Oftentimes we run across avenues in our professional lives that lead us to accurately define our roles. Mine? I would consider myself a digital brand evangelist. I got my start designing websites and moved onto to creative direction and then brand management. This is the role that has been naturally carved for me. I didn’t go out and say “This is who I am!” That would sound like a bad rendition of Oprah’s “This is what I lost!!” Remember that?
But as we walk down these vocational streets, the definitions that our managers, mentors, gurus, or whoever you name it, shape us. They shape how we grow and how we perceive the work world around us. The same holds true for building brands. In the next couple of posts, I’m going to talk about building a strong foundation for a digital brand. And the first key to building a strong digital brand, is first knowing who your stakeholders are and the vital role they will play in building not only your internal brand, but your externally facing digital brand as well.
If you’ve been in the business world for a while, or have read the book, “Now, Discover Your Strengths“, you’ll know the definition of “Builders” and “Maintainers”. However, in the world of digital brand development, these “roles” can be redefined as phases, or perhaps foundational steps, needed to build a vital digital brand.
PHASE ONE: Get to the CORE! (Ideation- or whatever the kids call it these days.)
When faced with a new campaign, strategy or challenge, we brand managers thrive off of the brainstorming session. It’s where we make are money. Agency executives have made fortunes off these “sessions” even though the execution is usually horrible. But enough about that.
Although this is a vital stage of brand building, it’s often the one that grabs the most headlines internally. You often hear, “Man! What a great brainstorming session!” However, the key to any great brainstorming session must contain two vital components into building a successful foundation in Digital Branding.
1-Identify and Acknowledge Actionable Goals: “Write them down and make them plain.” I live by this proverb and I feel that many brand mangers should do the same. In order for your new brand strategy to succeed, goals must be defined. If these goals are not defined and communicated to the rest of your team, then you have already failed. These goals may be identified as increased revenue or gaining new a new demographic market share. Whatever the case, define your goals and make them actionable. What do I mean by actionable? Just that. They’re not a pipe dream that you came up with during your session. Brainstormers have a tendency to get off track and go off on tangents that may sound wildly creative, but could lead to poor execution and a decrease in revenue and positive sentiment. Remember, just because it’s “clever” doesn’t mean that it accomplishes what you need your brand to do. Define the goal and make sure you have the gameplan to execute it.
2-Make the Idea Stick & Get to the Core Message: I love the Heath brother’s book “Made to Stick“. In the very first chapter, it talks about being SIMPLE and Just Using What’s There. To me, that’s the key. If you can’t look around and see what you have and convey that message in a SIMPLE manner (getting to the CORE of your message), then the results of your brainstorming session have the strong possibility of creating customer confusion, a loss in revenue, and potentially unwanted brand repositioning. Which will cost you even more money to fix.
Lesson: Whether they are on your bathroom mirror, or tattooed on your back, goals are important. They help shape the vision moving forward. But as my wife always says, I have a hard time talking too much. That’s why finding your Core Message within your goals is key. It should be short and definitive. It needs to catch people’s attention. When people ask me what I do, I give them a simple answer: I’m the Batman of Brand Strategy. That’s my core as well as my goal. Plus it’s creative. You see where I’m going with this?
