Like Lego For Your Logo

The Building Blocks of Brand Development

April 2012 - by Jeff Nixon

Always reinforce your brand. It’s a simple statement, but not necessarily one that's always easy to understand. Unfortunately the majority of people out there still consider a brand to be logos and design. Even companies claiming to be branding experts put out signs with large calls-to-action “Need a Brand? Contact us today and we will develop the right logo for your company!” There is a very big difference between brand and visual identity. The reason for the confusion is likely due to the identification of some major companies’ brands; the Nike swoosh, McDonald’s golden arches, the Starbucks siren. These companies have had huge successes, resulting in their logos being drilled into our collective psyche, but those pervasive logos aren’t brands, they’re the result of good brand stewardship.

I was recently out visiting communities and business improvement areas. I stopped in to one specific community to introduce myself and discuss the area's upcoming strategic plan and initiatives. Not to my surprise the current focus was on revitalizion through beautification and infrastructure enhancements. What was surprising was the response I received when I asked about branding and marketing. “Right now we have no need for marketing and communications because our focus is on fixing the area. When that is completed our brand will follow.” I have heard this more than once and again, it goes back to the common misunderstanding of what is “brand”.

If you plan on developing your place brand by putting money into fixing the area I can guarantee it will take a lot of money and a lot of time. And when those new sidewalks are laid and the last building façade is complete, you will still have to spend money on a branding program. Why? Because a brand is about perceptions, attitudes and beliefs and you need to know what these are at all times. Opening up a fresh new store isn’t going to help a company that has lost the respect of its employees and customers. And just because your area is shiny and new doesn’t mean your streets are going to be filled with hoards of shoppers. If I were to ask you what your community’s brand is, could you tell me? You should. You already have a place brand and waiting for renovations to be complete is not going to fix it. All you are doing is giving up control and letting the wrong people determine what your brand is.

Benchmark

Before you do anything else, figure out what your place brand is. Who are we? What do people think of us?

Differentiate

Almost every community we've helped has named crime (graffiti, vandalism), safety, prostitution, and infrastructure as a weakness. You are not alone. The key is determining your strengths and how you want audiences to perceive you? Ask yourself; five years from now how do we want to be described by neighboring communities, visitors, residents, and business owners?

Plan

Once you have a handle on the perceptions of your area and where you are headed, start prioritizing what needs to be done. Use your brand for this. What businesses should we be attracting? Do we really need to paint the mailboxes? Does the tone of our marketing pieces and images we use align with who we want to become as a community? Does our logo reflect and personify our community vision? Does this event really fit our community? If you are using your brand strategy as a guide for all decisions you can rest assured you are on the right track.

Measure

Measure brand? How is that possible? The best part about branding is it can, and should, be measured. Most companies and communities dread branding programs because they think it's all about logos. Like a new paint job on busted-up Mustang, your logo isn’t going to hide blemishes in your community. But if you have benchmarked, and strategically planned each decision you will be able to measure changes in stakeholder attitudes and beliefs.

Live

Reinforce, reinforce, reinforce. Creating an attractive destination begins with you. How friendly are you? How do you interact with the public, business owners, visitors, guests to your office? If you want your community to be a great place to live and a wonderful place to do business your office better be a great place to visit. This is where reinforcing your brand begins.

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.