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Monday, October 29, 2007

Industry Pro Interview:Branding

When you say the word “branding”, most people think USP (unique selling proposition). However a USP is far from the equivalent of a brand as we’re about to find out. What is branding? Is it just for “big boys”? And how the heck do you create one, anyway?

Rob Frankel (http://www.robfrankel.com) has been called "the best branding expert on the planet" and is author of "The Revenge of Brand X: How to Build Big Time Brand™ on the Web or Anywhere Else", (available at http://www.revengeofbrandx.com). He now shares some insights with us that will shed a little light on the branding mystery.

KARON: Thanks for your time, Rob. I know your schedule is packed.

ROB: You’re welcome!

KARON: Well, let's start with the basics... everyone in the world has heard the term branding but it is still widely misunderstood. What is the basis of branding and - more importantly - why should a business care about it?

ROBFRANKEL: Branding is THE most misunderstood aspect of marketing. Here's the best example I can give. Just as you're more than a simple name and a face, a business is more than a name and a product. So a brand is as much the way you do things as what you do.

A business should care about it, because THAT'S the stuff that inspires loyalty and motivates people to evangelize the brand. That's where the money is, in more ways than you can imagine.

KARON: So for those who think branding is coming up with a USP and just plastering it all over everywhere... what would you say?

ROB: A couple of things: First, my own branding (Big Time Branding) is not about a USP at all. It's about a UBP… Unique Buying Proposition. THAT'S the problem with almost all brands -- they concentrate on what they have to sell instead of why people want to buy. Also, many confuse branding with advertising and PR. That's because old ad hacks try to pass themselves off as branding people. Fact is, "First you build the brand, then you raise its awareness."

The brand happens long before either advertising or PR… internally and externally.

KARON: Just like I might wear the same jeans and t-shirt as another woman but I'm very different inside. It's that difference that makes the brand.

ROB: Branding goes down to the core. In fact, I have a Ubiquitous Brand Test in my book: "Are we doing it the way?" If the answer is no, you're not branded.

Here's another example: Can I send you $100,000 in cash?

KARON: Well of course you can!

ROB: I'd like to overnight it to you. Is that okay?

KARON: Sure it is!

ROB: Okay, but you have to pay for the shipping... you want me to send it US Post Office or FEDEX or what?

KARON: FEDEX

ROB: Most people say FEDEX... and rightly so. Because FEDEX has a brand image that communicates how they won't let the businessman down. And most people will gladly pay $15 more for the exact same service, even though they're basically the same. That $15 difference is pure branding profit.

KARON: Good Point! Now let me ask you this... how do you respond to the statement that branding is just for the big boys?

ROB: JUST THE OPPOSITE!!!! The less money you have, the stronger your brand has to be, because you rely more on your users evangelizing for you. The big boys have the WORST brands because they tend to buy their way out of their problems.

KARON: So, as small business owners, we have to have the complete package - we have to have it all together for our branding to "work"?

ROB: Of course. Remember, that the point of Big Time Branding is to "turn users into evangelists for your brand”. Otherwise, what's the point?

KARON: So how do we do that? I realize it's a process and not a 2-step "thing", but give those that have done little or nothing with branding a starting point.

ROB: The problem is that branding has to be done from the outside in, because that's who the brand is for -- people who DON'T know you. Most business owners are too focused on what they've got to sell, not on how they can be "the best solution to other people's problems."

KARON: Boy do I agree 100% with you on that!! With copywriting (my specialty) it's the same way! If you don't know your target audience - can't really get inside their minds - your copy will just be a list of nicely worded facts.

ROB: Exactly!

KARON: OK... then tell me this... What is the most widely made mistake when trying to brand yourself or your product?

ROB: The most common mistake is not heeding the Prime Directive: "Branding is not about getting your prospects to choose you over your competition; it's about getting your prospects to see you as the only solution to their problem."

KARON: Amen to that!!

ROB: They just keep cutting their prices and thinking it's a sales or advertising issue. They keep looking in the wrong places.

KARON: And we know for a fact it is not pricing. That's why people pay $15 more for FEDEX. That's why people pay $68 for Liz Claiborne jeans instead of $25 for Lee.

ROB: Got that right!

KARON: Wow! Some good info here, Rob. I appreciate it very much. Well, any closing words of wisdom?

ROB: I would add that everyone out there is constantly selling, selling, selling. Big Time Brands know that while advertising grabs their minds, branding grabs their hearts. People invest their non-rational loyalties into brands that help them. Make a hero out of your user and you'll turn them into brand evangelists.

KARON: And since "most buying decisions are emotional", you have to hit 'em where they live :-)

ROB: Yeah, it's okay to build a business strategy where part of it is to have people like you!

****** Also, here’s a Business Essentials Subscriber Freebie… you can visit http://www.RobFrankel.com/frankelaws.html for some inside information straight from Rob’s book “The Revenge of Brand X”.


About the Author

Most buying decisions are emotional. Your ad copy should be, too! Karon is Owner and President of KT & Associates who offers targeted copywriting, copy editing & ezine article services. Subscribe to KT & Associates' Ezine "Business Essentials" at
join-businessessentials@lyris1.listenvoy.com or visit her site at http://www.ktamarketing.com.

Branding

Often the more a thing is discussed the less it is understood. Words have a point of diminishing return. That point is crossed when the effort to be clear and precise counts every tree standing, but misses the proverbial forest. Such is the case with branding.

Because the idea of branding is all the rage, people are tempted to think that it is a new idea. It is not. It’s roots reach back into history.

The Old West
Let’s go back to the Old West where brands were burned into the hind quarters of cattle. The thing branded was the cow, the product produced by the ranching endeavor. The brand itself was the twisted iron logo on the end of the rod that left its image or mark on the hide of the cow. Cows were roped, tied and branded in order to identify them, should they be stolen. The brand was a mark of identity, as it is in the corporate world.

Some ranchers also used their logo as a welcome sign wrought in iron over the gates of the corral or over the road leading to the rancher’s home. Again, the brand identified the ranch. Some ranchers even got their cowhands belt buckles with the ranch logo to identify them as employees. And over time logoed merchandise began to pop up on boots, hats, shirts, etc.

Identity
The brand is essentially a mark of identity. It identifies the ranch or company, and has come to represent or suggest the values and character of the company, and of its leaders. The brand is associated with the character of the company, as well as its products.

The early history of branding was always personal. Where does the ranch or company get the values and character that are associated with it? From its owners and leaders, and from their business practices.

Branding as we know it today is the art of instilling and communicating the values and character of a company or organization through association with its logo. Psychology calls it symbolic association, and finds it to be foundational to the learning process. Symbolic association has deep roots in human experience and in history.

Fish, Cross & Swastika
We find that branding as a practice began very early in history. The sign of the fish and the cross were symbols used by the early Christians. Over time they became Christian brands.

The Roman Emperor Constantine had a vision of a red cross in the sky before the battle of Saxa Rubra, October 28, 312, near Rome. He put that red cross on his shields and flags, branding the Holy Roman Empire for centuries.

On August 7, 1920, at the Salzburg Congress, a red flag bearing the Swastika became the official emblem of the Nazi Party, as Hitler branded the Third Reich. While our emotional reaction to the Swastika is usually negative, both the fact and the intensity of our response to it points to the power of branding. Most people probably have an emotional reaction to the examples above. That emotional reaction is the aim of branding.

It must be recognized that a branding effort does not always turn out the way the campaign intends. The cross was intended to be a symbol of derision, but became a symbol of grace and mercy. The Swastika was intended to be a symbol of the triumph of the Arian race, but has become a symbol of evil. In both cases branding was achieved, but not in the way intended.

Of course, companies want the emotional association to their brand to be positive—even to generate an urge to splurge, or trust sufficient to sustain a transaction. But regardless of one’s personal reaction to a symbol, the fundamental mechanics of branding involve soliciting an emotional response to a symbol.

There are two fundamental elements in the branding process. The first pertains to the symbol, the second to the association.

The Symbol
The symbol itself must be familiar. The more the symbol or logo is seen, the more familiar it becomes. The most successful branding campaigns will have a lot of sustained media coverage and use a variety of advertising mediums. This does not mean that smaller campaigns cannot be successful, only that their success will be smaller. Familiarity is primarily a function of exposure.

The Association
Secondly, the emotional content of the association also needs to be familiar. Of course it is true that new desires and/or emotional content can be created. But the effort is both time consuming and risky. The result might be other than the desired effect.

The more successful method for creating a symbolic association employs well-established and widely valued characteristics, like love, honor, truth, freedom, etc. Successful branding campaigns establish symbolic associations between their products and/or company and such noble characteristics. What is noble inspires people, and what inspires is remembered and discussed. It creates buzz. And buzz is branding’s engine.

To discuss the art of branding apart from these foundational elements is to miss the forest for the trees. However, branding is more than a mere advertising campaign can accomplish because the symbolic association that needs to be made for the branding to be successful involves the core values and character traits of the company— its leaders and its business practices.

Prior to branding, core values, character issues and company policies need to be determined, developed and deployed within the company. Because the process of branding reveals the values, character and policies of the company, those things need to be right, and be in place before they can be successfully revealed.

Premature Branding
A premature revelation of these things can be disastrous to the intention of the branding campaign. To be branded as hypocritical and shallow is worse than no branding at all. Again, branding occurs when an emotional response—any emotional response— is associated with a company symbol. The art of branding is to solicit the right emotional response.

So, what can be done to promote a brand? Begin by working to establish core values and character within and throughout the company. To be successfully branded is to be known widely for who you are. You want a great branding campaign? Be a great company. Aspire to the values and character traits of greatness and nobility. Herein lies the key to branding success.

©2003 Phillip A. Ross

About the Author

Phillip A. Ross, entrepreneur, freelance writer and owner of Business Specialties (www.business-specialties.com), lives in Marietta, Ohio, and provides identity products and promotional services to position companies and organization for substantial success.