Branding for Success

By Barton Tretheway

Whether it’s in our personal or business lives, we tend to do business with individuals and organizations that we’ve come to respect and trust. American Medical Association, National Safety Council, Rotary International and U.S. Chamber of Commerce—are all icons of the association world and brands that have stood the test of time.

HOW HAVE THEY DONE IT?
On the surface, it appears that most of their success stems from doing a good job of meeting members’ needs and offering solid value. And that’s in large part true. But look a little deeper and you’ll find that each of the organizations listed above—along with countless other well-known brands like Starbucks, Nike, Wrigley’s, Amazon.com and General Electric—has truly succeeded by becoming a brand and by using that brand to maximize stakeholder value.

Creating a successful brand yields powerful benefits. By differentiating yourself from your competition and providing a clear and compelling offer, you will:

• Attract and retain members more effectively

• Increase the number of credible and successful new product introductions

• Allow for premium pricing/increased margins

• Increase the return on your marketing dollars

• Simplify the decision making process

• Send a positive message to all stakeholders.

WHAT IS A BRAND?
A brand is more than a name, symbol or slogan. While they are important elements of communicating who you are, a brand goes to the very heart of your organization by expressing the unique experience that members can expect to receive by joining, or by

buying a product. In the end, it enhances the value provided to all stakeholders.

Definition of a brand : A brand is all of the promises and perceptions an organization wants its stakeholders to feel and believe about its product and service offerings.

Scott Bedbury, the marketing genius behind the Nike and Starbucks brands, was once asked in an interview, “What is the one most important element of creating a brand?” His answer: “Everything.” His simple but thoughtful reply to the question underscores one of the most important principles of branding: It is a process. As a process, it utilizes a balanced approach for building the meaning of the brand, communicating it internally and externally, and then leveraging every function and activity of the organization to increase brand awareness, profitability and value over time.

Like all strategic initiatives, brand strategy management is treated like a process. And, as a process, it utilizes specific disciplines/steps to develop a vision and positioning for the brand, and to craft brand-based strategies (e.g., product, marketing and communications) and methods for implementing brand strategy management in the organization. It’s also important to remember that, as a process, brand strategy management is an ongoing effort that has to be managed. If you don’t, the market will end up managing your brand—possibly leading to unfavorable results.

THE MULTIPLE LEVELS OF A BRAND
Just as customers can have different ‘levels of experience’ with an organization and its products (e.g., experience the features of the product, receive benefits by using the product, etc.), so too can members have many ‘levels of experience’ with an organization’s brand. As illustrated in Figure 1, the most powerful brands are the ones that address the beliefs and values of the organization and its members. While a brand that allows members to experience the emotional, spiritual and cultural values offered by the organization is the hardest to deliver, it offers members the most meaning, provides the greatest value for their membership dues, and is the most difficult for competitors to imitate.

FIGURE 1—THE LEVELS OF A BRAND

Nike, with its “Just Do It” message, is an excellent example of a brand that addresses all levels of the brand pyramid, including the beliefs and values of its customers. At the bottom of the pyramid, it offers the attributes (e.g., high-tech shoes and gear) that today’s active population demands. In the middle of the pyramid, it provides the benefits (e.g., enhanced performance) to jump higher and run faster. At the top of the pyramid, it helps people fulfill their dreams to be the best—just like Michael and Tiger!

COMMUNICATING THE BRAND
A positioning statement is the foundation from which all communications are based. It leverages brand strengths and drives the organization toward its future vision.

Definition of brand positioning: Relative to others, positioning is a statement of what your brand stands for in the mind of the member or other stakeholders.

Typically, the positioning statement references a target market and communicates the key benefits and the relevant support that members will receive by joining the organization. An effective positioning also adheres to five principles, including:

• Fit—it leverages the strengths of the existing brand picture (developed in the Brand Strategy Management process) Levels of Brand Associations Most meaningful and most difficult to imitate but hardest to deliver

• Uniqueness—no one can claim the same position

• Credibility—it is believable

• Value—it focuses on the benefits that members value

• Aspirational—it is forward thinking.

SUMMARY
Successful organizations develop strong brands and leverage them to deliver maximum value to their stakeholders. They move beyond the traditional use of marketing  techniques to define their organization (the four P’s) and create a ‘brand strategy management’ process. This process is used to develop the meaning of the brand, communicate it to internal and external stakeholders, and leverage all functions and activities of the organization in a way that increases brand awareness, profitability and value over time. One of the most important elements of developing a brand is to build it around the organization’s beliefs and values (vs. product features and attributes) so that it is meaningful to members, yet difficult for other organizations to imitate.

Barton Tretheway is the Managing Partner of Bostrom Consulting Associates.