Building Brand Strategically
October 2011 - By Jeff Nixon
Your True Place Resides In People's Hearts and Minds
I recall a story told at a sales seminar about an old man in a worn out suit walking into a Cadillac dealership. Thinking he was just there to kick tires, the entire sales team instantly started to fight over who had to help him. Short story, he wound up buying three new cars for his family, and the salesman with the shortest straw walked out with the thickest wallet. Point is, they judged the “old book” by his “cover” and were lucky he didn’t read them the riot act, let alone stay to do business. Then again, the old man could have dressed for success if he expected better treatment. And so it goes, round and round, the cycle of perceptions (and judgments) we deal with everyday.
Managing brand is about managing perceptions based on people’s expectations — expectations created (in part) by branding and met (or denied) with each brand experience. Of course, true brand experience goes far deeper and wider than any logo, brochure or ad campaign. (“I sure like their logo, think I’ll move there!” If only it were this easy!) Slapping a new logo on your community without changing the essence of your brand experience (from the inside out) is like putting a cowboy hat on Ozzy Osbourne and calling him a country musician.
How often organizations say, “We have no funds for branding now, but maybe in next year’s budget. What does it cost anyway? We can set some money aside for marketing.” Branding isn’t something you schedule — it’s something you do every day, whether you know it or not. For consumers, experiencing new advertising (assuming they’re even paying attention) can never be a substitute for experiencing new and more relevant value from your brand. How many places have launched new logos and campaigns only to fade away over time, resulting in little or no impact!
What are you actively doing to meet or change perceived expectations? Where are you today, and where do you want to be tomorrow? What’s truly important to your publics when making branding decisions? What must you change organically to create a greater experience of value that your publics will truly care about? You can’t change outside perceptions without achieving internal clarity and consensus regarding your place brand’s value proposition and why (and how) it should matter to people. In short, if your place disappeared tomorrow, why should people care? Have the courage to take a good, long and hard look into the “reality mirror” and deal with the short-term pain to make long-term gains.
The most successful places build high expectations using a variety of tools, tactics and mediums that work to create (and reinforce) a new reality of perceived experience. Only by coming to grips with how everyone (from council members and business owners to residents and tourists) truly sees your community can you measure gaps between reality and perceptions and start developing a strategic plan of action to correct, strengthen or moderate perceptions.
Then and only then can you start implementing campaigns and communicating directly to your target audiences. This means everything you do is completed with a purpose. Speak in a certain way, write in certain way, dress in a certain way, and even choose what events to host so you can develop your place brand strategically. Start making decisions with a purpose so people will perceive you as you intend. Creating the frameworks to enhance people's expectations and perceptions through everything from events and education to, yes, that snazzy logo and campaign, based on a bottom-up and inside-out branding strategy that truly resonates with audiences and achieves a brave new brand reality for all!
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P.S.
Have you heard the one about the German Shepherd that went into a telegram office, took out a blank form and wrote: “Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof. Woof?” The clerk examined the paper and politely told the dog: “There are only nine words here. You could send another Woof for the same price.” “But,” the dog replied, “that would make no sense at all.”
"The mice think they are right, but my cat eats them anyways." "This is the point, reality is nothing, perception is everything." - Terry Goodkind
Jeff Nixon is a senior consultant at Synergist Communications (www.synergistcommunications.com). He is an expert in strategic place branding and takes pride in helping organizations to improve public perception, encourage investment, and create a better community through effective brand management. Follow on Twitter @Jeffrey_Nixon.