Branding is most typically associated with marketing elements like names, trademarks and logos. But, a brand is actually defined by a combination of factors. Like an iceberg, only a small piece breaks the surface. Signs and symbols are indeed only part of the definition.
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Purple Swarms”, a company that promotes group buying uses the word “swarms” in its brand name to indicate groups. Had the company used the word “groups” instead of swarms it would have failed to strike a chord with people simply because groups would be more run of the mill.
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Brands have to engage with their audience when they want to be engaged, using a variety of communication tools, depending on their preferences. It used to be that companies would interrupt and mass email their consumers, but now consumers demand more. Using tools, such as Facebook and Twitter, entrepreneurs can connect in the moment and build a loyal fan base, as well as listen to feedback published in real-time by their audience. David Meerman Scott surveyed the Fortune 100 companies and found that only 30% had responded to him in real-time, and then concluded that companies that engage in real-time have higher stock prices.
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Personal branding. The term was used so much last year that it’s almost become cliché, yet you can bet it’s only going to become more ubiquitous in 2011. But what does personal branding mean, exactly? And how can job seekers use it to their advantage? U.S. News spoke with Dan Schawbel, managing partner of Millennial Branding, a personal branding company, and author of Me 2.0: 4 Steps to Building Your Future about steps job seekers can take to build a quality presence online. Excerpts:
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I met a banker this week with the first name Carnarri (pronounced Canary – as in the bird). My first conversation with Carnarri was over the phone. I had all sorts of images of this banker. I never met a Carnarri before. Would he be tall and blond like Sesame Street’s Big Bird? With a profession as a banker (who I believe should be somewhat reserved and conservative), why didn’t he use his middle name? Could a banker with such a name be proficient in finances?
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When you think about Stephen Harper, do you also think “taxes”?
When you consider Michael Ignatieff, does the word “corruption” spring to mind?
How about Jack Layton — “in touch”? Me, neither.
None of those words apply to any of those political leaders. The Conservative leader is associated with taxes? The Grit boss — who has never held power — is somehow corrupt? The Dippers are “in touch” — with what, exactly? Sheesh.
But, according to Abacus Data, those are just some of the words Canadians associate with Harper, Ignatieff and Layton.
A national poll Abacus did in early December asked nearly 1,400 respondents the following: “When you think about the [political party], what three things first come to mind?”
You’ll be surprised by what they found. I was. If Harper has a “brand,” it sure ain’t taxes. Ditto Ignatieff — he may be branded with lots of words, but “corruption” isn’t among them.
Now, brand analysis — that is, the identity of a product or company, represented by a logo or slogan — is nothing new in politics. Long ago, some cynic likened selling politicians to the way in which we hawk soap, so there have always been those who believe that politicians have a “brand.”
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Whether it be the Haiti Presidential second round election (expected on Jan. 16); the Peruvian Parliamentary and Presidential ballots (in April); or the Argentinian presidential election (in October), the precise outcome of several key ballots in the Americas in 2011 is uncertain.
What is far more sure, however, is that foreign political consultants will be working behind the scenes in many (if not most) of these countries trying to steer candidates to success.
Indeed, it is estimated that U.S. political consultants, alone, have already worked in more than half of the countries in the world. In 2011, that tally will only grow as globe-trotting U.S. firms reach out to more and more uncharted international territory following their widespread employment in last November’s U.S. midterm congressional elections.
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It has not always been like this. The traditionally “natural governing party” once held sway in all but one of the provincial legislatures for most of the 1930s and 1940s. For much of the 1980s and 1990s, the Liberals formed government in five or six of Canada’s ten provinces.
Today, however, the Liberals sit as the Official Opposition in the House of Commons and form government in only four provinces: British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island. Only in PEI are the Liberals leading in the polls, and if current trends hold firm the Liberals will only have premiers in Quebec and Prince Edward Island at the end of next year.
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VietNamNet Bridge – A miss is as good as a mile. Sabeco made a mistake and now it has to pay a heavy price for the carelessness. How can such a big enterprise misunderstand simple branding? Experts are called on to reconsider processes in state asset management.
As VietNamNet has reported, SABECO, a big Vietnamese brewery brand is now facing the risk of losing its brand to the hands of a foreign partner. A lot of businesses and experts have voiced their opinions about the case.
Tran Anh Tuan, the founding member of The Pathfinder, a brand consultancy firm:
Currently, many big enterprises still do not have a brand management division. I don’t know if Sabeco had its brand valuated, set conditions for choosing partners or applied any policies on intellectual property. Or it only took care of possible turnover when it assigned a foreign partner to cover so many (20) markets. It should have been allowed to only distribute products in Singapore or some neighboring markets. After only one or two years, if Sabeco has good business results, it could have allowed the foreign partner to cover other markets as well.
It is a shame that Sabeco has not paid appropriate attention to protecting its main asset – the brand, especially when this is not a kind of franchise but just an exporting contract for distribution.
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BC’s Matt Lauer did an extensive interview recently with former President George W. Bush, who was promoting both his new book and a perspective on his presidency.
During the interview, Lauer mentioned that despite the large number of deaths and injuries in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, former President Bush had enjoyed a special and very warm relationship with the military.
Bush agreed and said that he treasured that relationship. He then recounted a visit and talk with the widow of a soldier who had been killed in Iraq. He expressed his sorrow to her and they talked for a while. In parting, the soldier’s widow told the president, “He did his job. Now you do yours.”
It was an emotional story that obviously touched Bush deeply. It was also a remarkably effective, powerful moment on television, one that could touch viewers. If you’ve ever spent any time with politicians or CEOs, you could almost hear them saying, “I want that. I want that kind of special relationship.”
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