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....