The Minder

In my last post I argued that real brand strategy is too big, too important and too much work to be expressed only through a creative brief that goes to communication specialists, design firms, public relations types and advertising agencies. In Part One I proposed the Organizational Brief, in which the implications of the brand are fully explored across everything you do, not just marketing. In Part Two I propose the Experience Brief in which the real work of the brand – the experiences that it creates – are explicitly identified and managed throughout the organization.

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The creative brief. What a curious way to cap off a brand strategy initiative. You mean you’ve spent months asking yourselves and others who you are, how you are different and what your unique opportunity is in the market, and the ribbon you tie around it is a creative brief to inform the design of the visual identity? What about the 900 other ways in which your brand will be experienced, expressed and supported? What about the Organizational Brief™? (Read on …)

While corporate brands rely on current equity, the best brand strategy will be built on the equity you can create in the future. This idea usually makes organizations nervous as they quite rightly measure the risk of going live with a promise they cannot fulfill. In my view, it’s best to explore the far corners of where your brand can take you and to work towards that vision with the help of your customers.

(Read on …)