Ask AbuLLard - AbuLLard's Branding FAQ
Branding
What is my brand?
Your brand is the external expression of your business strategy as conveyed in every action of a company.
It becomes the company�s "personality" in the marketplace � its reputation for how well it delivers against what it promises.
What is a brand platform?
A Brand Platform is a set of guidelines that govern all aspects of the
Brand: visual, semantic, perceptual, and implementation. It defines how you
want to be perceived � emotionally and logically � by your potential customers.
Which employees need to know about the brand platform?
All of them. The actions of every employee can impact the reputation of your brand.
Why should a small company brand?
A strong brand can contribute to your ability to create new clients and grow
revenue. A start-up or young company with a clear brand strategy looks like
a bigger, more professional, and more established organization.
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The CattLeLogos® Method™
What is the CattLeLogos Method?
The CattLeLogos Method uses a seven step method to take a brand from Vision to Value. These steps are:
- Vision � the foundation of your brand promise
- Image � the look and feel of all aspects of your brand identity
- Message � a collection of statements supporting your brand promise
- Means � the methods you use to promote your brand in the market
- Implementation � putting in place business processes in support of the brand platform
- Evaluation � judging just how successful your branding efforts are
- Maintenance � delivery of your brand promises in all customer encounters
Why use the CattLeLogos Method?
The CattLeLogos Method assists you to build good brand management practices in to your corporate DNA, i.e.,
your business process. It helps you implement the ABC's of branding � making sure your vision, image, messages and means
are A � appropriate for you market, B � believable by your customers, and C � consistently delivered.
What is it important to have a brand vision?
A Brand Vision establishes a set of core values with clarity of purpose. The
Brand Vision when communicated throughout an organization will align your
business process, employee behavior, and communication vehicles to deliver
the type of products and services in a way that support your Brand Platform.
How do we evaluate our brand�s visual image?
Collect a set of all your published materials � documents, forms,
presentations, brochures, ads, labels, etc. � and lay them out on a table.
Do they all look like they came from the same company? Or are they each have
a different look?
What messages are most important to communicate?
Unless you want to be in a commodity market, you need to be able to
differentiate your offering from the rest of the market. You need to make
your message stand out from the noise. Maybe you really do have a better
mouse trap � is that clear from your messages?
What are the "Means"?
The means include all the ways in which you convey your image and communicate your message. Far beyond a logo, they include documents,
proposals and faxes; presentations including specific content and style of delivery as well as format; advertising; trade shows;
web site implementation; phone interactions; customer support to name few.
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About CattLeLogos
What is CattLeLogo's background?
Jean and Jane are both former executives whose experiences include both
creative and engineering processes. Jane was managing a technology group
whose engineers had created their own brochure for a new product. The
brochure did not adhere to any brand guidelines. Jean as corporate brand
manager realized every group was doing this because brand strategy hadn�t
been communicated to employees. Jean and Jane met up and used Jane�s product
as test case for developing the needed process and guidelines for managers
like Jane to market their products while protecting the company brand.
Why did you write AbuLLard�s ABC�s of Branding?
The ABC�s came up in a very early conversation between us as we were talking
about the business concept. We discovered that by reducing brand concepts to
basics and using a humorous approach, people who normally thought branding
was only the responsibility of marketing or just a logo
really got the message. After one of our seminars, we had a senior VP of operations tell us
the he finally understood why following good branding practices were
critical for an organizations success.
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Order the Full FAQ
In addition to the questions here, I've answered an additional 25 branding questions in
AbuLLard's Branding FAQ.
It's free and you can ask for it here.
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