-

vate and inform it In the Discover phase of the branding process

this can mean anything from social listening to active solicitation

of input Once its time to launch the new branding it also means

being intentional about reaching out to the most committed (and

vocal) brand advocates evangelists agitators Consider special

ldquopreviewrdquo communications contests and other incentives tied into

understanding and socially amplifying the new brand messaging

The Sell-in

10

Addendum

TEMPLATES

Leadership Interviews

Pre-Workshop Questionnaire

Workshop Outline

Brand Map

Master Creative Strategy

This sample is specifically for a B2B services firm but can be

adapted to B2C firms and individual productservice branding It

is recommended that you ask permission to record and transcribe

this interview both for clarity of information gathering and

potential use (as quotes) in your reporting

LeadershipInterview

1 Your Firm a In one sentence as briefly as possible describe the business yoursquore in b What are your near term business goals c Long-term goals d What is the firmrsquos greatest strength e Greatest weakness

2 Client Profiles amp Needs a Describe your current clients by i Industry ii Company iii Decision-makers (positions demographics psychographics) iv Greatest needs pain points v Greatest personalcareer needsfears vi Media habits vii Top reason(s) they choose you b Describe your ideal prospects by i Industry ii Company iii Decision-makers (positions demographics psychographics) iv Greatest business needs pain points v Greatest personalcareer needsfears vi Media habits vii Top reason(s) they will or wonrsquot choose you

3 Marketplace Dynamics a Who are your top 2-3 competitors today i What do you see as their competitive differentiators ii What are their marketplace advantages b Who (by description if not name) are likely to be your top 2-3 competitors in 3-5 years i What will be their competitive differentiators ii Marketplace advantages c Over the past few years from a clientrsquos view of your industry what has been i hellip the most exciting change ii hellip the most difficult challenge d Answer both of the above from a your firmrsquos perspective e As clients look ahead what is likely to be your industryrsquos i hellip most exciting change ii hellip most difficult challenge f Answer the above from your firmrsquos perspective

12

At least a week before the half-day workshop send this

questionnaire out to the participants You will need to get it back

in time to synthesize composite answers to help inform your

exploration and discussion in the workshop

Pre-Workshop Questionnaire

3-Step Branding Process Workshop Name _____________________________________Leadership Team Questionnaire Title _____________________________________

Please briefly answer the following questions your input will help inform our brand-positioning process Please type your answers directly following the questions when there are multiple responses to a single question please numerically prioritize your answers Simply email your completed questionnaire directly to [project leader] at [email]

1 In one sentence as distilled as possible please answer the question ldquoWhat does your [organization name] dordquo

2 What do you see as [organization namersquos] greatest competitive a Strength b Weakness

3 Describe [organization namersquos] current clients by a Industry b Position c Needs d Reasons they work with [organization name] e Reasons they donrsquot ndash ie why do you lose projects from current clients or prospects

4 Describe the clients you think [organization name] should have in the future by a Industry b Position c Needs

5 What types of productsservices should [organization name] be offering that it is not now to attract those desired future clients and expand business with the clients we currently have

6 What obstacles to you see in getting to points 4 and 5 above a Internal b External

7 Who do you see as [organization namersquos] top competitors a Today b In five years

13

This outlines the approximately 3 12 hour facilitated workshop

envisioned for a key leadership team of 10-15 people To ensure

focus itrsquos best to hold this off site This requires only a comfortable

conference room with ample food and drink available (and use of

devices discouraged except at breaks)

Workshop Outline

A) What is a brand ndash and why does it need to be positioned bull Ask for definitions bull Share a well-positioned brand should do three things 1 Present a compelling benefit to the prospective customer 2 Identify the benefit provider (brand identity and personality) 3 Differentiate the product or service from the competition (this is the combined effect of the first two points)

B) Who are you bull Share their definitions broadly compiled from the pre-workshop questionnaire into one composite description bull Walk participants through the brand map (the leaderconsultant should have hisher own answers in hand but solicit input from the group before sharing or adding those in)

C) Who are your customers present amp future bull What are their needsdesirespain points bull What are your customers like Personality Media habits

D) Who is your competition bull Talk about ones most often mentioned in their questionnaires

E) Benefit differentiation matrix Place your company and competitors on a matrix of relevant key benefits (functional benefits on one axis emotional benefits on the other) Do the exercise first for today and again to represent where you want to see relative positions five years from now (these four benefits are only for purposes of illustration)

Confidence

Data Insight

Safety

F) Brand personality photo sort Benefit is only part of it ndash personality counts in the human decision-making equation Reason (benefit) + emotion (response to personality) = decision Using the process outlined on page 7 have each team create and present their photo selects for bull The brand at present bull The brand aspired to (future)

14

Use this template to tease out the core elements of the brand It

is recommended that the consultant or project leader have his

her own answers defined but solicit imput from the workshop

participants before sharing or adding those definitions

BrandMap

Brand map

Brand Essence Two or three key words that describe the essential brand benefits

Brand Personality Descriptors that personify the company

Brand products List the key productsservices

Brand Organization - Who are you - How are you organized

Brand Symbols Visualize the brand via current or new images

Brand Value Functional Describe what your productservice does on a core functional level Emotional Describe how your brand makes its users feel (try formatting

as a user quote) Self What does the user as an individual get out of the brand

15

Use this format to distill all the branding work yoursquove done into a

focused manageable message And please ndash keep it to one page

The discipline of communicating the essentials begins here and

whether your vehicle is a website or a print ad you must make the

most of limited space and even more limited attention spans

Creative Strategy

16

The first step is to select an experienced brand strategist from out-

side your organization (my recommendation both for purposes of

expertise and objectivity) If that is not in your budget then select

a project leader from your internal team and empower her or him

with enough authority and independence to make a difference

How to Get Started

Chuck Kent

As a brand strategist and a writer I can not only help you find

your brandrsquos simple truth I can also convert your discoveries into

compelling communications (one is after all really no use without

the other) Irsquove helped do it for global leaders like GE Motorola

and Zurich as well as upstart innovators and a host of small-to-

midmarket companies

This eBook should give you a good idea of how I think If yoursquod

like to know a little more about me personally try one of my most

popular posts

ldquo3 Things You Need to Know About Chuck Kent Before Hiring Himrdquo

3124207051

kentcreativeoncallcom

creativeoncallcom

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I did not originate all these the tools and techniques fea-tured here they include my best synthesis of ideas from other brand thinkers over decades of branding experience presented in a format that I have honed to be the most effective My appreciation goes out to all with apologies that specific names cannot be included in my thanks

17

Text copy Creative on Call IncMay be used and shared with attribution

Addendum

TEMPLATES

Leadership Interviews

Pre-Workshop Questionnaire

Workshop Outline

Brand Map

Master Creative Strategy

This sample is specifically for a B2B services firm but can be

adapted to B2C firms and individual productservice branding It

is recommended that you ask permission to record and transcribe

this interview both for clarity of information gathering and

potential use (as quotes) in your reporting

LeadershipInterview

1 Your Firm a In one sentence as briefly as possible describe the business yoursquore in b What are your near term business goals c Long-term goals d What is the firmrsquos greatest strength e Greatest weakness

2 Client Profiles amp Needs a Describe your current clients by i Industry ii Company iii Decision-makers (positions demographics psychographics) iv Greatest needs pain points v Greatest personalcareer needsfears vi Media habits vii Top reason(s) they choose you b Describe your ideal prospects by i Industry ii Company iii Decision-makers (positions demographics psychographics) iv Greatest business needs pain points v Greatest personalcareer needsfears vi Media habits vii Top reason(s) they will or wonrsquot choose you

3 Marketplace Dynamics a Who are your top 2-3 competitors today i What do you see as their competitive differentiators ii What are their marketplace advantages b Who (by description if not name) are likely to be your top 2-3 competitors in 3-5 years i What will be their competitive differentiators ii Marketplace advantages c Over the past few years from a clientrsquos view of your industry what has been i hellip the most exciting change ii hellip the most difficult challenge d Answer both of the above from a your firmrsquos perspective e As clients look ahead what is likely to be your industryrsquos i hellip most exciting change ii hellip most difficult challenge f Answer the above from your firmrsquos perspective

12

At least a week before the half-day workshop send this

questionnaire out to the participants You will need to get it back

in time to synthesize composite answers to help inform your

exploration and discussion in the workshop

Pre-Workshop Questionnaire

3-Step Branding Process Workshop Name _____________________________________Leadership Team Questionnaire Title _____________________________________

Please briefly answer the following questions your input will help inform our brand-positioning process Please type your answers directly following the questions when there are multiple responses to a single question please numerically prioritize your answers Simply email your completed questionnaire directly to [project leader] at [email]

1 In one sentence as distilled as possible please answer the question ldquoWhat does your [organization name] dordquo

2 What do you see as [organization namersquos] greatest competitive a Strength b Weakness

3 Describe [organization namersquos] current clients by a Industry b Position c Needs d Reasons they work with [organization name] e Reasons they donrsquot ndash ie why do you lose projects from current clients or prospects

4 Describe the clients you think [organization name] should have in the future by a Industry b Position c Needs

5 What types of productsservices should [organization name] be offering that it is not now to attract those desired future clients and expand business with the clients we currently have

6 What obstacles to you see in getting to points 4 and 5 above a Internal b External

7 Who do you see as [organization namersquos] top competitors a Today b In five years

13

This outlines the approximately 3 12 hour facilitated workshop

envisioned for a key leadership team of 10-15 people To ensure

focus itrsquos best to hold this off site This requires only a comfortable

conference room with ample food and drink available (and use of

devices discouraged except at breaks)

Workshop Outline

A) What is a brand ndash and why does it need to be positioned bull Ask for definitions bull Share a well-positioned brand should do three things 1 Present a compelling benefit to the prospective customer 2 Identify the benefit provider (brand identity and personality) 3 Differentiate the product or service from the competition (this is the combined effect of the first two points)

B) Who are you bull Share their definitions broadly compiled from the pre-workshop questionnaire into one composite description bull Walk participants through the brand map (the leaderconsultant should have hisher own answers in hand but solicit input from the group before sharing or adding those in)

C) Who are your customers present amp future bull What are their needsdesirespain points bull What are your customers like Personality Media habits

D) Who is your competition bull Talk about ones most often mentioned in their questionnaires

E) Benefit differentiation matrix Place your company and competitors on a matrix of relevant key benefits (functional benefits on one axis emotional benefits on the other) Do the exercise first for today and again to represent where you want to see relative positions five years from now (these four benefits are only for purposes of illustration)

Confidence

Data Insight

Safety

F) Brand personality photo sort Benefit is only part of it ndash personality counts in the human decision-making equation Reason (benefit) + emotion (response to personality) = decision Using the process outlined on page 7 have each team create and present their photo selects for bull The brand at present bull The brand aspired to (future)

14

Use this template to tease out the core elements of the brand It

is recommended that the consultant or project leader have his

her own answers defined but solicit imput from the workshop

participants before sharing or adding those definitions

BrandMap

Brand map

Brand Essence Two or three key words that describe the essential brand benefits

Brand Personality Descriptors that personify the company

Brand products List the key productsservices

Brand Organization - Who are you - How are you organized

Brand Symbols Visualize the brand via current or new images

Brand Value Functional Describe what your productservice does on a core functional level Emotional Describe how your brand makes its users feel (try formatting

as a user quote) Self What does the user as an individual get out of the brand

15

Use this format to distill all the branding work yoursquove done into a

focused manageable message And please ndash keep it to one page

The discipline of communicating the essentials begins here and

whether your vehicle is a website or a print ad you must make the

most of limited space and even more limited attention spans

Creative Strategy

16

The first step is to select an experienced brand strategist from out-

side your organization (my recommendation both for purposes of

expertise and objectivity) If that is not in your budget then select

a project leader from your internal team and empower her or him

with enough authority and independence to make a difference

How to Get Started

Chuck Kent

As a brand strategist and a writer I can not only help you find

your brandrsquos simple truth I can also convert your discoveries into

compelling communications (one is after all really no use without

the other) Irsquove helped do it for global leaders like GE Motorola

and Zurich as well as upstart innovators and a host of small-to-

midmarket companies

This eBook should give you a good idea of how I think If yoursquod

like to know a little more about me personally try one of my most

popular posts

ldquo3 Things You Need to Know About Chuck Kent Before Hiring Himrdquo

3124207051

kentcreativeoncallcom

creativeoncallcom

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I did not originate all these the tools and techniques fea-tured here they include my best synthesis of ideas from other brand thinkers over decades of branding experience presented in a format that I have honed to be the most effective My appreciation goes out to all with apologies that specific names cannot be included in my thanks

17

Text copy Creative on Call IncMay be used and shared with attribution

This sample is specifically for a B2B services firm but can be

adapted to B2C firms and individual productservice branding It

is recommended that you ask permission to record and transcribe

this interview both for clarity of information gathering and

potential use (as quotes) in your reporting

LeadershipInterview

1 Your Firm a In one sentence as briefly as possible describe the business yoursquore in b What are your near term business goals c Long-term goals d What is the firmrsquos greatest strength e Greatest weakness

2 Client Profiles amp Needs a Describe your current clients by i Industry ii Company iii Decision-makers (positions demographics psychographics) iv Greatest needs pain points v Greatest personalcareer needsfears vi Media habits vii Top reason(s) they choose you b Describe your ideal prospects by i Industry ii Company iii Decision-makers (positions demographics psychographics) iv Greatest business needs pain points v Greatest personalcareer needsfears vi Media habits vii Top reason(s) they will or wonrsquot choose you

3 Marketplace Dynamics a Who are your top 2-3 competitors today i What do you see as their competitive differentiators ii What are their marketplace advantages b Who (by description if not name) are likely to be your top 2-3 competitors in 3-5 years i What will be their competitive differentiators ii Marketplace advantages c Over the past few years from a clientrsquos view of your industry what has been i hellip the most exciting change ii hellip the most difficult challenge d Answer both of the above from a your firmrsquos perspective e As clients look ahead what is likely to be your industryrsquos i hellip most exciting change ii hellip most difficult challenge f Answer the above from your firmrsquos perspective

12

At least a week before the half-day workshop send this

questionnaire out to the participants You will need to get it back

in time to synthesize composite answers to help inform your

exploration and discussion in the workshop

Pre-Workshop Questionnaire

3-Step Branding Process Workshop Name _____________________________________Leadership Team Questionnaire Title _____________________________________

Please briefly answer the following questions your input will help inform our brand-positioning process Please type your answers directly following the questions when there are multiple responses to a single question please numerically prioritize your answers Simply email your completed questionnaire directly to [project leader] at [email]

1 In one sentence as distilled as possible please answer the question ldquoWhat does your [organization name] dordquo

2 What do you see as [organization namersquos] greatest competitive a Strength b Weakness

3 Describe [organization namersquos] current clients by a Industry b Position c Needs d Reasons they work with [organization name] e Reasons they donrsquot ndash ie why do you lose projects from current clients or prospects

4 Describe the clients you think [organization name] should have in the future by a Industry b Position c Needs

5 What types of productsservices should [organization name] be offering that it is not now to attract those desired future clients and expand business with the clients we currently have

6 What obstacles to you see in getting to points 4 and 5 above a Internal b External

7 Who do you see as [organization namersquos] top competitors a Today b In five years

13

This outlines the approximately 3 12 hour facilitated workshop

envisioned for a key leadership team of 10-15 people To ensure

focus itrsquos best to hold this off site This requires only a comfortable

conference room with ample food and drink available (and use of

devices discouraged except at breaks)

Workshop Outline

A) What is a brand ndash and why does it need to be positioned bull Ask for definitions bull Share a well-positioned brand should do three things 1 Present a compelling benefit to the prospective customer 2 Identify the benefit provider (brand identity and personality) 3 Differentiate the product or service from the competition (this is the combined effect of the first two points)

B) Who are you bull Share their definitions broadly compiled from the pre-workshop questionnaire into one composite description bull Walk participants through the brand map (the leaderconsultant should have hisher own answers in hand but solicit input from the group before sharing or adding those in)

C) Who are your customers present amp future bull What are their needsdesirespain points bull What are your customers like Personality Media habits

D) Who is your competition bull Talk about ones most often mentioned in their questionnaires

E) Benefit differentiation matrix Place your company and competitors on a matrix of relevant key benefits (functional benefits on one axis emotional benefits on the other) Do the exercise first for today and again to represent where you want to see relative positions five years from now (these four benefits are only for purposes of illustration)

Confidence

Data Insight

Safety

F) Brand personality photo sort Benefit is only part of it ndash personality counts in the human decision-making equation Reason (benefit) + emotion (response to personality) = decision Using the process outlined on page 7 have each team create and present their photo selects for bull The brand at present bull The brand aspired to (future)

14

Use this template to tease out the core elements of the brand It

is recommended that the consultant or project leader have his

her own answers defined but solicit imput from the workshop

participants before sharing or adding those definitions

BrandMap

Brand map

Brand Essence Two or three key words that describe the essential brand benefits

Brand Personality Descriptors that personify the company

Brand products List the key productsservices

Brand Organization - Who are you - How are you organized

Brand Symbols Visualize the brand via current or new images

Brand Value Functional Describe what your productservice does on a core functional level Emotional Describe how your brand makes its users feel (try formatting

as a user quote) Self What does the user as an individual get out of the brand

15

Use this format to distill all the branding work yoursquove done into a

focused manageable message And please ndash keep it to one page

The discipline of communicating the essentials begins here and

whether your vehicle is a website or a print ad you must make the

most of limited space and even more limited attention spans

Creative Strategy

16

The first step is to select an experienced brand strategist from out-

side your organization (my recommendation both for purposes of

expertise and objectivity) If that is not in your budget then select

a project leader from your internal team and empower her or him

with enough authority and independence to make a difference

How to Get Started

Chuck Kent

As a brand strategist and a writer I can not only help you find

your brandrsquos simple truth I can also convert your discoveries into

compelling communications (one is after all really no use without

the other) Irsquove helped do it for global leaders like GE Motorola

and Zurich as well as upstart innovators and a host of small-to-

midmarket companies

This eBook should give you a good idea of how I think If yoursquod

like to know a little more about me personally try one of my most

popular posts

ldquo3 Things You Need to Know About Chuck Kent Before Hiring Himrdquo

3124207051

kentcreativeoncallcom

creativeoncallcom

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I did not originate all these the tools and techniques fea-tured here they include my best synthesis of ideas from other brand thinkers over decades of branding experience presented in a format that I have honed to be the most effective My appreciation goes out to all with apologies that specific names cannot be included in my thanks

17

Text copy Creative on Call IncMay be used and shared with attribution

At least a week before the half-day workshop send this

questionnaire out to the participants You will need to get it back

in time to synthesize composite answers to help inform your

exploration and discussion in the workshop

Pre-Workshop Questionnaire

3-Step Branding Process Workshop Name _____________________________________Leadership Team Questionnaire Title _____________________________________

Please briefly answer the following questions your input will help inform our brand-positioning process Please type your answers directly following the questions when there are multiple responses to a single question please numerically prioritize your answers Simply email your completed questionnaire directly to [project leader] at [email]

1 In one sentence as distilled as possible please answer the question ldquoWhat does your [organization name] dordquo

2 What do you see as [organization namersquos] greatest competitive a Strength b Weakness

3 Describe [organization namersquos] current clients by a Industry b Position c Needs d Reasons they work with [organization name] e Reasons they donrsquot ndash ie why do you lose projects from current clients or prospects

4 Describe the clients you think [organization name] should have in the future by a Industry b Position c Needs

5 What types of productsservices should [organization name] be offering that it is not now to attract those desired future clients and expand business with the clients we currently have

6 What obstacles to you see in getting to points 4 and 5 above a Internal b External

7 Who do you see as [organization namersquos] top competitors a Today b In five years

13

This outlines the approximately 3 12 hour facilitated workshop

envisioned for a key leadership team of 10-15 people To ensure

focus itrsquos best to hold this off site This requires only a comfortable

conference room with ample food and drink available (and use of

devices discouraged except at breaks)

Workshop Outline

A) What is a brand ndash and why does it need to be positioned bull Ask for definitions bull Share a well-positioned brand should do three things 1 Present a compelling benefit to the prospective customer 2 Identify the benefit provider (brand identity and personality) 3 Differentiate the product or service from the competition (this is the combined effect of the first two points)

B) Who are you bull Share their definitions broadly compiled from the pre-workshop questionnaire into one composite description bull Walk participants through the brand map (the leaderconsultant should have hisher own answers in hand but solicit input from the group before sharing or adding those in)

C) Who are your customers present amp future bull What are their needsdesirespain points bull What are your customers like Personality Media habits

D) Who is your competition bull Talk about ones most often mentioned in their questionnaires

E) Benefit differentiation matrix Place your company and competitors on a matrix of relevant key benefits (functional benefits on one axis emotional benefits on the other) Do the exercise first for today and again to represent where you want to see relative positions five years from now (these four benefits are only for purposes of illustration)

Confidence

Data Insight

Safety

F) Brand personality photo sort Benefit is only part of it ndash personality counts in the human decision-making equation Reason (benefit) + emotion (response to personality) = decision Using the process outlined on page 7 have each team create and present their photo selects for bull The brand at present bull The brand aspired to (future)

14

Use this template to tease out the core elements of the brand It

is recommended that the consultant or project leader have his

her own answers defined but solicit imput from the workshop

participants before sharing or adding those definitions

BrandMap

Brand map

Brand Essence Two or three key words that describe the essential brand benefits

Brand Personality Descriptors that personify the company

Brand products List the key productsservices

Brand Organization - Who are you - How are you organized

Brand Symbols Visualize the brand via current or new images

Brand Value Functional Describe what your productservice does on a core functional level Emotional Describe how your brand makes its users feel (try formatting

as a user quote) Self What does the user as an individual get out of the brand

15

Use this format to distill all the branding work yoursquove done into a

focused manageable message And please ndash keep it to one page

The discipline of communicating the essentials begins here and

whether your vehicle is a website or a print ad you must make the

most of limited space and even more limited attention spans

Creative Strategy

16

The first step is to select an experienced brand strategist from out-

side your organization (my recommendation both for purposes of

expertise and objectivity) If that is not in your budget then select

a project leader from your internal team and empower her or him

with enough authority and independence to make a difference

How to Get Started

Chuck Kent

As a brand strategist and a writer I can not only help you find

your brandrsquos simple truth I can also convert your discoveries into

compelling communications (one is after all really no use without

the other) Irsquove helped do it for global leaders like GE Motorola

and Zurich as well as upstart innovators and a host of small-to-

midmarket companies

This eBook should give you a good idea of how I think If yoursquod

like to know a little more about me personally try one of my most

popular posts

ldquo3 Things You Need to Know About Chuck Kent Before Hiring Himrdquo

3124207051

kentcreativeoncallcom

creativeoncallcom

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I did not originate all these the tools and techniques fea-tured here they include my best synthesis of ideas from other brand thinkers over decades of branding experience presented in a format that I have honed to be the most effective My appreciation goes out to all with apologies that specific names cannot be included in my thanks

17

Text copy Creative on Call IncMay be used and shared with attribution

This outlines the approximately 3 12 hour facilitated workshop

envisioned for a key leadership team of 10-15 people To ensure

focus itrsquos best to hold this off site This requires only a comfortable

conference room with ample food and drink available (and use of

devices discouraged except at breaks)

Workshop Outline

A) What is a brand ndash and why does it need to be positioned bull Ask for definitions bull Share a well-positioned brand should do three things 1 Present a compelling benefit to the prospective customer 2 Identify the benefit provider (brand identity and personality) 3 Differentiate the product or service from the competition (this is the combined effect of the first two points)

B) Who are you bull Share their definitions broadly compiled from the pre-workshop questionnaire into one composite description bull Walk participants through the brand map (the leaderconsultant should have hisher own answers in hand but solicit input from the group before sharing or adding those in)

C) Who are your customers present amp future bull What are their needsdesirespain points bull What are your customers like Personality Media habits

D) Who is your competition bull Talk about ones most often mentioned in their questionnaires

E) Benefit differentiation matrix Place your company and competitors on a matrix of relevant key benefits (functional benefits on one axis emotional benefits on the other) Do the exercise first for today and again to represent where you want to see relative positions five years from now (these four benefits are only for purposes of illustration)

Confidence

Data Insight

Safety

F) Brand personality photo sort Benefit is only part of it ndash personality counts in the human decision-making equation Reason (benefit) + emotion (response to personality) = decision Using the process outlined on page 7 have each team create and present their photo selects for bull The brand at present bull The brand aspired to (future)

14

Use this template to tease out the core elements of the brand It

is recommended that the consultant or project leader have his

her own answers defined but solicit imput from the workshop

participants before sharing or adding those definitions

BrandMap

Brand map

Brand Essence Two or three key words that describe the essential brand benefits

Brand Personality Descriptors that personify the company

Brand products List the key productsservices

Brand Organization - Who are you - How are you organized

Brand Symbols Visualize the brand via current or new images

Brand Value Functional Describe what your productservice does on a core functional level Emotional Describe how your brand makes its users feel (try formatting

as a user quote) Self What does the user as an individual get out of the brand

15

Use this format to distill all the branding work yoursquove done into a

focused manageable message And please ndash keep it to one page

The discipline of communicating the essentials begins here and

whether your vehicle is a website or a print ad you must make the

most of limited space and even more limited attention spans

Creative Strategy

16

The first step is to select an experienced brand strategist from out-

side your organization (my recommendation both for purposes of

expertise and objectivity) If that is not in your budget then select

a project leader from your internal team and empower her or him

with enough authority and independence to make a difference

How to Get Started

Chuck Kent

As a brand strategist and a writer I can not only help you find

your brandrsquos simple truth I can also convert your discoveries into

compelling communications (one is after all really no use without

the other) Irsquove helped do it for global leaders like GE Motorola

and Zurich as well as upstart innovators and a host of small-to-

midmarket companies

This eBook should give you a good idea of how I think If yoursquod

like to know a little more about me personally try one of my most

popular posts

ldquo3 Things You Need to Know About Chuck Kent Before Hiring Himrdquo

3124207051

kentcreativeoncallcom

creativeoncallcom

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I did not originate all these the tools and techniques fea-tured here they include my best synthesis of ideas from other brand thinkers over decades of branding experience presented in a format that I have honed to be the most effective My appreciation goes out to all with apologies that specific names cannot be included in my thanks

17

Text copy Creative on Call IncMay be used and shared with attribution

Use this template to tease out the core elements of the brand It

is recommended that the consultant or project leader have his

her own answers defined but solicit imput from the workshop

participants before sharing or adding those definitions

BrandMap

Brand map

Brand Essence Two or three key words that describe the essential brand benefits

Brand Personality Descriptors that personify the company

Brand products List the key productsservices

Brand Organization - Who are you - How are you organized

Brand Symbols Visualize the brand via current or new images

Brand Value Functional Describe what your productservice does on a core functional level Emotional Describe how your brand makes its users feel (try formatting

as a user quote) Self What does the user as an individual get out of the brand

15

Use this format to distill all the branding work yoursquove done into a

focused manageable message And please ndash keep it to one page

The discipline of communicating the essentials begins here and

whether your vehicle is a website or a print ad you must make the

most of limited space and even more limited attention spans

Creative Strategy

16

The first step is to select an experienced brand strategist from out-

side your organization (my recommendation both for purposes of

expertise and objectivity) If that is not in your budget then select

a project leader from your internal team and empower her or him

with enough authority and independence to make a difference

How to Get Started

Chuck Kent

As a brand strategist and a writer I can not only help you find

your brandrsquos simple truth I can also convert your discoveries into

compelling communications (one is after all really no use without

the other) Irsquove helped do it for global leaders like GE Motorola

and Zurich as well as upstart innovators and a host of small-to-

midmarket companies

This eBook should give you a good idea of how I think If yoursquod

like to know a little more about me personally try one of my most

popular posts

ldquo3 Things You Need to Know About Chuck Kent Before Hiring Himrdquo

3124207051

kentcreativeoncallcom

creativeoncallcom

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I did not originate all these the tools and techniques fea-tured here they include my best synthesis of ideas from other brand thinkers over decades of branding experience presented in a format that I have honed to be the most effective My appreciation goes out to all with apologies that specific names cannot be included in my thanks

17

Text copy Creative on Call IncMay be used and shared with attribution

Use this format to distill all the branding work yoursquove done into a

focused manageable message And please ndash keep it to one page

The discipline of communicating the essentials begins here and

whether your vehicle is a website or a print ad you must make the

most of limited space and even more limited attention spans

Creative Strategy

16

The first step is to select an experienced brand strategist from out-

side your organization (my recommendation both for purposes of

expertise and objectivity) If that is not in your budget then select

a project leader from your internal team and empower her or him

with enough authority and independence to make a difference

How to Get Started

Chuck Kent

As a brand strategist and a writer I can not only help you find

your brandrsquos simple truth I can also convert your discoveries into

compelling communications (one is after all really no use without

the other) Irsquove helped do it for global leaders like GE Motorola

and Zurich as well as upstart innovators and a host of small-to-

midmarket companies

This eBook should give you a good idea of how I think If yoursquod

like to know a little more about me personally try one of my most

popular posts

ldquo3 Things You Need to Know About Chuck Kent Before Hiring Himrdquo

3124207051

kentcreativeoncallcom

creativeoncallcom

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I did not originate all these the tools and techniques fea-tured here they include my best synthesis of ideas from other brand thinkers over decades of branding experience presented in a format that I have honed to be the most effective My appreciation goes out to all with apologies that specific names cannot be included in my thanks

17

Text copy Creative on Call IncMay be used and shared with attribution

The first step is to select an experienced brand strategist from out-

side your organization (my recommendation both for purposes of

expertise and objectivity) If that is not in your budget then select

a project leader from your internal team and empower her or him

with enough authority and independence to make a difference

How to Get Started

Chuck Kent

As a brand strategist and a writer I can not only help you find

your brandrsquos simple truth I can also convert your discoveries into

compelling communications (one is after all really no use without

the other) Irsquove helped do it for global leaders like GE Motorola

and Zurich as well as upstart innovators and a host of small-to-

midmarket companies

This eBook should give you a good idea of how I think If yoursquod

like to know a little more about me personally try one of my most

popular posts

ldquo3 Things You Need to Know About Chuck Kent Before Hiring Himrdquo

3124207051

kentcreativeoncallcom

creativeoncallcom

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I did not originate all these the tools and techniques fea-tured here they include my best synthesis of ideas from other brand thinkers over decades of branding experience presented in a format that I have honed to be the most effective My appreciation goes out to all with apologies that specific names cannot be included in my thanks

17

Text copy Creative on Call IncMay be used and shared with attribution