It seems that I read a different blog post defining "branding" every week. The answers are usually the same, although stated differently and many are often lengthy. I'll define branding by asking a question: Who is your CBO?
Many organizations have a CEO, some have a COO, a CFO, and a growing number of companies have a CMO. But who is your organization's Chief Branding Officer? It better be somebody in a C-Suite position.
Many companies would say branding is the work of their marketing director, or maybe the product manager. Wrong and wrong. Here's why, and this is where I join the chorus of those who would define branding: A brand must be interwoven throughout an organization's entire operation to be truly effective.
I have met far too many intelligent business people who think that branding is something their marketing department does. Design a logo. Slap on a trite slogan. Run some ad campaigns that explain it. While the brand absolutely has to shape the message and style of your marketing, it MUST go much deeper in your organization. The brand should effect how you design your products/services. It should effect how you sell them. It should touch how you bill your clients and make collections. It should be evident in how your employees, every last one of them, answer their phones and emails.
So how would I define branding? By simply stating that it better be guided by a top level person in your organization, your CEO, your President, your General Manager, whatever you call that person. The brand is the attitude of your entire organization, every department, every employee. And it simply must start at the top and be monitored from the top.
Many organizations have a CEO, some have a COO, a CFO, and a growing number of companies have a CMO. But who is your organization's Chief Branding Officer? It better be somebody in a C-Suite position.
Many companies would say branding is the work of their marketing director, or maybe the product manager. Wrong and wrong. Here's why, and this is where I join the chorus of those who would define branding: A brand must be interwoven throughout an organization's entire operation to be truly effective.
I have met far too many intelligent business people who think that branding is something their marketing department does. Design a logo. Slap on a trite slogan. Run some ad campaigns that explain it. While the brand absolutely has to shape the message and style of your marketing, it MUST go much deeper in your organization. The brand should effect how you design your products/services. It should effect how you sell them. It should touch how you bill your clients and make collections. It should be evident in how your employees, every last one of them, answer their phones and emails.
So how would I define branding? By simply stating that it better be guided by a top level person in your organization, your CEO, your President, your General Manager, whatever you call that person. The brand is the attitude of your entire organization, every department, every employee. And it simply must start at the top and be monitored from the top.
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