Introduction to branding:Starting the conversation

David WengerDirector of CommunicationsMcCombs School of Business

The University of Texas at Austin

What do you wish to gain from this session?

?

What is a brand?

A name?

A logo?

A tagline?

A market niche?

A sales channel?

A location?

A customer experience?

An organizational culture?

A communication style?

A perishable asset?

Yes, that is a brand.

A brand is not created or delivered by any one

individual or group in the organization.

“Marketers build brands.Sure, and gardeners

build plants.”

Russ Somers, VP MarketingInvodo

A brand strategy accounts for the total brand

experience

Values

Objectives

Operations

Policies

Vision OfferingsStakeholders

Culture

Resources

Reputation

Values

Objectives

Operations

Policies

Vision OfferingsStakeholders

Culture

Resources

Reputation

Only then will the brand ring true for consumers

The Branding Zone

The Branding Zone

“Because the most important thing to me when I order a box of wings is the life story of the guy who dumped them in there.”

Chief marketing officers must be very adept at driving cross-company alignment in strategy and implementation

Pete HayesChief Outsiders

“Many a CEO has lost his or her job because the marketing strategy was not accepted or acted upon.”

A familiar slam on marketing and communications people is that they “don’t think like business professionals.” But the best of them are thinking about the business in a global manner that makes their views all the more essential to the success of the organization.

Forced Relationship-Building Internal Brand Alignment

Management Team-CTO-Buick: dependable but not excitingCFO-Ford: affordable and reliableCMO-Chrysler van: able to fit a lot of needsDir. of Sales-Chevy Impala: affordable with a bit of excitement

Founder-Red Ferrari: extreme high performance, exclusive and expensive

“If your company were an automobile, which would it be?”

Forced Relationship

Tips

Ten or less people: keep the size manageableDecision makers: engage those who can effect change2-3 questions: more is not helpful, leave time for discussionFocus on the org. analogy: you’re not asking about their favorite carTalk about reasons: the specific answers are not as importantLook for misalignment: don’t ignore gaps in brand perception

Brand touches every aspect of the customer experience

Brand is the business of everyone in the organization

Marketers and communicators should have a global view of the organization, providing a unique and useful voice in decision making

A forced relationship brainstorm is a fun way to begin a brand discussion with your decision makers

In ReviewWhat is a brand?

“We see CMOs get stuck in a pure communications role versus one that is at the heart of the business. If you are just talking about products that are developed, it is only a shiny veneer, and the rest of the organization won’t value that.”

Pete HayesChief Outsiders

www.iduniversity.wordpress.com davidwenger@utexas.edu

Advanced branding:How to talk about your brand so your audience will listen

David WengerDirector of CommunicationsMcCombs School of Business

The University of Texas at Austin

What do you wish to gain from this session?

?

Why do so many people not listen to

us?

1. Too Self-

Centered

2. Too

Narrowly Focused

3. Too

Boring

1. Too Self-

Centered

“Rather than focus on being interesting, be interested.”

@MarketingSherpa

McCombs Undergraduate Program Office Website 2004

WE – THEY Page from the McCombs Undergraduate Program Offi ce Website 2004

This is our audience, why are we talking about them

in the third person?

Wow! You have a student records department, cool!

YOUCurrent page from the McCombs Undergraduate Program Office Website

•Consider your audience in their current reality—they aren’t “your audience.”

•Talk to them as people, not third-persons.

•Don’t drone on—ditch the hard sell. You want them to come back and hear more.

2.Too

Narrowly Focused

University communications are often focused in three areas

Athletics Alumni Pride School Brag

But people consume info on a wide range of topics and interests

And they consume information on a wide range of platforms

Case Study:

Can we break the pattern of always talking about the same topics in the same long-form publications—and invite our alumni to turn back to the university to learn and discuss things that interest them today?

A network of professional experts from a variety of fields and disciplines (primarily UT alumni) regularly contribute content to Texas Enterprise on topics of the practical application of business knowledge in the real world. They blog, participate in surveys, give webinars, comment on faculty-research articles, etc.

Articles from alumni bloggers

are promoted alongside our

staff writer contributions.

We seek to be interested, not just

interesting. In return, alumni and

other readers become interested

in the school again.

Contributors receive regular email updates with hints on

topics, blogging techniques and invitations to

participate with us in events.

We want them to feel valued and

special…because they are!

Rather than inserting our school’s excellence into the center of

every conversation, we seek to place our school in the center of

every excellent thing.

3.Too

Boring

“Don’t sell the steak. Sell the

sizzle.”Elmer Wheeler

Adding F-A-B to Your Brand

Translating Features to Advantages to Benefits

FEATURE

ADVANTAGE

BENEFIT

FEATURE

FEATURE

FEATURES

Features don’t answer the question “So what, why should I care?”

FEATURE ADVANTAGE BENEFITA professional academic advising staff

Honors and international programs

Prospective student inquiries

Student organization advising

Student records

Plan special events such as summer orientation, parents weekend and graduation

That can get you on the right track quickly.

Translate…

Graduate on time with a degree that matches your life goals.

Translate

1. Too Self-

Centered

2. Too

Narrowly Focused

3. Too

Boring

1. Outward

Focused and Interested

2. Contextual World View

3. Descriptive Story Tellers

www.iduniversity.wordpress.com davidwenger@utexas.edu