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When you communicate, what’s your brand?
Many people into blogging are into branding too, so you may have your own perspective. This morning I got a different slant on branding that is worth considering – particularly since I believe that we always should project our own personal brand whenever we communicate with others. (That’s what “creating your communication experience” is all about.)
So I’m on the Advisory Board of The Salvation Army of San Francisco, and this morning saw the presentation of the new national branding campaign for the Army. It was created by a group hadn’t known before but you might have heard of, The Richards Group in Texas www.richards.com But you might have heard of some of their clients – Motel 6, for one, has been an ongoing campaign that is still going strong at 14 years.
Here’s their food for thought, along with a great communication addition to The Salvation Army :
What is a brand?
It is NOT a logo:
It is NOT a tagline: “Need Knows no Season”
It is NOT a slogan” “Heart to God, Hand to Man”
A brand is a promise. It should bring to mind certain attributes. We should be able to visualize a brand; it should suggest values. Think: Starbucks, Godiva, Southwest Airlines. The Salvation Army’s new brand promise is:
DOING THE MOST GOOD
Comments
One Response to “What is a brand?”
No, a brand is not a promise. It is also true that a brand is not a logo or a tagline or a slogan.
A brand is the mental impression which the user has of your company or organization. We “brand” ourselves on people’s minds.
Each time your company telephone receptionist answers the phone, she is affecting your brand. Each time your customer service department responds to a user, that department is affecting your brand. Each time your product or service is used, the execution affects the brand.
Honest Joe’s Used Car business can have slogans and taglines and even promises, but if the word on the street is that Joe is not Honest, then the slogans and taglines become liabilities rather than Assets.
Microsoft’s brand is deteriorating. This is the afteraffects of Microsoft’s litigation problems and browser security difficulties. All the taglines, slogans and promises will not rescue Microsoft’s brand by themselves.
The organization known as The Salvation Army has a major brand problem because some people (and not necessarily members of the organization) try to present it as simply a non-profit charity, when in point of fact it is a Denomination. This failure on the part of News organizations and other people of influence to portray this organization with transparency and integrity leaves a negative impression on some people’s minds.
Even some store volunteers in some communities falsely “cover-up” the fact that The Salvation Army is a denomination. These volunteers are usually, if not always, non-members of the organization who have volunteered to help at a local store. Yet just as a telephone receptionist affects a company’s brand, so also these volunteers affect this organization’s brand.