brand building 101

BRAND BUILDING 101

CREATING A BRAND IDENTITYBLUEPRINT

SIMON DE ROBILLARD

brand identity

“Brand identity is at the heart of brand leadership.”

• Offers guidance & inspiration

• Central to everything

• Helps establish a relationship between brand & customer

“a specific set of brand associations that we aim to create

and maintain, with the aim to connect and be unique.”

the outcome…

a brand blueprint

Explains..

• Who you are and what you have to offer.

• Your essence - why you exist (to be of value?).

• Consists of a number of statements and brand

characteristics, beginning with the brand positioning

statement.

?

positioning statement

• The position you wish to hold in the minds of stakeholders

relative to competitors.

• Your promise.

• The key reason for buying and using the brand.

• Also known as a mission statement.

“A good positioning helps to guide marketing strategy by clarifying

what a brand stands for, what it’s about, why it’s unique, and

why consumers should buy the brand.”

positioning statement

• Fearless is a South African-based brand communication

agency. We specialise in delivering creative strategies

through the best possible medium of communication. We

communicate in the language of our stakeholders, and

ground-level insight is what drives our brand strategy.

positioning statement

brand vision

Examples:

• In an industry of boxed meals and canned desserts, it is

hard to find that original recipe. As a result, we strive to be

acclaimed as the go-to agency for thinking aloud. Ideas

should be heard.

• To be acclaimed as the global thought leader in the

innovation of brand ideas that create and add value.

value proposition

• Should lead to a brand/customer relationship and drive

the purchase decision.

“In my mind, a brand is built on a historic value proposition that

builds a certain loyalty. If you start messing with the perceived

benefits, those adjustments can't do anything but hurt

the long-term interest of the business.” Tom Peters

value proposition

Example:

• We provide effective creative strategies by delivering efficient

integrated service offerings. We build and sustain business

relationships, equipping our clients with necessary resources to

improve their brand’s potential. We assist our clients in gaining a

competitive advantage in their field of expertise.

brand values

Example: Virgin

• The best quality

• Must be innovative

• Must be good value for money

• A challenge to existing alternatives

• It must add a sense of fun and cheekiness

brand personality

• The personality traits of the brand.

• i.e. if it were a human, would it be…

Enthusiastic

Energetic

Genuine

Honest

Example:

• A bold innovator who makes a meaningful difference.

brand mantra

• Ensures all stakeholders* understand what the brand

represents and what is unique about it.

• This should be memorable, crisp, vivid and short.

• Provides guidance as to what products to introduce.

• Usually consists of an emotional modifier (EM), descriptive

modifier (DM) & the brand functions (BF).

• e.g. NIKE: Authentic (EM), Athletic (DM), Performance (BF)

* everyone who comes into contact with the brand.

how we differentiate ourselves

• How do you differ clearly from opposition?

• What makes you unique, different?

“The greatest danger facing a brand isn’t rejection, it’s

INDIFFERENCE.”

how we differentiate ourselves

Example:

• We speak and understand the language of our

stakeholders

• Our ground-level insight drives brand strategy

• We go beyond conventional research techniques and

expose innovative communication concepts

brand language

• Visual and verbal codes

• i.e. name & logo

BUT..

• Should only be achieved once the brand identity has

been established.

let’s recap

A brand blueprint consists of a…

• Positioning statement

• Brand vision

• Value proposition

• Brand values

• Brand personality

• Brand mantra

• How we differentiate ourselves

• Brand language

the next step…

the brand communications plan

Zero-Based Approach Situational Analysis

• Brand

• Competitor• Consumer

SWOT Analysis

Key Issues

Key ObjectivesTarget MarketPositioning

Statement

Strategic

Recommendations

Creative Concept

Ground-LevelWork

the brand communications plan

phase 1: conducting a situational analysis

• Identifies the key issues facing the brand

• Internal & external factors of organisation

situational analysis

Industry Analysis• Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal,

Environmental factors.

It is important to consider PESTLE factors for the following reasons:

• Firstly, by making effective use of PESTLE analysis, you ensurethat what you are doing is aligned positively with the powerfulforces of change that are affecting our working environment.By taking advantage of change, you are much more likely tobe successful than if your activities oppose it.

• Secondly, good use of PESTLE analysis helps you avoid takingaction that is likely to lead to failure for reasons beyond yourcontrol.

situational analysis

Company Analysis

• Vision & values

• Brand identity / architecture / equity

• People

• CSI / CSR

• Performance

• Structures, processes & systems

situational analysis

Consumer Analysis

• Target market & audience

• Shifts in behaviour & purchase patterns?

situational analysis

Competitor Analysis

• Indirect & direct competitors

• Brand identity & image of competitors

• Brand contact strategies of competitors

• Market share & brand equity of competitors

situational analysis

Brand Analysis

• Brand role within portfolio

• Brand identity and image – positioning

• Contact and content audit (brand language)– integration

• Healthy brand audit

“Business is branding, branding is business.”

swot analysis

• Planning tool used to understand brands strengths,

weaknesses, opportunities & threats.

• Identifies internal & external factors to achieve business

objectives.

STRENGHTS

WEAKNESSES

OPPORTUNITIES

THREATS

ground level work

• Consumer insight & opinions

• Qualitative & quantitative research

key issues

• Serve as the foundation of what you need to address, and

should be phrased as positive questions

• e.g. How will we increase brand awareness of X?

• Translated into…

objectives

• What the organisation wants to achieve.

• e.g. To create brand awareness of X from a level of 40%

recall* to 80% top-of-mind within 6 months.

* Awareness levels of consumer:

• top-of-mind - first impression of brand

• recall - unaided, lives in mind of consumers

• recognise - aided, needs prompting

• unaware - no idea brand exists

target market

• Identify and create Consumer Profiles and Archetypes

• Who you want to connect with

brand positioning platform

• Positioning Statement – the position you wish to hold in the

minds of stakeholders relative to competitors.

• Appears in blueprint

“A good positioning helps to guide marketing strategy by clarifying

what a brand stands for, what it’s about, why it’s unique, and

why consumers should buy the brand.”

what’s next?

Message

• Drives the campaign

• Defines the creative concept

Concept• Defines the communication channel

Concept Execution• Brings the positioning to life in an creative & unique way

Creative Solution

• Choosing communication tools i.e. advertising

• Where the brand can improve

something extra…

guidelines to brand building

Outside-in mindset

• The spaces people move in.

• How do they move in those spaces?

• Do not stereotype but understand their perspective.

Customers determine the brands value.

Brand relationships build profits.

Brand relationships depend on a coherent delivery of

the brand promise…

guidelines to brand building

TOTAL

BRAND

EXPERIENCE

pricing

distribution

sponsorship

promotions

history

staff

users

other associations

public relations

products

service

name

packaging

advertising

direct mail

corporate identity

company reputation

website

guidelines to brand building

Everything communicates what the brand stands for

• Delivered at every point of contact (POC)

Types of contacts:

Product - directly attached to the product

Service - human interface, delivered by people (most important!)

Planned - any POC we think about (packaging, advertising)

Unplanned - little/no control over but very influential (word of mouth)

• Does each point of contact consistently deliver the brands

identity & promise?

guidelines to brand building

Create a competitive advantage

• You need to understand consumer motivations & desires

and create relevant & appealing images surrounding your

product.

Build a lighthouse identity

• Become brands people choose to navigate their lives

by, publicly or privately, as common reference points.

Brands with strength define their own territory

guidelines to brand building

A healthy brand:

• Has a particular meaning

• Has a unique meaning

• Is an effective & engaging communicator

• Adds value to the lives of people

• Is transparent - it lives its promise in all it does

• Builds sustainable relationships by never taking more than it

gives

• Believes that profit is not a driver but a consequence of all

the above

CONTACTSIMON DE ROBILLARD

07796224551

simderob@gmail.com