brand identity

Who owns your brand? (Hint: it’s not you)

kirk_wakefield 2014, Marketing, Relate , , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comment
Who owns your brand? (Hint: it’s not you)
by Don Roy – December 2014

John Stuart, former chairman of Quaker Oats, said “If this business were to be split up, I would be glad to take the brands, trademarks and goodwill and you could have all the bricks and mortar – and I would fare better than you.”

The really valuable asset  any company (or person) owns is the brand. The brand of the team and corporate partners is what  we market, by creating awareness, building associations, achieving preference, and influencing purchase behavior.

It’s Not Yours

John Stuart’s quote is poignant, but unfortunately misguided. Does the marketer own the brand? Sure, a firm has legal rights to its brand name and marks. But, who really owns the brand?

Your brand is owned in the hearts and minds of people in the world around you, namely your customers and product users. Key dimensions of the brand are:

  1. Brand image–a collection of perceptions. Where do those perceptions reside? In the minds of (non)customers.
  2. Brand experience–an interactive consumption engagement. Who is the central figure? The customer, without whom there is no experience.
  3. Brand relationship–without customers there are no relationships and no brand.
  4. Brand identity– how the company wants its brand, logo, marks and visual representations to be perceived by customers.

Companies design brand identities in hopes that customers and other stakeholders will have a strong sense of ownership based on the brand’s image, experience, and relationship.

Nashville Sounds Learn this Branding Lesson

The Nashville Sounds (AAA) have field a baseball team in thee Music City for nearly 40 years, calling Greer Stadium its home from 1978 to 2014. Next season, the Sounds begin play at First Tennessee Park, a modern facility built on the same grounds upon which Negro League and minor league baseball was played as far back as the late 1800s. In addition, 2015 will mark the beginning of a new affiliation agreement with the Oakland A’s.

The timing for updating the Nashville Sounds brand seemed ideal given the transition to a new stadium and new major league affiliation. So, team management unveiled an updated logo in October. The Sounds hired Brandiose, a San Diego-based branding agency. Eleven months of work went into the new logo.

Public reaction to the new logo has not been very positive. Why abandon red, a color used by the Sounds throughout its existence? Why use orange, a color better known and associated with the University of Tennessee? Why hire an out-of-state agency when Nashville has abundant creative talent among numerous agencies in the city? Is that the best that someone could do after 11 months of work? Why does it bear resemblance to a logo used by one of Nashville’s other professional sports teams (the Nashville Predators have a secondary logo featuring a guitar pick design)? The questions shared an underlying sentiment: Changes to our brand are in conflict with our relationship to the Nashville Sounds.

It’s about Community

old new gap logoThe Nashville Sounds organization is not the first to make missteps with a rebranding effort.For example, in 2010, Gap introduced an updated logo that lasted about one week before the public made their displeasure known. The company listened and brought back the old logo as Gap’s identity.

The backlash faced by the Nashville Sounds, while not nearly as intense, carries the same lesson. Brands matter to people. They form community with others who care.

Perhaps the worst outcome of the Nashville Sounds rebranding would have been if no one voiced opinions for or against the new logo. People complained because they cared, and they care because they feel a connection to the brand.

Brands are owned in the hearts and minds of the people that they touch. Marketers are the stewards of brands, managing the four dimensions (identity, image, experience, and relationship) to maximize their value. The takeaway from the Nashville Sounds rebranding is not that brand changes should be put to a vote — community is different from democracy. Internal decisions can have negative, albeit unintended, effects on brand relationships. Brand owners and brand marketers must appreciate the affinity customers and fans have for a brand carefully manage the process to maintain a positive relationship between the brand and customers.

How’s your sense of sell? Defining your personal brand

kirk_wakefield 2013, Sell, Sponsorships, Tickets , , , , , , , , 0 Comment
How’s your sense of sell? Defining your personal brand
by Brian George – July 2013

Much of your personal brand is on display via social media, as Ken Troupe shared with us in Establishing Your Personal Brand and What does your Twitter and LinkedIn say about your personal brand.

John Maguire
John Maguire

Within the context of premium and corporate sales, let’s explore more what it means to establish and grow your “Personal Brand.” A large portion of what I’ve learned and applied through the years came through a workshop facilitated by John Maguire, Sr. Vice President of Corporate Partnership with the New York Giants.

What Makes You Unique?

At any given time in a market there are perhaps as many as 1,000 professionals selling marketing and/or advertising to your competition.

What are you doing differently than your competition to make “You” stick out from the competition?

My “personal brand” started innocently enough at a store with my wife four years ago. I happened to pick up a bow tie and asked her opinion. Her disapproving look was enough motivation for me to purchase said bow tie and wear it the next day to work. I happened to have a meeting with one of the most notorious “bully clients” in the city of Houston. When I walked in, he said, “I like the bow tie, it makes you different.”

From that moment forward the bow tie was a signature of my “personal brand.” So I ask you:

  • What is your signature?
  • When people mention your name in conversation what association is made?
  • When you walk into a meeting, what is your go-to opening that breaks down the wall of conversation?

Whatever you choose to be the signature of your “personal brand,” ensure that your promise, pricing and results are in line. It does you no good to have a signature only to have someone think of it in a negative light. Just like you protect the intellectual property of the company you work for, you need to have a constant understanding of how the actions you take with everyone around you affect your signature; that is, what you leave with them.

3 Brand Relationships

There are three types of brand relationships:

  • Brand Awareness: I know you exist.
  • Brand Identity: I know who you are.
  • Brand Loyalty: I like who you are.

One of the key takeaways of the workshop was: “Industry leaders make the effort to convert brand awareness and identity relationships into brand loyal ones by offering new and improved features of their brands.”

Assuming you want to be the best at what you do:  Take a look at individuals who are probably loyal to another personal brand or know who you are–but aren’t buying. Come up with a tangible action plan to convert them to be brand loyal to your brand.

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Your personal brand

The question is, “Who’s buying?” [/dropshadowbox]

Understanding that the world of selling premium products and sponsorships has evolved so much in the past decade, relationships are still the most important part of what we do.

My relationship with others is based upon their personal brand perceptions. The question is, “Who’s buying?”  For personal and professional reasons, I need to be conscious at all times to represent my own personal brand as best as possible.