Branding - So Much More Than a Logo

One of the main challenges of working in communications is helping an organization to identify what its brand is and then reinforcing that brand over and over again. For too many people a brand is easily dismissed as being the logo or colors - that is the visual identity of a company, not its brand.

Brand at its purest is an organization's "personality". It doesn't start with how you want to be seen - it starts with how you are already being seen. What is the impression people have when they think of "ABC Company"? Do they have a feeling of delight, warmth, compassion or is it more likely to be a feeling of antipathy, fear, distaste? And who wants to give that second impression to their customers unless you're the Mob?

The best way to determine what your brand is at this given time is to do a lot of research - ask your customers, your employees, your suppliers. Everyone has a different relationship with your company so will have slightly different viewpoints. Once you know what people already feel about your company, determine from that what you want to keep (reinforce) and what you want to toss (regroup).

Building a brand to be what you want takes a lot of work and very little of it actually comes from the communications department. Certainly all the materials prepared by communicators must have the tone and message that you want to reinforce. However, building the brand starts with your people - how does your receptionist greet guests, customers, suppliers? How do your people act at meetings? How do your people treat suppliers? Who are your ambassadors and what are they saying about your company? If you can get to the point where your customers are your ambassadors, recommending you because you represent exactly what they want in the type of service you provide, you have achieved brand nirvana.

If people on your team can't accept the brand that you want your company to represent - then they aren't going to be very good at living and breathing that brand. But before deciding that it is time for them to move on, be fair and give them a chance to really understand what your brand is - what is that feeling you want your customers to have when they think of your company? If your people still can't grasp that, then it is time for them to move on while you build your team with the right people with the right attitude.

It's not unusual to want to be a brand that makes people feel really good and positive feelings - but not every type of service or product is going to instil those kind of feelings. The important thing in identifying what your brand is, is to first be very honest with yourself about what you provide, and what is possible. Then dream. Then build. Then achieve. Branding is so much more than a logo, isn't it?