|
Well, the time has finally come. Companies are now regularly allowing redesigns of their interactive experience to dictate changes to their brand strategy. In review of the company through the eyes of their Web site design and online services they are recognizing the need for refinement in their brand and the processes of their business units. In fact, they are defining the need for corporate brand renewal on a level they had previously ignored. The Web has it's own philosophy and point of view, but what we're finding is that this view presents a mirror of truth that we don't always like to see. It's not a slimming mirror, but hard and cold reality. And the real kicker is...everyone is looking over our shoulder and judging us. Corporate Brand Renewal requires a review of identity, interactive and advertising from top to bottom. This means looking deep inside the essence of the entity and displaying the character of that personality in the most compelling identity possible. The goal is to relay authenticity and make a promise regarding performance. The identity, interactive and advertising must be consistent in representing the image of the company. When developing the identity of the brand it is important to look outward as well as inward. Understanding that our organization is made up as much of who we serve as who we are. What do they want from us? Who are we? Why do we exist? What are we trying to accomplish? Age old questions to be sure and one of the most difficult tasks that a leader can have to address. Who are we? Why do we exist? What are we trying to accomplish? Often easier to ignore and focus on the bottom line as the safe route. Our companies face issues every day that distract us from our mission. If we let them, these issues can throw us completely off of our goals. A true understanding of our identity and our internal mantra helps to keep us on task and provides direction for our next steps. A clear picture of what we are cultivating guides our actions. What are the roles or personas of the individuals connected to our brands? What are their profiles? Who are the ambassadors and early-adopters?
It's important to remember that these individuals are people. They have passions and goals and families and lives that are important to them. The role that they play in our brands could be just as important to them if we play our cards right. We are talking about employees and vendors as well as customers and prospects. They all have a unique perspective in relationship to the brand that reveals a little more about the company's personality. Life is hard and business can be even harder in the turbulent times we've been living in. It certainly helps to have a lifeline, or brandline, that we can follow hand over hand to safety. That is our truest identity. We will be most successful when we can act on our authentic selves. So once we have an understanding of the infrastructure that grounds our identity we can interactively engage the various roles in touch with our brand. That engagement must fascinate these roles and keep them coming back for more. Interactive engagement provides the opportunity for measurement and thus enables us to learn even more about the behaviors of our various brand roles. Interactive branding is quickly becoming the center of the marketing universe because it engages the consumer/user while they are making proactive choices as opposed to blindsiding them and interrupting them while they are in the midst of other tasks. The interactive marketing realm represents the opportunity for advertisers to pull instead of push. The notable strength here is the ability to track the response and involvement and gather information that might otherwise be overlooked or difficult to capture. The interactive marketing realm represents the opportunity for advertisers to pull instead of push. How your company is represented in the interactive space is most readily apparent in the Web site you develop to represent it. It's important to review the anatomy of the most important aspects of what makes up the Web site. I'm not speaking purely of information architecture, but more of usability, functionality and user-interface experience. Design is of critical importance, but when design sacrifices any of the three then the site fails. We have to look broader than the single user experience and understand the full Web experience. A simple example is most sites that are purely Flash will not be searchable by the search engines and hide important information from the user. Once they are finally able to find the sites, if at all, they are frustrated by their experience. Brand communities are being built around Web sites and this means that people are engaging with the brand on a regular basis. They are looking to these sites for entertainment or education, but we all hope that our site owns some place in their minds. Whether it's answers to a healthcare insurance question or background on the owners of a company the user is able to interface with the experience they are seeking. This interactive approach and engagement has put an entirely different spin on advertising. Advertising creative has often been seen as very "great idea" campaign-oriented and not always in sync with the brand. It's important to recognize that with pull marketing advertising becomes much more of a teaching tool. What we want to do is let the consumer of the advertising know what's available to them. That should still include a "great idea," but it should not be driven by it. The "great idea" should be born out of the identity. Think Super Bowl recall...what was the brand for that great commercial again? Brand awareness advertising in particular stamps a platform in the hearts and minds of the consumer that develops a longer-term relationship. Advertising becomes a part of our cultural landscape and surrounds us at every turn. We have become desensitized to the "push" methods of the past and we are now being inundated with product placement in film and television and Internet. At least these placements are becoming more subtle and relevant to the environments created in the scripts. Corporate Brand Renewal is about brand transformation. Corporate Brand Renewal is about brand transformation. It may be that a new CMO is hired, a new President steps in or the CEO wants to make some comprehensive changes in the direction of the company and the image needs to reflect those changes. Other times a business is seeking corporate brand renewal to make themselves more appealing for a sale as their exit strategy. More often than not, a company has reached a new plateau in their industry and they recognize that their brand doesn't reflect their success. Regardless of the reasons brand renewal represents change. Change can be hard, but it can also be extremely rewarding. Change is necessary when your image is your future. [-pull-] Some examples of Corporate Brand Renewal completed by Metaphor: Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield - Senior Strategy HaneyPRC Truepoint Capital dmr NorthPointe Group
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Ran Mullins is the founder and CEO of Metaphor Studio.
He is a consultant and advisor on branding and Web site strategy
integration to corporations and community organizations. In addition to
being an artist and entrepreneur, he is a resident, business owner, and
community advocate in Cincinnati’s historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood.
|
