A brand is never ‘done’

We live in more enlightened times when it comes to brand and while it is finally seen as more than a logo, it remains bedeviled by a project mentality.

Many of you have been down the path. Things start feeling a bit ho-hum, the thrill is gone. And so as night follows day it’s time to fire up the creative juices and redo the brand.

The project is kicked-off and the agency is brought in. The brainstorming sessions begin, and before you know it, the trappings are polished up and ready for the big launch. Cue event, hats, posters and hubbub.

Then a few scant months later everything settles back into place. Any discussion of the brand is relegated to ad-hoc mentions on PowerPoint slides and vague assertions of importance in meetings. Ho-hum reigns again.

What a waste of energy, thinking, time and money. However, you can escape that cycle. Freedom starts the day you ditch the shackles that tell you brand is a thing you do, and replace it with the idea that brand is a result of what you do. In fact all the whats you do.

In organisations, the things you do are never done, and neither is your brand. Readers over the past few weeks will have encountered my formula that captures this way of thinking about a brand:

                      experience [employee/customer]
Identity  X   ––––––––––––––––––––––––––  = brand
                       promises  

The formula could also be represented using a circular diagram, because through their interaction, the elements are always evolving including the result.

To learn more about how a brand evolves click here.

The organisation’s identity of purpose and values interacts with how people deliver experience and make promises, which in turn result in a brand. It’s an ongoing process in response to the shifting environment. New competitors, technology and regulations will pop up.

Products and services change and improve. Policies get easier to understand (or not). Practices and processes become more productive. People take more ownership of what they care about and as a result the brand stays fit and competitive.

Simply put, a brand is never done because the environment you’re in is never done. But you can have a robust, resilient brand if you embrace the result mindset.

See you next week.

Michel is an Independent Brand Thinker and Adviser dedicated to helping organisations make promises they can keep and keep the promises they make – with a strong, resilient organisation as the result. You can find Michel at michelhogan.com or you can follow her on Twitter @michelhogan