Joined Up Lifestyle and Leisure for Leeds - 8th September

How can we make sure people experience more of the real, authentic Leeds?

How can we get more people involved in Leeds, and give them a bigger, better more distinctive experience while they are here?

Three big things have happened recently:

There has been a massive global recession.

Today, there are more people holidaying in the UK, looking for alternative destinations and exploring the hyper-local rather than the global.

Social media has exploded.

People prefer to trust their own networks for advice and recommendation, and many like to contribute to the pool of information available. We are all critics now.

Government support for business is waning.

Traditional support organisations will find it increasingly difficult to support leisure, cultural and arts events and initiatives.

So - is this austerity or is it opportunity?

Now, more than ever, lifestyle leisure business in Leeds has a challenge – to bring more people into the city, so they can experience their events, their venues and their facilities, and to give everyone the very best experience possible.

It is time to think outrageous!

World Class Service and Verbal ID have teamed up with Queens Hotel to launch a new, independent forum.

The first morning briefing at The Queens Hotel in central Leeds, will be held on the 8th of September – all are welcome.

The idea is to pool our experience in marketing, hospitality and entertainment to help event promoters, business owners, general managers and intermediaries collaborate, co-operate and mobilise.

We want to improve awareness, profitability, customer loyalty and deliver a better referral impact. Now is the time for Leeds to get in front and stay in front.

Social networks, joined-up delivery, independence, agile tactics add up to a more distinctive, more profitable future for Leeds.

The Leeds brand must be confident in its identity and make the most of its unique character. This is a show not tell world, so we have make the best out of our offer - and that almost certainly means more joined-up thinking and smarter working.

Why not start the Autumn with some new insights, new contacts and a face-to-face forum that will motivate and invigorate you, and help you get connected and grab the opportunity to make a difference. There will be beverages and pastries too…

Is your brand authentic?

Well, this is a real can of worms language fans, because it throws up two more complex questions - What is a 'brand' and what does 'authentic' mean? So I will tackle it in a few sections over the next week...

Section 1 – what is a brand today?

These days most people accept that brand is not your logo, or your look and feel, or your marketing or your web site or any single use of a channel or medium – it is your reputation, or as someone once said: the 'gut-feeling' people get when they think about your business.

In the past, marketing and advertising agencies have created, managed and handled brands for their clients. This was once simple (see mad Men for details). Because the vast majority of businesses were essentially the same, the agency could assume a generic character, then concentrate on the task of creating some point of difference. This usually meant discovering a USP (Unique Sales Proposition) – the thing that would trigger obedient customers to try and buy, return and buy again.

Things have changed a lot since then. Businesses have grown up, and become vastly, inherently different, in many ways. Now, customers have a global choice, usually involving new concepts like ethics, fair trade, green concerns, lifestyle and affinity, employee relations, or sustainability. The brand experience has become the focus - no longer is it enough to look for (or fabricate) some single 'Unique' sales proposition that would differentiate you from everyone else in a truly global market.

Today, most customers and clients have more comparative information to hand than ever before, they demand more than just one reason to buy, and their loyalty cannot be easily bought with a special offer or discount.

So how can we define and deploy this new notion of brand?
1.Involve everyone
2.Be honest
3.Build relationships

More about these next time....

Three important questions to ask youselves

Is your Verbal-id past its 'sell-by-date'?

When as a copywriter I encounter confused briefs, tangled thinking and contradictory viewpoints it is both incredibly frustrating and strangely enlightening. Often people think that the solution is to plough ahead, brush aside the minutiae and keep going. Now, as a real-life resident of Perseverance Street (no really, that is my address), I am all for sticking at things through hell and high water, but sometimes simply charging ahead can lead to missed opportunities rather than simple success. Sometimes you need to check your bearings.

Values and vision statements, 'mission' statements, positioning statements, even firm objectives, and definitions of audiences can often get blurred or go past their 'sell-by' date. It is vitally important to take stock every now and again, to make sure everyone is headed in the same direction, and knows where you are going and why. Especially in tough economic times – most marketing people I know are getting smart, and that means getting focused and absolutely clear about what they are doing.

So here is some advice before you head off towards some tempting destination:

1.Check you know exactly where you are going – what does success look like?
2.Make sure you know why you are well placed to succeed – what have you got going for you?
3.Make sure everyone feels like they are on a mission – do you all share the confidence you need?

How can design agencies use Verbal-ID?

Verbal-ID - the cure for fuzzy logic
Hello. My name is Nick Copland. You may already know me as a copywriter with over 12 years' experience helping businesses say what they need to say with clarity and precision. Now I have expanded this approach to create Verbal-ID - a rigorous programme designed to help your clients build a solid basis for communication and to help you produce more effective creative work.

Don't go round in circles?
Many clients are well-prepared for the project in hand, but some lack a clear purpose, focus or agreement on key ideas. As you know, this can easily lead to frustration and confusion, and makes your creative process more complex, less effective ...and less profitable.

Verbal-ID is powerful preparation
My Verbal-ID Programme has been specifically developed to help your clients refine and agree their key business propositions. It helps them distil the big ideas that drive their marketing and corporate communications forward, and creates an accurate picture of their audience. Verbal-ID reminds clients of the importance of creative branding, shows them how smart marketing can work for them, and ensures the work you do for them makes a tangible difference.

Verbal-ID gets everyone rowing in the same direction
Working closely with each client, in groups and individually, I produce a unique Verbal-ID Document that helps cut out inconsistency and confirm consensus. This document delivers inspiring, insightful and verified statements, including vital identity Definitions, the Brand Promise, the Reason to Believe, and a clear, simple Creative Checklist - powerfully foundations for your work, and their success.

Who needs Verbal-ID?
Anyone can benefit from the Verbal-ID Programme, but it works best for clients that are looking for a definite, positive, sustainable boost in their business operations. They might be taking their business on-line, opening new branches, launching new products, driving into new markets or simply growing fast.

When can you benefit from Verbal-ID
You can use Verbal-ID as a 'plug-in' service at the beginning of a new account or branding process, or to consolidate and focus minds prior to a major campaign. I am happy to bill direct or through your books. I exercise 100% confidentiality and can be trusted to work hard to enhance and encourage your relationship with your client.


Lets meet up and chat
It is difficult to convey here how Verbal-ID can ensure an effective, efficient creative process that will benefit their bottom line and yours. Do have a look at my website at www.verbal-id.co.uk , but if you want to get in touch to arrange a quick, informative meeting, I'd be happy to come to see you whenever it is convenient.

A word-of-mouth election campaign – but what is the message?

Last Saturday's Guardian front page spelled out the Labour Party's approach to communicating their key messages in the run up to the election. http://bit.ly/c0UlfT
In the article, Patrick Wintour quotes 'election co-ordinator' Douglas Alexander as saying, the Labour Party's '...key campaigning insight in an age of cynicism about politicians is word of mouth. The Conservative are fighting a broadcast election in a networked age. What we are going to offer is not a one way communication, but one-to-one communication.'

This is all fine and good – and clearly shows an awareness of the new, social channels. But what is the message. For Obama it was about change, with the slogan 'Yes, we can'. But the past year has been a reality check, turning 'Yes we can' into 'but not right now, and not as much as we want, and not how you think...'.

Cameron's simple message has already been diluted – 'Year for Change' suffers from all the same issues that Obama's slogan has – people need something short, but they also need soemthing distinctive and memorable.

These kinds of short slogans are a throwback to old-school marketing every bit as much as posters and TV commercials. If tey are going to tap into these social networks, Political Parties need to abandon slogans and embrace the 'nugget'.

The 'nugget' is the smallest unit of social media. It is a compact set of pieces of information. It is the message PLUS the information someone needs to pass that message on to other people. In Verbal-Id this means who you are, what you do, who you do it for, and why it matters.

The 'nugget' means that people quickly understand the distinction, and know who might be interested in it, and why they should pass it on.

Take the Rage Against the Machine campaign that emerged over the X-Factor – the message was wonderfully compact, and to the point, but it also clearly identified the kinds of people who it was for (and the kind it was against) which allowed people to see if it was for them, but also pass it on to others even if they themselves were not that bothered. Pure peer to peer communication needs the nugget!

Alexander is 100% right in descrying the Tories use of ancient media in a modern world, but let's see if Labour wastes this social media opportunity with lumpen, leaden slogans when they could start a nice goldrush with a well written 'nugget'.

Don't get the cart before the horse - strategic vs tactical

Branding is neither 'dark art' or 'rocket science' - it is mostly just common sense. As with so many simple things, there are a few simple rules. Here is one that has been much on my mind this week: keep strategic and tactical ideas separate.

Tactical ideas are for the day to day. They include campaigns, advertising, direct mail, blogs, tweets, web content that sort of stuff.

Strategic ideas are bigger, broader, more long-term. They include guidelines, plans, vision, values, that kind of thing. Verbal-id works at a strategic level.

They both have their place – and more specifically – they need to be kept in the right order.

Strategic ideas come before tactical solutions.

Although it is possible to achieve tactical objectives without the strategic work, the chances of success are lower, and there is less chance you'll be able to build on previous campaigns. There is also more chance that the project will run into complex arguments, confusion or contradiction. And that will cost time and money.

In general, it is best to get the strategic 'big ideas' agreed first, before tackling the tactical...

It's tempting to throw them a curveball, but you can't expect design and marketing agencies to be able to come up with web pages, advertising, direct mail, packaging or even stationery, before the big ideas are in place. They need the big, strategic ideas to be in place to really let their creativity fly...

Are values worth it?

Many executive hours are spent distilling and agreeing 'Values' as if they are the last word in corporate identity. Unfortunately 90% of values are vague, unbelievable and often obvious.

Values are usually words that companies select as the fundamental basis for the work they do, their attitude, and qualities. Usually they are things – such as 'honesty', 'passion', or 'innovation'.

Without your values your company would not be the same.

Values are pretty fixed - not 100%... but you would not be able to change them without becoming a different kind of company.

Values are important. Businesses that do not know what their values are can get lost and drift, fracture and miss opportunities.

Of course, lots of companies share the same values. Which is handy because, often businesses say they like to work with companies that 'share their values'.

A (relatively) recent survey of 500 top companies asked the following:

What are the stated values of your organisation?

These are the answers and the percentage of companies who shared the value

Customer satisfaction 77%

Ethics/integrity 76%

Accountability 61%

Respect for others 59%

Open communication 51%

Profitability 49%

Teamwork 47%

Innovation/change 47%

Diversity 41%

Trust 37%

Have fun 24%

[AMA Corporate Values Survey 2002]

So, does this mean that all these companies are the same, or do the same things, or say things in the same way?

No.

But they may want to do business with each other.

And, although they have shared values they have distinctive visions, personalities, tones of voice, styles, objectives etc. Sure they all value the same things, but they do different things, express themselves in different ways – dependent on their sector, audience etc.

Get the words right, but then show don't tell

In order to communicate your values it is not effective to simply state them – they are usually neither particularly interesting, surprising or informative, and can be ambiguous. They are certainly not distinctive enough in a competitive, busy marketplace.

For example, let's say one of your values was ‘honesty’. Simply going around telling people that you are honest is neither believable nor compelling. But, if you cut the jargon from your marketing materials, share information and foster a straight-forward relationship with them, they will come to see you as honest.

So, it is not what we say, so much as how we do it.

Find out more at www.verbal-id.co.uk