Brilliant Branding

The power of branding first struck me when I was cub reporter at the BBC, seventeen years ago. I was no one. I’d just graduated and had no track record as a broadcaster. Yet every time I picked up the phone to arrange an interview - with anyone from Melvyn Bragg to Brad Pitt - doors opened. It wasn’t me they were willing to do it for; it was for ‘Auntie’, Auntie Beeb.

The BBC’s core values and worldwide reputation had created a trusted brand and in-house staff could use this brand collateral to the company’s advantage.  This is when I recognised that great brands are like old friends. You trust them. You enjoy their company. You already want to believe what they’re saying - even when their stories may seem a little wide of the mark.  But for businesses that don’t have this history, how do you build that trust? 

Brilliant branding comes down to two things: personality and connection. When consumers understand what you do and recognise what’s in it for them, they will find you - and more importantly your brand will have found them. Your brand persona will have connected with its target market. 

Take Apple as an example. Most people know they want to buy a Mac or an iPad before they walk into the shop. The sales assistant only has to say ‘hello’ and the customer starts reaching for their credit card with excitement. Apple achieves this level of desirability because its brand has already connected with buyers. It has deployed unique visual and verbal vocabulary, in Apple’s case, expressed in product design and advertising that capitalises on human values and ethics. This brand framework has created a tribe of dedicated followers. A sense of belonging. A community. So how can your own business or product benefit?

The good news is that you don’t have to be an international organisation with a vast budget to achieve this. Here are ten pointers that can help your business make its presence known and make sales at ‘hello’. 

1. Develop a brand strategy and framework.
2. Research your target market and understand where you are positioned in it.
3. Clearly demonstrate how your business, product or service can benefit your clients in everything you say and do.
4. Say what you mean and do what you say.
5. Bring in experts to help you build your brand objectively.
6. Update your website regularly to keep it current and interesting.
7. Let the world know you exist by generating interest regularly using PR.
8. Make your staff your best brand ambassadors by including them in everything you do.
9. Take a critical look at your website and marketing materials to see if they need updating in line with how your business has evolved.
10. Integrate your brand and communications so information is consistent, meaningful and has impact.  

Caroline Phillips, Managing Director, Seadragon


Blog edited by Caroline White, White Write

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