It’s High Time for a Revolution in Branding
Posted on 01. Mar, 2010 by Kelly Hobkirk in Branding, Personal Branding.
It’s time to get real, get honest, time to make meaningful connections. It’s time to believe in your brand.
How can I, Kelly Hobkirk, brand development specialist, graphic designer, writer, entrepreneur possibly claim to be starting a revolution in branding? It’s a bold claim coming from a guy who hasn’t the street cred of an Ogilvy, nor the blogger prowess of a Rowse. I lack the notoriety of some of the larger players in graphic design, yet I am quite an accomplished, award-winning designer. (I might be famous, it’s just that few people have ever heard of me.) Until now, no one has heard of a need for a revolution in branding, but it’s high time.
Why would I make such a claim? A branding revolution. Well, in my twenty-five year design and advertising career, I have worked with a metric ton of entrepreneurs, small to medium size businesses, and a couple handfuls of massive corporations with international reach. In all that time, with nearly all of those businesses, I have observed one alarming consistency: Few people actually believe in their brands.
How can that be?
What is your brand?
Brands started out as a way to mark ownership of cattle, or essentially as a sort of crude logo. The term ‘brand’ has evolved since then to mean a whole lot more for you and your business.
Simply put, your brand is your characteristics and beliefs, expressed visually, verbally, and by your actions.
Your brand is the pillar of your beliefs. It is the single most effective marketing tool you will ever have. If you don’t believe in your brand, you probably would be well-served to find a new job.
Why your brand is monumental
What happens when you don’t believe in your brand? Employees don’t believe. They work to collect a paycheck. They work less hard and sell less effectively because it’s hard to dedicate yourself to selling something you don’t believe in. Customers don’t believe in you either. Sales drop. Brand loyalty ceases to exist. Brand equity tumbles. Your position in your market is devalued. Your company is worth less, and people don’t care about you.
If you don’t believe in your brand, you have an express ticket to a sharp downward spiral, which can lead only to failure. This is a scary fact, and it can get a whole lot worse.
Brands have become weak
The three most common problems with personal brands, small business brands, and even large corporate brands are:
1. Lack of foundation in reality
2. Poor design lacking in sound strategy
3. Squandered opportunity
During the last few years I’ve watched a stunning amount of companies not just shoot themselves in the foot, but blow their feet clean off by developing brands with little or no foundation in reality. The result is a seemingly deliberate disconnect. Why would anyone do that?
Many companies skip strategy altogether, moving from some vague idea of who they are to an identity that fails to accurately portray them. This is really a shame because when it is developed right your brand is the most powerful, affordable, and valuable marketing tool you and your company will have during the entire life of your business.
If you are not personally invested in your brand, guess what? No one else will be either. Your employees won’t believe the spiel you feed them, and neither will your customers and prospects.
Branding is hard work
It is not hard to believe in your brand. But it is hard to create a brand you can believe in. It truly is hard work, and it’s an ongoing process.
Why is it so hard to create a brand with meaning? Most people do not understand their brand. They have no idea what is its purpose, what it stands for, how far it can reach, and how it effects them on a daily basis. Many companies do not understand what a brand actually is, and they lack an understanding of the process of branding.
Many graphic designers also are confused about what branding is, so when a company turns to a graphic designer for brand development, they often have no idea what they’re getting into. Sometimes they hire a designer who hasn’t the foggiest idea what branding is.
Branding is not something you pick up in a week or two, and it cannot be learned exclusively from reading. Good brand development requires an in-depth knowledge of strategy, graphic design, typography, web design, outstanding copywriting, a keen eye for detail, an understanding of people, business experience, and life experience, among other elements.
Most people believe that no matter the state of their brand, it must be a positive thing, but that’s not even close to the truth. Some brands are poisoned. Some brands are buried. Some brands lost their way so long ago that no one knows the way back. Some people believe that brands are worthless. I don’t know where this belief originates, but after spending about ten minutes with a person, I can usually figure it out.
Turning a brand around — revolutionizing it — is not an easy thing to do, but the effort is well worth it. Are you ready to revolutionize your brand?
Why is branding so hard?
Brands do not grow on websites. They are not available for $40 on ebay. You cannot design a logo, slap it on a business card and a website, and claim that you have a brand. You cannot set up a few social media profiles and claim that you have a brand. Yet, that’s what people are doing. They’re creating empty brands.
If you are shortchanging your brand development, you are shortchanging your success. You are telling yourself, your employees, and your customers that you are not worthy of their attention. Are you worthy?
My guess is you probably are worthy. Then I invite you to take this ride on Branding Revolution to change your life and your business.
Some key topics we’ll be addressing on Branding Revolution include:
• Finding meaning in your brand
• Personal branding
• Small business branding
• Staying true to your brand
• How your brand fits into your marketing
• Keeping your brand strong
It is important to understand not only your brand itself, but to some extent the process of branding. You don’t need to become a branding expert, but some insights will go a long way towards helping you get the most out of your brand or personal brand.
What are your experiences with branding? If you find this post inspiring, please add your comments. Thanks for reading.
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