Essential requirements for a successful brand – PART 2

A strong brand is an essential contributor to a company’s success. Consequently my company Heywood Innovation encounters many companies who are eager to further their understanding of what branding is and what it can achieve for them. No two companies encounter exactly the same challenges and opportunities. This requires of a dedicated branding consultancy like Heywood Innovation an in-depth understanding of your business and what will influence the future success of your brand. The following are key influencers of a corporate brand’s success.

ENGAGE YOUR PEOPLE
They’ll love you for it
Branding begins on the inside. If the people on the inside don’t understand and respect your brand, how do you expect the people on the outside to? Employees, managers and executives all play a part in the creation of your brand. They must be consulted right from the start. Make them aware of the company’s vision and how the brand must be developed around it. Explain to them the role they play in its development and its success. Excite them, engage them and inspire them to live the brand. Without their support and involvement the brand will undoubtedly fail.
>    involve your people from start to finish
>    keep them informed
>    get them to live the brand
>    appoint brand champions

CREATE POWERFUL AND PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATIONS
... that are consistent with the brand
Your investment in a new brand will be compromised if you do not tell people about it – what it means, the vision that it represents, what its values are and the promise that it makes to its employees and customers. Crafting a ‘look & feel’ that is distinctive and brings life to the brand. Create language that enhances and distinguishes all forms of communications – corporate, marketing, internal and investor. Consistency of branded communications is critical right from the start, to ensure that key messages create the same impression and tell the same story, regardless of the media employed.
>    create a distinctive and recognisable visual style
>    develop brand language and a written style
>    ensure communications styles adapt to various audiences
>    introduce and maintain consistency

STRONG EXPRESSION
Create a positive impression
First impressions are important. To create a positive first impression a brand must look good and be differentiated from other brands. Strength is built from consistency. All applications must be consistent in the way they present the brand – from business cards to brochures to your website. Applications however are not all visual. If you own a health spa network for example, you want customers to be greeted by a distinctive fragrance, one they will savour and one they will remember regardless of location. Remember that people are influenced by what they see, what they read, what they hear, what they smell and what they touch.
>    first impressions count
>    consistency is important
>    consider more than just what people see and read

MEASURE RESULTS
Determine your brand’s performance
A new brand’s performance must be regularly monitored and assessed against predetermined performance criteria. Once the new brand has been launched, it needs ongoing attention, direction and refinement. You need to ensure it is performing and that you are receiving a return on your investment. Without measurement there is no accountability, and without accountability, brands, products, processes and people cannot be improved. What aspects of the brand do you need to measure? ... understanding and appreciation by your employees, how and to what extent it is influencing your audiences, influence on sales performance... and much more.
>    accountability is an important factor
>    brands need constant refinement
>    without measurement it is unlikely that your brand will improve


Tony Heywood is an international branding consultant and founder of Heywood Innovation in Sydney and co-founder of BrandSynergy in Singapore.

View some of Heywood’s work on www.heywood.com.au

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