Welcome to
Our Inaugural Issue
Volume 1, Issue 1
of
In this issue:
Introduction
Are you interested in implementing good,
cost-effective branding strategies for your organization but don't know
where to start?....Confused in general about branding, what it means and
how it can help improve your bottom line?...Curious about what to look
for when hiring a professional to help your branding process along?....
Branding Bytes is
a FREE e-letter courtesy of Larry Checco of Checco
Communications.
Like my book, Branding for
Success: A Roadmap for Raising the Visibility and Value of Your
Nonprofit Organization--available through
www.checcocomm.net , Amazon.com
and elsewhere--Branding Bytes is intended to
be a quick, easy--and useful--read. And unless you inform me otherwise,
it will automatically be e-mailed to you quarterly.
For those who would like to play an
interactive role, please e-mail me your branding questions, success
stories and/or challenges. I will make every attempt to reflect your
input into future issues of Branding Bytes.
Branding Myths
To get things rolling, this first issue
consists of questions I am frequently asked in my branding workshops.
For style purposes, I've converted the questions into "myths". How do
these myths compare with your understanding of what good branding is all
about?
Myth #1
Marketing and branding are one and the same.
Reality
Branding is less about marketing,
advertising and public relations, and more about good leadership,
appropriate and ethical behavior and an organization's commitment and
ability to fulfill the covenant, or promises, its brand represents. A
brand reflects everything associated with an organization, including,
but not limited to, the quality of its:
Think of it this way, the brand
characteristics you appreciate and admire most in the companies and
organizations you like doing business with should be the same brand
characteristics to model and nurture in your own organization.
Myth #2
Once we have an attractive logo and catchy
tagline, we have our brand.
Reality
Many organizations spend an inordinate
amount of time, energy and money developing logos and taglines believing
they are creating their brands, when in fact a logo and tagline are
simply the banners for the brand. Your brand drills much deeper into the
core of your organization (see Myth #1).
If all you have is an attractive logo and
tagline without the commitment and ability to fulfill whatever promises
your brand conveys, then what you have is all sizzle and no steak--and
it won't take long for your target audiences to see the smoke and
realize there's no meat.
Myth #3
Branding is the responsibility of our
communications/marketing/public relations/external affairs departments.
Reality
Branding is the responsibility of
EVERYONE, from board members to support staff. If
it helps, consider the person who answers your phones your "Director of
First Impressions."
You might hear, "I work in finance. What
does that have to do with branding?" Just ask the folks who worked for
Enron, Arthur Anderson, World Com, Global Crossing and a slew of other
for-profits and non-profits, alike, how much their finance folks had to
do with their organizations' brands--and their livelihoods!
Myth #4
We don't have a budget for branding our
organization.
Reality
If you effectively leverage your current
resources--namely your board members, staff, volunteers, customers,
etc.--you may not need much of a budget to better brand your
organization.
Your brand is only as good as the people who
live it day in and day out. Board members, staff and others who are
knowledgeable about what your brand represents, take pride in their
work, feel secure in their jobs and are appreciated for the good work
that they do make excellent Ambassadors for your brand.
Consider: The founders of both Google and
Amazon.com relied exclusively on word of mouth to get their companies
off the ground.
Your feedback
and input
I look forward to receiving your feedback, questions, success
stories and challenges. Also If you are in need of a
speaker, trainer or branding consultant/coach, I invite you to
contact me or log onto my website for more information.
If you found this first issue of
Branding Bytes to be a worthwhile read, please
tell others. I'd be happy to include them on my e-mail list. If, on the
other hand, you would prefer not to receive future issues of
Branding Bytes, please let me know that as
well, and I will delete you from the list.
In the meantime, good luck with your
branding!
"Branding For Success"
from
