FORGE BrandWorkbook

BRAND FORMATION WORKBOOK

by Jän Paul Ostendorf, Brand Strategist Strategist

INTRODUCTION

In the world o branding there’s no room or mixed signals. Brand congruency and consistency are key. First o, the brand must be congruent with your company’s mission and vision. Next, there has to be a high degree o consistency across all touchpoints. The oundation oundation o the brand starts star ts with your name, visualized visualized in a symbolic brandmark. Next, this representation is extended to every possible interaction a customer may have with your company—big or small. This workbook will help you orge a new brand through the process o rethinking, dierentiating, and developing it rom the ground up.

BRAND FORMATION

WORKBOOK

COMPANY NAME

CONTACTS

name: tel: e-mail:

name: tel: e-mail:

name: tel: e-mail:

DATE

DAY

COPYRIGHT 2012 FORGE LLC. DBA SPARKBOX PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. DO NOT COPY, DISTRIBUTE, OR SHARE WITHOUT PERMISSION.

M ON TH

YE AR

INTRODUCTION

3

NOTES

The oundation o any brand, company, or organization is its mission and vision. Without it, brand strategists, designers, and creatives are let rudderless— r udderless—produci producing ng art or art’s sake—but not solving any problems or communicating the right messages.

4

BRAND FOUNDATION

what’s your mission and vision?

MISSION

A declaration o a r m’s core purpose and ocus. Properly crated mission statements: 1 Serve as lters to separate what is important rom what is not 2 State which markets will be served and how 3 Communicate a sense o intended direction to the entire organization

vISION

Inspiring description o what an organization would like to achieve or accomplish in the mid-term or long-term. A mission is something to be accomplished, whereas a vision is something to be pursued or that accomplishment.

COPYRIGHT 2012 FORGE LLC. PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. DO NOT COPY, DIsTRIbuTE, OR sHARE WITHOuT PERMIssION.

EXAMPLE: FORD MOTOR COMPANY

E

mission:

We are a global amily with a proud heritage, passionately committed to providing personal mobility or people around the world. We anticipate consumer needs and deliver outstanding products and services that improve people’s lives.

EXAMPLE: FORD MOTOR COMPANY

E

vision:

To become the world’s leading consumer company or automotive products and services.

BRAND FOUNDATION

5

NOTES

Now that we know your mission and vision, we need to know what makes you dierent. Why choose your company over another? What separates you rom your competition?

6

BRAND FOUNDATION

what’s your value proposition and competitive advantage?

vALUE PROPOSITION

A value proposition articulates the underlying needs o a market and highlights the benets o choosing one company over another.

COMPETITIvE ADvANTAGE

A competitive advantage is a gain on competitors by oering consumers a greater value, either through lower prices or better benets and services, that justiy a hi gher price.


E

EXAMPLE: GENERIC COMPANY

value proposition: We help reduce repeat customer service calls by 20%, resulting in a monthly savings o $250,000, by implementing our proprietary Call Tracker ® System. This will require an investment o $2 million, which will be returned in 8 months.

E

EXAMPLE: FIDELITY INTERNATIONAL

competitive advantage:

When choosing a und management organization, investment credentials, extensive resources, and a high level o client service are important considerations. Not only does Fidelity possess all o these qualities, we also have the strength and commitment to repeat our successes year ater year. We are driven by a single-minded determination to deliver the best or our clients.

BRAND FOUNDATION

7

NOTES

Looking at the assessments on pages two and three as a reerence, does your brand name and brandmark refect your mission, vision, value proposition, and brand essence? Take a moment to look at the brand congruency equation below, and see i your business stays true to its brand. When correlation is lacking, an unspoken message o distrust, conusion, and misdirection is sent to the customer.

8

BRAND FOUNDATION

NOTES

BRAND CONGRUENCY EqUATION

BRAND ESSENCE MISSION + vISION

The eective communication o your core business unction, that includes corporate vision and mission, value proposition, and brand essence, is reerred to as the Congruency Equation.


BRAND FOUNDATION

9

NOTES

Stake your territory. It’s a “land grab” in the minds o potential customers. Who’s going to occupy and own real estate in their minds? You won’t—i you’re not ocused, deliberate, and consistent.

10 BRAND FOUNDATION

NOTES

POSITIONING GRID: HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE KNOWN?

Premium Price Advanced Technology

Low Price Accepted Technology

Service-Oriented

Product-Oriented

Systems-Oriented

Product-Oriented

Fun

Serious

Large/Resourceul

Small/Agile

High Quality

Good Value

Expected Trusted Advice Industry Leader Generalists Cratsmen Mainstream

Unexpected New Ideas Up-and-Coming Specialists Technologists Maverick

Financially Stable

Opportunistic

Problem-Solvers

Sel-Serve


BRAND FOUNDATION

11

NOTES

Put an end to your identity crisis. By ocusing on a specic market or a specic purpose, you’re creating marketspace that you can truly own.

12 BRAND FOUNDATION

COMPLETE THE “WHAT’S YOUR ONE THING” PARAGRAPH

EXAMPLE: HARLEY-DAvIDSON

E

We are the only

what type o company?

The only motorcycle manuacturer

that

what unique service or product do you provide?

that

or

what is your target audience?

or macho guys (and macho “wannabes”)

what geographic region or market segment are you ocusing on?

who want to during a


makes big, loud motorcycles

mostly in the United States

what is your customers’ emotional motivation?

who want to join a gang o cowboys

what is the recent increasing or decreasing cultural trend?

during a time of decreasing personal freedom.

BRAND FOUNDATION

13

NOTES

First comes the name o the brand: the verbal representation o a company’s unction, attitude, mission, vision, or competitive advantage. The name sets the stage or the visual identity.

14 BRAND NAMES

THE GOOD & DIFFERENT MATRIX E

WHAT MAKES A GOOD NAME?

Good but Not Dierent

Good & Dierent

Does well in tests

Does poorly in tests

Goes to market easily

Goes to market with difculty

Generates incremental profts until challenged by competitors

Customers soon equate “dierent” with “good”

Earns small market share Some brand potential

1 Choose a name that’s distinctive and evocative 2 Make it easy to remember 3 Congruent with what you provide

Generates lasting profts Earns large market share

4 Diferent than all your competition

Strong brand potential

5 Make sure it is easy to pronounce and spell 6 Find out i the name can be used as a URL

EXAMPLES

Not Good & Not Dierent

Dierent but Not Good

Does well in tests

Does poorly in tests

Goes to market easily

Goes to market with difculty

Generates incremental profts but eventually ails in marketplace

Eventually ails in marketplace as customers equate “dierent” with “bad”

Earns small market share

Earns little to no market share

Little brand potential

Little to no brand potential

Tivo Citi myspace

Amazon.com Jeep

IBM emusic MSN Music Micro Systems


Google

British Petroleum

Listerine

Unileer

E

NAME CHANGE REqUIREMENTS

WORDS OF CAUTION: What is needed or a

company to launch a successul brand? Buy in–the CEO is the brand champion. The CEO’s leadership and vision determines the direction and motivation o the company as a whole. Without the CEO on board, it will be a long and hard up-hill battle. You must communicate the justication or the change as well as educate both the internal and external customers. Follow-up validation o direction through a small ocus group to ensure proper direction is also recommended.

BRAND NAMES

15

NOTES

Naming Categories by Alphabetical Order

A Abbreiation A shortened orm o a written word or phrase

Aphesis The omission o the initial part o a common phrase.

Acronym A word ormed rom the initial letter or letters o a series o words in a phrase.

Aptronym A name that ts a person’s nature or occupation.

Agentie A noun denoting the agent or doer o an action, typically ormed by adding the sux -er to the verb in question. Alliteration The repetition o the same consonant sounds or o dierent vowel sounds at the beginning o words or in stressed syllables. Allusion A reerence, explicit or implicit, to a culture’s classical literature. Alphanumeric A name consisting o some combination o letters and numbers. Amalgam The blending o two or more meanings into one name. Anachronism A name whose use is chronologically incongruous. Analogy The process o creating or modiying a particular name on the basis o an existing name or pattern in the language. Anaptyxis The insertion o a vowel or vowels to break up a troublesome consonant cluster. Antonym A name meaning the opposite o another.

16

Arbitrary Name A name which bears no logical relationship to the company, product, service, or attribute it describes.

Borrowing The adoption o a word rom one language into the lexicon o another.

C

Archaism A name which is antiquated in style or meaning.

Cachet The prestigious associations one culture’s language has or speakers o another language. e.g. HäagenDaz

Associatie Field A set o names connected in orm, meaning, or both.

Calue The literal translation o a word rom one language into the lexicon o another.

Attributie A noun which directly precedes the noun it modies, without the necessity o a linking verb. e.g. MailChimp

Clutter The prolieration o indistinguishable names within a particular product category. The high-tech industry is sometimes considered cluttered with net names.

B Back Formation The creation o a new word rom an existing orm assumed, incorrectly, to be its derivative. Backronym [compound o back + acronym] A word reinterpreted as an acronym. In a backronym, an expansion is invented to treat an existing word as an acronym. Baptism In commercial terms, the ceremony in which a name is bestowed upon a new company or product, generally in the orm o an advertisement. Blending The creation o a new word by combining the rst part o one word with the last part o another.

Coinage The deliberate or accidental creation o a new, articial name. i.e. Kleenex Collocation The likelihood that a particular word will occur in the neighborhood o another word. This tendency can be exploited by commercial names. The words spick and span are an example o collocation. We also associate baa with sheep and moo with cow.

Consonance The repetition o a consonant sound. Cracker Jack is the exemplar o consonance in advertising.

D Denotation A word’s intrinsic, literal sense, excluding its overtones and shades o meaning. Descriptor A word which literally describes the product or service being identied, generally employed in conjunction with a anciul, arbitrary, or suggestive name. Diminutie Any sux which denotes smallness, youth, amiliarity, or aection. e.g. Huggies Discourse Audibility The likelihood that a given name will stand out in the course o normal speech. The discourse audibility o the name Yahoo! is high.

Collouialism An inormal word which is rowned upon in ormal speech or writing. The word ain’t is a colloquialism.

Dissonance A harsh or disagreeable combination o sounds. Some native English speakers consider various Southeast Asian languages to be dissonant, based on the unamiliar tones and consonant combinations.

Connotation A word’s extrinsic, gurative sense, including its overtones and shades o meaning.

Doublet A pair o words which share a common origin, but which have distinct shades o meaning.

NOTES

E

F

Engram The neural change hypothesized to account or the memorability o a name in the mind o a hearer e.g. Amazon. com

Fanciul Name A name invented without apparent reerence to any other word in the lexicon. Kodak and Exxon are the archetypes o this category.

Epicene A noun whose single orm can designate either a male or a emale. The words author and poet are both examples.

Formatie An ax which unites a set o otherwise unrelated names. McDonald’s McChicken and McNuggets are examples.

Eponym A name derived rom a person, without regard to whether he or she is ctitious, mysterious, or legendary. e.g. Aunt Jemima, and Betty Crocker.

Formulaic Phrase A traditional turn o phrase, oten dismissed as a cliché, but in origin a mnemonic device. The children’s alphabet—a singsong chant o the letters o the alphabet—is an example o this.

Euphemism An inoensive substitute or a term considered oensive or inappropriate. e.g. Cottonelle UltraSot Double Roll Bathroom Tissue or Toilet Paper

Fused Compound A compound whose meaning in toto is not predictable rom the meanings o its individual components. The English word pumpkin does not mean “pump”and “amily.”

Euphony A smooth, mellifuous sound eect, irrespective o meaning (c. Dissonance). e.g. For English speakers, the name Charmin is pleasant to the ear, regardless o its meaning. Exclamatory Sentence A complete exclamation designed to express an emotional reaction to the product. The advantage, and disadvantage, o this approach is that it ully states its message, leaving nothing to the imagination o the consumer. e.g. Gee, Your Hair Smells Terric! shampoo and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!

G Genericide The process by which a trademark becomes synonymous with its associated product, to the point it may cease to be protectable. Although Xerox was once a brand o copy machines, it is now used to reer to any copied document, and the word’s usage has extended to a verb orm: to xerox something means to photocopy it.


J Gerund In English, the verbal orm ending in -ing, conveying the meaning o the verb but used as a noun. e.g. Martha Stewart Living

H Hieronym [Greek hieros, “holy” + onuma, “name”] A name derived rom myth or religion. Examples include Saint Brendan’s Superior irish cream liqueur, and Zeus salad dressing.

I Iconicity The likelihood a name will be readily visualized by its intended audience. The name o the computer company Apple lends itsel to easy iconicity. Imperatie Sentence A complete command which exhorts the consumer to action. Interrogatory Sentence A complete question designed to involve the consumer with the product. e.g. Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? Inented Spelling The practice o using non-standard spelling to achieve a desired eect or to otherwise distinguish a name. e.g. Cingular.

Jargon The specialized vocabulary or set o idioms shared by a particular proession. The various acronyms and idioms used by the US military orces would be considered jargon.

M Metanalysis The consumer’s interpretation or analysis o an unamiliar name, the process o which may include olk etymology, analogy, etc. For example, many people associate the term Java with coee, instead o the Indonesian island rom which the coee comes, and ater which it is named. Metaphor A gure o speech in which one object or concept is likened to another. For example, Fruit o the Loom is a metaphor or underwear. Metaphrase The literal translation o a phrase rom one language into another. Translating Spanish “mi casa su casa” into English “my house, your house” would be a metaphrase. Metonymy The substitution o one word or another o similar meaning. Using the term Washington to reer to the US government is an example o metonymy.

17

NOTES

Mimetic Word A word ormed in imitation o another word: e.g. litterbug, on the analogy o jitterb ug.

N Neologism A newly and deliberately coined word. Cysive and Dreamery are neologisms. Nexus The connection between the members o a semantic eld. An example o nexus is the meaningul connection between the words kitten, cat, and eline. Nickname The amiliar orm o a proper name. The wise company considers its products’ likely nicknames e.g. Bud or Budweiser, T-bird or Thunderbird Noa Word A word ree o any taboo in the languages under consideration, meaning that it may be employed without reservation in the creation o a commercial name (c. Taboo Word). Nomenclature A system o names, used in business or otherwise, serving to identiy the individual elements within a amily (o products, services, etc.), and how they relate to each other. General Mills, or example, has a line o cereals based on the names o monsters: Count Chocula, Frankenberry, Boo Berry, and the sadly departed Fruit Brute and Yummy Mummy.

18

Notional Word A word which denotes a person or thing, an act, or a quality, in contrast to a relational word, which merely expresses a grammatical relationship between notional words. Sister is a notional word.

O Onomastics The study o names and naming practices. Onomatopoeia The creation o a name that sounds like what it reers to. The Rice Krispies’ cartoon characters Snap, Crackle, and Pop are amous examples. Oxymoron A gure o speech containing an apparent contradiction. Jumbo shrimp is an oten-cited example.

P Paronym A word ormed rom another word in a oreign language. Many ragrances take advantage o both the cachet o French and the act that English and French share a considerable vocabulary. Trésor perume, where trésor is the French source o the English word treasure, is a clear example o this strategy. Pathetic Fallacy The attribution o human emotions to a product. Cheerios cereal is an example o pathetic allacy.

Patois A regional dialect. Several dialects o American English could be considered examples; the distinctive New Orleans dialect is a patois. Patronym A named derived rom a paternal ancestor. Lei Ericson’s surname, literally “Eric’s son”, is a patronym. Pejoration A semantic shit which results in a less avorable connotation. For example, the word villain originally meant arm laborer, but now reers to an evil person or hardened criminal. Personifcation A gure o speech in which a product is given human orm (c. Eponym). Mr. Clean is a perect example. Nintendo Game Boy game system is another example. Phoneme A meaningul sound, the smallest unit o speech which distinguishes one word rom another in a given language. In the pair o words bat and mat, the distinguishing sounds “b” and “m” are both phonemes. Phonestheme A consonant cluster apparently associated with a particular semantic eld, but with no distinguishable independent meaning. Some English examples are gl-, sn-, and sl-. Phonogram A character or symbol used in lieu o a word. The amous @ sign is a phonogram.

Polysemy The prolieration o words sharing a single, ancestral root. Examples include English variations o the Latin root procedere, “proceed,” such as process, processional, proceeding, etc. Portmanteau A whimsical blend, as exemplied in the works o Lewis Carroll (c. Blend). Snapple iced tea is a good example o this practice commercially. Proprietary Name A name capable o being owned and trademarked, as opposed to a descriptive name. Cysive is a strong example o a proprietary name.

R Reduplication The repetition o syllables within a name, such as the initial two syllables o Boboli Italian bread crust. Reerent The object symbolized by a name. The reerent o Sun Microsystems is, obviously, the sun. Rhyme A mnemonic device in which two or more words correspond in sound. Root The semantic kernel rom which a set o words is derived by phonetic change and/or extension. For example, the root ‘child’ has evolved into multiple variants such as child-like, childish, children.

NOTES

S Semantic Field A set o words connected in meaning (c. Associative Field). The various terms used relating to movies (e.g., cinema, theater, lm, reel, soundtrack, etc.) orm a semantic eld. Semantic Fitness The degree to which a name is perceived to t with the object it identies. For example the kind o computer called a laptop does indeed t on one’s lap, hence the name conveys a high degree o semantic tness. Semantic Position The perceived position o a proposed name in a continuum o competing names. Some companies use semantic position as a criterion in selecting a new name—one does not want a name that sounds weaker or slower than the name o a competing product. Semantics The study o meaning in language, including the relationship between language, thought, and behavior. Simile A gure o speech in which an explicit comparison is made between two unlike objects via a construction such as like, as, than, similar to, resembles, etc. Slang The nonstandard vocabulary o a given culture or subculture, typically consisting o transitory coinages and gures o speech. American usage o the term phat is an example o slang.

Slogan A catch phrase. Sun Microsystems’ “We’re the dot in .com” is a slogan. Sociolinguistics The study o the sociological actors involved in the use o language, including gender, race, class, etc. Sound Pattern The permissible combinations o phonemes in a given language. While “sl-” ts the English sound pattern and does not look unusual or pose pronunciation diculties, “sb-” does not t the English sound pattern and would thereore be considered oreign and/or dicult to pronounce. Suggestie Name A name composed o morphemes which singly or together suggest or reer to the goods or services in question, but which do not actually describe them. Spalding Inusion (ball-pump technology) and BlueArc (highspeed data storage) are just two examples. Synecdoche A gure o speech in which a part is used to represent the whole (c. Metonymy). Staples, or example, sells a wide variety o oce supplies. Synonym A word having the same meaning as another. The word nice is synonymous with one usage o the word kind.


Synonymic Attraction The tendency or those subjects o great interest to the community to attract a large number o colorul synonyms. For example, consider the variety o terms we use or money, intoxication, and sex.

T Taboo Word A word to be avoided because it is sacred, politically incorrect, vulgar, or otherwise inappropriate. Spanish Bimbo bread contains a sexual, thereore lowbrow, English reerence which would not likely be associated with a staple ood like bread. Textual visibility The likelihood that a given name will stand out within a block o text. Many actors can contribute to a word’s textual visibility, such as its length, initial letter, and spelling. Theronym A name derived rom an animal. The Ford Mustang and the Mercury Sable are obvious examples. Toponym A name derived rom a place or geographic eature. e.g. Shasta sot drinks, the Chevy Tahoe sports utility vehicle, and Farallon Timbuktu remote control sotware.

Reerences

Carroll, John M. (1985). What’s in a Name? An Essay in the Psychology o Reerence. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company Cottle, Basil (1983). Names. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd. Crystal, David (1987). The Cambridge Encyclopedia o Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Fromkin, Victoria and Robert Rodman (1978). An Introduction to Language, Second Edition. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Levy, Sidney J. (1978). Marketplace Behavior – Its Meaning or Management. New York: AMACOM. Morris, William, ed. (1979). The American Heritage Dictionary o the English Language, New College Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifin Company. Pei, Mario (1966). Glossary o Linguistic Terminology. New York: Columbia University Press. Perrine, Laurence (1977). Sound and Sense, An Introduction to Poetry, Fith Edition. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. The Editors o Inc. Magazine (1988). The Best o Inc. Guide to Marketing and Selling. New York: Prentice Hall Press. Vanden Bergh, Bruce, Keith Adler, and Lauren Oliver (1987). “Linguistic Distinction Among Top Brand Names,” Journal o Advertising Research, August/ September, 39-44.

19

NOTES

Successul brands can be communicated with a single word that immediately communicates a benet to the end consumer. Caterpillar: ruggedness, Intel: perormance, UPS: reliability, 3M: innovation. This is brand essence.

20 BRAND NAMES

NOTES

NAME EvALUATION CHART names

e e n c t i v r a a h i n c e t p p t s A p D i D e

g i t y n i n y d a n r g i t i o m u n e s S o E n H u P o

g ) d i n u n o s o l r k ( c o r m a t o d e a c L a F X T r U R

y i l i t a b n e g l i TOTAL T a

This chart is used to rate (1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest) each name across all 11 criteria. Once they are totaled, a clear separation between good and bad names should be sel evident.


BRAND NAMES

21

NOTES

How well does your existing or new brandmark meet the eight unctional criteria or an exceptional brand?

22 BRANDMARK

CRITERIA

1

Bold, memorable, and appropriate 1

2

Immediately recognizable

3

Provides a consistent image o the company

4

Communicates core mission, vision, corporate unction 1

5

Legally protectable

6

Has enduring value, possibility o building brand equity

7

Works across media and scale

w el l

a de qu at e p oo r

1

CRITERIA ONE Appropriate means it passes the Congruency Equation. See page 4.

2

COLORSPACES

Here is a list o typical color applications or your brandmark:

8

Works in all colorspaces 2

Black & White / Gray RGB (Monitors/Projectors) CMYK (Print) Spot Color / Reverse


BRANDMARK

23

NOTES

How well does the brand perorm within the marketplace it resides? Does it dierentiate itsel rom competition? NAME TAXONOMY CHART OF INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE BRANDS unctional

invented

4

3

2

1

0

-1

-2

-3

-4

RATING

24 BRANDMARK

-4 = weakest

0 = neutral

4 = strongest

experiential

evocative

By plotting your competitors’ brand names on the taxonomy chart below, you can quickly nd open space to inhabit, separating yoursel rom the crowd.

WHAT DOES A BRAND ANALYSIS CONSIST OF?

Step One: Assessing the Brand in Isolation Step Two: Assessing the Brand in Market Context Step Three: Recommending a Brand Strategy

NAME TAXONOMY CHART unctional

invented

4

3

2

experiential

evocative

So what results rom an analysis? An analysis gets corporate leaders ocusing on possibilities by jump-starting deep conversations about the business. It identies gaps between positioning and expression, and uncovers those inconsistencies. It oten reveals the need or more dierentiation and reveals orgotten but brilliant ideas, images and words.

1

0

-1

-2

-3

-4

RATING

-4 = weakest

0 = neutral

4 = strongest


BRANDMARK

25

NOTES

Great brands acknowledge both what they’re doing right and what they’re doing wrong. They ocus on nding opportunities and communicating strengths, while eliminating threats and strengthening their weaknesses.

26 BRANDSPACE

NOTES

ACTION IDEAS How to emphasize our strengths

l a n r e t n i

positive

negative

Strengths

Weaknesses

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

5

5

Opportunities

Threats

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

5

5

How to take advantage o our opportunities

How to strengthen our weaknesses

l a n r e t x e

How to eliminate our threats


BRANDSPACE

27

NOTES

Know thysel, and better yet, know thy customer. Your business attracts a certain type o person. Knowing who they are and why they do business with you is imperative. Completing qualitative and quantitative research may provide insight into customer preerences, motivation, and behavior.

28 BRANDSPACE

NOTES

What are your demographics? At what point o engagement do your clients interact with your company? Why do they do business with you? What is the primary way you market your product or service? Secondary? What is the primary way you’re receiving new customers? Secondary?


BRANDSPACE

29

NOTES

Apply the advice, “Keep your riends close and your enemies closer.” Know where your competitors stand out so you can stand taller. Pinpoint which eatures and benets your company can emphasize to get noticed.

30 BRANDSPACE

NOTES

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS CHART you URL:

company 1

company 2

company 3

URL:

URL:

URL:

attributes, eatures or benefts priority

List a common set o attributes or you and your competitors’ products or services. Then rate (1=weak to 10 =strong) which are a priority to your customers. In each column, describe the value-added benefts each pr ovides.


BRANDSPACE

31

NOTES

Touchpoints should be easily recognized—like members o a amily. Along with this resemblance back to brand identity, the audience and purpose o the touchpoint should be considered. And that pesky budget always plays a part too.

32 TOUCHPOINTS

NOTES

TOUCHPOINT PRIORITY LIST touchpoint

priority

purpose or goal

audience

budget

FORGE crats brand experiences that help businesses harness the competitive advantages o strategy and design. Your brand should have an engaging message at every consumer touchpoint. For that, you need to orge new ideas into compelling marketing tools.


TOUCHPOINTS

33

NOTES

TERMS & DEFINITIONS

Appendix A: Terms & Denitions aatar: a brand icon designed to move, morph, or otherwise operate reely across various media awareness study: a survey that measures an audience’s amiliarity with a brand, oten divided into “prompted” and “spontaneous” awareness BHAG: a “Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal” designed to ocus an organization brand: a person’s perception o a product, service, experience or organization; the art and science o brand building brand agency: a strategic rm that provides or manages a variety o brand-building services across a range o media brand alignment: the practice o linking brand strategy to customer touchpoints brand ambassador: anyone who promotes the brand through interactions with customers, prospects, partners, or the media; ideally, every company employee brand architecture: a hierarchy o related brands, oten beginning with a master brand, describing its relationship to subbrands and co-brands; a brand amily tree Master Brand

brand articulation: a concise description o a brand that enables members o the brand community to collaborate; the brand story brand asset: any aspect o a brand that has strategic value, which may include brand associations, brand attributes, brand awareness, or brand loyalty brand attribute: a distinctive eature o a product, service, company, or brand brand audit: a ormal assessment o a brand’s strengths and weaknesses across all o its touchpoints brand champion: anyone who evangelizes or protects a brand; a brand steward brand community: the network o people who contribute to building a brand, including internal departments, external rms, industry partners, customers, users, and the media brand consultant: an external adviser who contributes to the brand-building process, oten in a strategic or advisory role brand council: a committee ormed to assess and guide a company’s brand-building process; sometimes called a creative council brand designer: any person who helps shape a brand, including graphic designers, str ategists, marketing directors, researchers, advertising planners, web developers, public relations specialists, copywriters, and others

Sub-Brands

34

brand earnings: the share o a business’s cashfow that can be attributed to the brand alone branded house: a company in which the dominant brand name is the company name, such as Mercedes-Benz; also called a homogeneous brand or a monolithic brand

brand manual: a document that articulates the parameters o the brand or members o the brand community; a standardized set o brand-building tools brandmark: an icon, avatar, wordmark or other symbol or a brand; a trademark Icon Symbol Avatar

brand euity: the accumulated value o a company’s brand assets, both nancially and strategically; the overall market strength o a brand

Logotype Wordmark

brand essence: the distillation o a brand’s promise into the simplest possible terms brand experience: all the interactions people have with a product, service, or organization; the raw material o a brand brand gap: the gul between business strategy and customer experience brand identity: the outward expression o a brand, including its name, trademark, communications, and visual appearance brand image: a customer’s mental picture o a product, service, or organization branding: any eort or program to build a brand; the process o brand-building brand loyalty: the strength o preerence or a brand compared to competing brands, sometimes measured in repeat purchases brand manager: an obsolescent term or a person responsible or tactical issues acing a brand or brand amily, such as pricing, promotion, distribution, and advertising; a product manager

Trademark Brandmark Signature

brand metrics: measurements or monitoring changes in brand equity brand name: the verbal or written component o a brand icon; the name o a product, service, experience, or organization brand personality: the character o a brand as dened in human terms, such as Virgin = irreverent, or Chanel = rened brand police: manager or team responsible or strict compliance with the guidelines in the brand manual brand portolio: a suite o related brands; a collection o brands owned by one company brand pushback: marketplace resistance to brand messages or brand extensions, oten leading to changes in brand strategy brand steward: the person responsible or developing and protecting a brand


35

NOTES

TERMS & DEFINITIONS

brand story: the articulation o a brand as a narrative; a coherent set o messages that articulate the meaning o a brand brand strategy: a plan or the systematic development o a brand in order to meet business objectives brand aluation: the process o measuring the monetary equity o a brand buzz: the current public opinion about a product, service, experience, or organization core ideology: a combination o core values and core purpose core purpose: the reason a company exists beyond making a prot; part o a core ideology

frst moer: a company or brand that leads a new category guerilla marketing: a marketing program that uses non-traditional channels to sell or advertise products or services house o brands: a company in which the dominant brand names are those o the products and services the company sells, also called a heterogenous brand or pluralistic brand icon: the visual symbol o a brand, usually based on a dierentiated market position; a trademark logo: an abbreviation o logotype, now applied broadly (i incorrectly) to all trademarks

core alues: an enduring set o principles that denes the ethics o a company; part o a core ideology

logotype: a distinctive typeace or lettering style used to represent a brand name; a wordmark

corporate identity: the brand identity o a company, consisting o its visual identiers such as the name, trademark, typography, and colors; a company’s trade dress

master brand: the dominant brand in a line or across a business, such as Pepperidge Farm or Sony, to which subbrands can be added; a parent brand

creatie brie: a document that sets parameters or a brand-building project, including context, goals, processes, and budgetary constraints

mission statement: a concise statement o the purpose or aspirations o an organization

dierentiation: the process o establishing a unique market position to increase prot margins and avoid commoditization; the result o positioning

36

enisioned uture: a 10- to 30- year BHAG with vivid description o what it will be like to reach the goal

positioning: the process o dierentiating a product, service, or company in a customer’s mind to obtain a strategic competitive advantage; the rst step in building a brand

ualitatie research: research designed to provide insight, such as one-on-one interviews and ocus groups Perception

–

+

uantitatie research: research designed to provide measurement, such as polling and largescale studies

r o i v a h e B

signature: the dened visual relationship between a logotype and a symbol subbrand: a secondary brand that builds on the associations o a master brand swot: a conceptual tool that analyzes Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats symbol: a sign or trademark designed to represent a brand

touchpoint: any place where people come in contact with a brand, including product use, packaging, advertising, editorial, movies, store environments, company employees, and casual conversation trademark: a name and/or symbol that indicates a source o goods or services and prevents conusion in the marketplace; a legally protectable orm o intellectual property alue proposition: a set o benets, including unctional, emotional, and sel-expressive benets ision: the story a leader tells about where the organization is going; the aspirations o a company that drive uture growth iid description: a vibrant, clear, and engaging vision o what it would be like to achieve a BHAG oice: the unique personality o a company as expressed by its verbal and written communications; the verbal dimension o a brand personality wordmark: the brand name as represented by a distinctive typeace or lettering style; a logotype zag: a disruptive innovation that yields a competitive advantage; the dierentiating idea that drives a charismatic brand

tagline: a sentence, phrase, or word used to summarize a market position, such as Mini’s “Let’s motor” and Taco Bell’s “Think outside the bun”


37

NOTES

Bibliography Wheeler, Alina. Designing brand identity . Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2006. Read, Nicholas A.C, and Stephen J. Bistritz. Selling to the C-Suite. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Neumeier, Marty. Zag: The #1 strategy of high-performance brands. Berkeley, CA: New Riders, 2007. Neumeier, Mart y. The brand gap: how to bridge the distance between business strategy and design. Berkeley, CA: New Riders, 2006. Lamons, Bob. The case for b2b branding: pulling away from the business-to-business pack. Mason, OH: Thomson SouthWestern, 2005.

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