1. it’s worth MORE than you think!
1
your
BRAND
Eric Jessen

2. 2
Credit: Much of the content in this presentation
was developed in A VISUAL PRESENTATION BY
MARTY NEUMEIER of NEUTRON LLC, a leading
innovator in branding and brand education.
How to build a sustainable and successful
within the marketplace.
brand

3. WHAT IS A BRAND?
3

4. LET’S BEGIN BY DISPELLING SOME MYTHS.
4

5. TO START, WE SHOULD UNDERSTAND WHAT IT
ISN’T.
5

6. FIRST
your brand is not a logo.
6

7. BRAND ≠
7

8. SECOND
your brand is not an identity.
8

9. BRAND ≠
9

10. THIRD
your brand is not a company.
10

11. BRAND ≠
11

12. FINALLY
your brand is not a product.
12

13. BRAND ≠
13

14. OK, WHAT EXACTLY IS A BRAND?
14

15. BRAND =
Your brand is a
person’s gut feeling
about your product,
service or organization.
15

16. It’s a person’s GUT FEELING
because brands are defined
by individuals, not companies,
markets or the public.
It’s a GUT FEELING because people are
emotional, intuitive beings.
16

17. …in other words…
17

18. IT’S NOT WHAT YOU SAY IT IS.
18

19. IT’S WHAT THEY SAY IT IS.
19

20. However, you can influence
what “they say it is.”
20

21. Whether intentional or otherwise,
you influence your brand every day
through every message and behavior;
Everything you do
has a direct impact
on “what they say”
about your brand.
everything matters.
21

22. It is therefore critical to align
the experiences people have
with your brand to be the best
possible every time...
22

23. Branding, as a discipline,
cannot be separated from
other business activities.
MISCONCEPTION: Building your brand is the
responsibility of the marketing department.
23

24. TELEPHONE
PUBLIC RELATIONS
CUSTOMER
INTERACTION
WEB SALES
EVENTS
DESIGN
PROMOTIONS
ADVERTISING
Your brand
is the consistent
alignment of what
people see, hear,
read, experience
and think about
your products
and services.
24
BRAND

25. Branding is entirely tactical.
It’s all about what
you say and do.
25

26. Even everyday writing –
emails, memos, letters and
presentations – is important.
26

27. The enemy is jargon. Jargon says:
A) I belong, and
B) If you don’t get it, you don’t belong.
Big words and more syllables make one
appear intelligent…but, they are all…
unclear.
27

28. ASC
acronyms slow
communication
28

29. What’s the bottom line?
29

30. “Branding is not about getting your
prospects to choose you over your
competitors, it’s about getting your
customers to see you as the only
solution to their problem.”
– Robert Frankel
THIS IS THE
BOTTOM LINE.
Called “the best branding expert on the
planet,” by Fortune 1000 companies and
media like CNN, CBS News, FOX News, NBC
Nightly News, ABC News, CNBC, the Wall
Street Journal, London Financial Times, Los
Angeles Times, Bloomberg News Media, the
Washington Post, INC magazine and others.
30

31. Your objective is to get more people
to buy more product for more years
at a higher price.
THIS IS YOUR
BUSINESS
OBJECTIVE
31

32. But does “brand” have
an actual dollar value?
ABSOLUTELY!
32

33. Possibly the best example of
a company’s brand value is
Coca-Cola, which in 2007
had a 46% brand equity as
a percentage of market
capital. In dollar value, this
amounted to $65-billion.*
COKE’S VALUE
WITHOUT
BRAND VALUE
COKE’S
BRAND VALUE
*BrandChannel.com: A How-To Guide to Assessing Brand Value, by
Catherine Tremblay, May 19, 2008 issue – Interbrand valued the
Coca-Cola brand at an estimated $65.3 billion in 1997, assigning it
the number one rank among brands worldwide.”
33

34. =
34
While the valuation of brand can be more
of an art than a science, your
brand could be valued in the
tens of millions of dollars.

35. CHALLENGES
1. People have too many choices
and too little time
2. Most offerings have similar
quality and features
35

36. 36

37. 37
TRUST

38. T=r+dTRUST RELIABILITY DELIGHT
Trust comes from meeting
and beating customer expectations.
38
We tend
to base
our
buying
choices
on

39. When you maximize trust,
you can build a dynamic brand.
39

40. a DYNAMIC BRAND is any product,
service or organization for which
people believe there’s no substitute.
40
{ }

41. AMAZON
APPLE
BURGER KING
COLDWATER CREEK
DASANI
DISNEY
DK BOOKS
EVEREADY
FORD
GENERAL ELECTRIC
GOOGLE
HANES
41
QUIZ:
Which of these brands are dynamic?
HITACHI
HOME DEPOT
IKEA
KMART
KRISPY KREME
LEVI’S
LONGS DRUGS
MACY’S
MINI COOPER
NEWSWEEK
NISSAN
NORDSTROM
OXO GOODGRIPS
PEPSI-COLA
PRELL
RCA
REEBOK
RUBBERMAID
SAFEWAY
SAMSUNG
SEARS
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
UNITED ARTISTS
VIRGIN

42. AMAZON
APPLE
BURGER KING
COLDWATER CREEK
DASANI
DISNEY
DK BOOKS
EVEREADY
FORD
GENERAL ELECTRIC
GOOGLE
HANES
42
QUIZ:
Which of these brands are dynamic?
HITACHI
HOME DEPOT
IKEA
KMART
KRISPY KREME
LEVI’S
LONGS DRUGS
MACY’S
MINI COOPER
NEWSWEEK
NISSAN
NORDSTROM
OXO GOODGRIPS
PEPSI-COLA
PRELL
RCA
REEBOK
RUBBERMAID
SAFEWAY
SAMSUNG
SEARS
SOUTHWEST AIRLINES
UNITED ARTISTS
VIRGIN

43. Any brand can be dynamic.
43

44. EVEN
YOURS
44

45. What are the three most important
words to remember when building
a dynamic brand?
DIFFERENTIATE
DIFFERENTIATE
DIFFERENTIATE
45

46. We’re hardwired to focus only on what’s different.
46

47. The most important word
in differentiating your brand
message is FOCUS.
47

48. The most common reason for loss of focus is
ILL-CONSIDERED BRAND EXTENSIONS.
48

49. Focused
Loss of focus.
Loss of differentiation.
= Sports Car + SUVs
→ Porsche = Sports Car
Unfocused
49
→ Porsche

50. BAD BRAND EXTENSIONS
are those that chase short-term
profits at the expense of long-term
brand value.
GOOD BRAND EXTENSIONS grow
the value of the brand by
reinforcing its focus.
50

51. Example:
51
THE GOOD GRIPS BRAND HAS GROWN STRONGER WITH EVERY BRAND
EXTENSION.

52. Question:
How do you know
when your brand is
focused, innovative
and differentiates?
52

53. Answer:
When it scares the HELL out of everybody.
53

54. 54
It takes guts to stick
your head up and
differentiate.

55. 55
Why?

56. 56
Because we all know
what can happen when
you stick your head up.

57. Once upon a brand:
A gutsy brand story
57
mericanA
of Columbus, Georgia
Famil
y
Life Assurance ompanyC

58. The American Family Life Assurance Company
was already a large, established and respected
insurance company in the southeast…but
there was a problem with its brand…
58
mericanA
of Columbus, Georgia
Famil
y
Life Assurance ompanyC

59. In 2000, Dan Amos, CEO and chairman, recognized
consumers couldn’t recall the company’s name.
Nothing was working. So Amos contacted the
Kaplan Thaler Group to help improve brand awareness…
59
mericanA
of Columbus, Georgia
Famil
y
Life Assurance ompanyC

60. While brainstorming, the creative team tried turning the
company name into an acronym. After pronouncing it
repeatedly, someone realized that it had a very unique
and recognizable sound…
60
mericanA
of Columbus, Georgia
Famil
y
Life Assurance ompanyC

61. Now, picture this: A
company boardroom
full of stuffy suits and
the brand presentation
begins…
61
mericanA
of Columbus, Georgia
Famil
y
Life Assurance ompanyC

62. “…um…sirs…we
believe that when
you pronounce an
acronym of your
company name….”
62
mericanA
of Columbus, Georgia
Famil
y
Life Assurance ompanyC

63. “…it sounds like a
duck’s quack!”
63

64. 64
The Aflac brand was born.
It was a chance. It took GUTS. But it paid off!

65. 65
In addition to print collateral and brand story training, a
duck pond was constructed at corporate headquarters.
Four Peking ducks live in the one-third-acre pond. Besides
being a memorable and likeable brand icon, the Aflac
duck reflects a buying market, people struggling to be
heard and frustrated with other products.

66. 66
Amos made a gutsy call. The Aflac duck has been voted
one of America’s favorite icons, beating out veteran
icons such as Ronald McDonald and the Energizer Bunny.

67. 67

68. what do you do?
OK, you got that. Now…
68

69. yourself.
Gutsy and dynamic
branding is not possible
unless you first know
who are you?
69

70. brand
vision
mission
purpose
Your brand must be
an outgrowth of
your core purpose.
70

71. your values.
Gutsy and dynamic
branding is not possible
unless you first know
what do you stand for?
71

72. Your values are the way you want people to perceive you.
Failure to project your values = failure of your brand.
open
honorable
trustworthy
innovative
72

73. Communicate honestly, proactively, openly
and consistently.
open
honorable
trustworthy
innovative
73

74. Embrace change and strive for continuous
improvement in all that you do.
open
honorable
trustworthy
innovative
74

75. Honor your commitments and agreements and
expect the same.
open
honorable
trustworthy
innovative
75

76. Treat your business relationships with respect,
professionalism, trust, dignity, courtesy and
sensitivity.
open
honorable
trustworthy
innovative
76

77. It’s up to everyone to ensure that your messages
and behavior live up to your values.
open
honorable
trustworthy
innovative
Your brand is here.
77

78. your personality.
understanding the VALPAK BRAND
Gutsy and dynamic
branding is not possible
unless you first know
what are your traits?
78

79. Your brand
should feel:
You’re caring…not cold. You’re helpful
and engaged. Your customers trust you
and you work very hard to meet their
value expectations.
79
BRAND
Solution-
Oriented

80. Your brand
should feel:
Knowledge-
able
You’re knowledgeable…not unaware.
Everything you do is steeped in robust
experience and deep research. You strive
to know yourself and your customers.
80
BRAND
Solution-
Oriented

81. Your brand
should feel:
Knowledge-
able
Committed
You’re committed…not fly-by-night.
You serve the needs of your customers
and your community. You’re in it for the
long haul.
81
BRAND
Solution-
Oriented

82. Your brand
should feel: Solution-
Oriented
Valuable
Committed
Straight-
forward
You’re straightforward…not
complicated. Your brand, your
products, your people and your
business are simple, honest and direct.
82
BRAND

83. 83
You can know yourself,
your values and your
personality…
…but to have a gutsy and
dynamic brand you MUST also…

84. be real
84

85. IF YOUR BRAND LOOKS LIKE A DUCK AND SWIMS LIKE A DOG,
85
PEOPLE WILL DISTRUST IT.

86. Brands are very much like people.
86

87. If people can change their clothes
without changing their character…
87

88. Why can’t brands?
88

89. A living brand is a
pattern of behavior,
not a stylistic veneer.
89

90. Will the real Geico brand please stand up?
90
ANSWER: THEY’RE ALL THE REAL GEICO BRAND.
EVIDENCE:
LOGO DOES
NOT EQUAL
BRAND

91. old paradigm:
91
Control the
LOOK AND FEEL
of a brand.

92. new paradigm:
92
Influence the
CHARACTER
of a brand.

93. prediction:
93
BRAND will become the
most strategic tool since
the spreadsheet.

94. 1. know yourself
2. be real
3. differentiate
4. focus
5. be gutsy
6. grasp that everything matters
7. build trust
94

95. brand = process
Your brand is a process, not an entity…
95
…it’s a pattern of behavior, not a stylistic veneer.
95

96. Quiz Time
96
Some brands have such a strong presence in the
public psyche that they can be easily identified
even without seeing the entire trademark.

97. Answer: Nike.
97

98. Answer: Adidas.
98

99. Answer: McDonalds.
99

100. Answer: Apple.
100

101. Answer: Starbucks.
101

102. Answer: Audi.
102

103. Answer: Disney.
103

104. Answer: Google.
104

105. more
challenging?
105

106. Cryptic clue:
A smorgasbord of shelving.
Visual hint:
Answer: Ikea.
106

107. Cryptic clue: Easy Riders.
Visual hint:
Answer: Harley-Davidson.
107

108. Cryptic clue: Compensation.
Visual hint:
Answer: PayPal.
108

109. What’s your next move?
109109

110. 110110

111. you build
With TDAgency, consistent brand messages and behavior…
111111

112. a sustainable
competitive advantage.
112112