“Other than brand building, what’s the point of devoting resources to Twitter activity?”
The above quote was pulled from this article briefly outlining one man’s thoughts on using Twitter to build your brand. A quote that was responded to by the author:
“Branding is such a commonly used buzzword that it sometimes seems to be eating up the industry conversation.”
I don’t know which statement brought my jaw closer to the floor. The first, implying brand building has nothing to do with the actual business of a company, or the second claiming “brand” is a buzzword clouding out real information on how to grow your business.
Either way, I am reminded of how unclear the importance of brand building can be. Building your brand IS YOUR business. Regardless of if a company makes doughnuts, computer cables or advertisements, we are all accomplishing one task. We are building our brands.
A common misconception – and one I held in my extreme youth – is that a brand is defined by the “designy stuff” that a company puts out. Tangible items like logos, websites, letterheads, brochures, ads. They are part of it. The important thing to remember, though, is that those items only make up a small portion of the entire brand. And they are meaningless(!) without effectively growing the larger intangible portion.
The big picture involves everything – I repeat EVERYTHING – your customers and your employees/co-workers come into contact with. To make this point even clearer people are the largest part of your brand; YOU and your actions are a part of your company’s brand.
So what, as the agency, is our job if yours is to build your brand? Just as your brand can become irrelevant without constant maintenance of the intangible je ne sais que qualities, the message is meaningless if it remains hidden.
- Your customers need reminders of who you are and what your brand is to continue to come back.
- Your prospective customers need to know what makes you better than the competition.
- Your employees need encouragement to keep up the good work.
Care for your brand. It is your business.
Art Director
Strategic Insights
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Chris Griffin
Josh Gibbs
Bill Cokas
Jenn Soloway
It’s funny how a lot of people come to me and ask, “Do you have any branding ideas?” When I start talking about customer services, customer touch-points, and business model, they get a puzzled look on their face. “No. No, Josh. I just want some color suggestions.”
What they don’t realize is that I can tell them really awesome color choice that perfect depict their orange and gravy flavored bubble gum product, but if they are continuously ignoring customers, the colors will not matter.
It’s kind of like making a roof and windows with no walls.
That’s exactly it – the term ‘branding’ has been confused with ‘identity’. Your identity is a part of your brand, but everything you do corresponds with your identity, and builds your brand up. We’re really getting back to basics with the concept of branding – what is the overall aim of your business, and how do you plan to achieve it?