The Brand Whisperer Briefing: Recent Episodes
Al Bergeron
Your brand is not what you say you are, it is what others say you are! I provide practical brand strategies that will help grow your corporate or personal brands. A branding strategy can help you define your brand, and share that definition with consumers. In order to raise awareness, and gain a foothold in the market, you need a brand that others will recognize. The right branding strategy will help improve your corporate or personal brand visibility, as well as help you build a good reputation and eventually encourage loyalty in consumers.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss hybrid brand architecture. A hybrid brand comprises some combination of the branded house, house of brands and endorsed brand architectures. An example would include Alphabet and its individual brands which include Google, Nest, Sidewalk Labs, and Calico all which operate in their own distinct market.
Many brands that have adopted the hybrid brand strategy have done so out of necessity, since it’s often an ad-hoc approach born from mergers and acquisitions, rather than a proactive brand strategy.
The advantage of this approach is the ability to employ the individual brand blueprints and sub-brand hierarchies that make the most sense for their separate divisions, products or services. This approach leads to higher marketing and advertising budgets, since each brand has its own unique brand blueprint.
So, your homework for this week is to answer this question: Do I have separate divisions, products or services that require different branding from one another?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss brand metrics.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss endorsed brand architecture. An endorsed brand features a parent brand and sub-brands, that benefit from their association with the parent. An example would include Marriott and its various sub-brands across the price spectrum, from the Ritz Carlton to Fairfield Inn.
The sub-brands within an endorsed brand all have a unique market presence. The relationships between the sub-brands within an endorsed brand is often mutually beneficial, each benefitting from the strength of the other.
With this type of approach, the marketing and advertising budgets are higher, since each brand has its own unique brand blueprint. A problem with the parent or one of the sub-brands can wind up being a problem for the entire brand.
So, your homework for this week is to answer this question: Do I have different divisions, products or services that would benefit from the endorsement of my parent brand?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss hybrid brand architecture.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss house of brands architecture. A house of brands features a collection of distinct brands under a parent brand. An example would include Proctor & Gamble and its vast array of products across multiple industries.
Sub-brands within a house of brands sometimes feature their parent brand’s identity. Some brands choose not to disclose the relationship at all and seem like independent brands, because of specific strategies around pricing, perceived quality or target audiences.
The biggest problem with this type of approach is the marketing and advertising budget is higher, since each brand is promoted separately from the parent and has its own unique brand blueprint.
So, your homework for this week is to answer this question: Do I have multiple divisions, products or services that require different branding from my parent brand?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss endorsed brand architecture.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss branded house architecture. A branded house includes a strong parent brand alongside a division, product or service description. An example would include FedEx and its extensions FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, etc.
A branded house capitalizes on established consumer loyalty where audiences care less about features or benefits than they do about the central brand promise they know and love.
This approach includes more efficient marketing and advertising budget and positive associations between sub-brands. Of course, these associations can be negative as well. A problem with one sub-brand can wind up being a problem for the entire brand.
So, your homework for this week is to answer this question: Do I have multiple divisions, products or services that can leverage my parent brand?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss house of brands architecture.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss brand architecture. Brand architecture is the consumer’s mental organization of your brand and its portfolio of offerings, and how each offering satisfies their needs.
Therefore, it influences consumer behavior by maximizing the transfer of equity between your parent brand and sub-brands. If a consumer has an existing relationship or positive association with one of your brands, they are much more likely to try one of its sub-brands.
Brand architecture falls into one of four categories: branded house, house of brands, endorsed brand or hybrid brand, I will discuss each type in greater detail on the next few episodes.
So, your homework for this week is to answer these questions: Do I have multiple divisions, products or services that require separate branding? Do my consumers understand the differences and benefits of my brand portfolio?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss branded house architecture.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss brand blueprint tactics. Tactics are the end result of all the planning steps taken prior to them. Once a comprehensive system of brand blueprint goals, objectives and strategies are determined, tactics can be developed. A sound basis for planning and budgeting very specific tactical activities are created and can be directly linked to the touchpoint path.
Tactics will be web-centric and include but not limited to print, digital and social media.
So, your homework for this week is to answer these questions: Do I have tactics for each objective in my brand blueprint? Are my tactics web-centric including print, digital and social media?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss brand architecture.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss brand blueprint strategies. A strategy describes the approach a brand will take to achieve a particular brand blueprint objective. Each objective will have one strategy linked to it, presenting a complete picture of exactly how the objective will be met.
Strategies will be very specific detailing all resources including people, budgets, metrics, timing and market conditions.
So, your homework for this week is to answer these questions: Do I have a strategy for each objective in my brand blueprint? Are my strategies detailed and complete?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss brand blueprint tactics.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss brand blueprint objectives. Objectives specify exactly what needs to be done to achieve a brand blueprint goal. Each objective is assigned a timeframe and a defined set of metrics.
All objectives must be achieved to claim the goal has been met. As such, they will be complete, realistic and readily measurable. They will also be the foundation for the brand blueprint’s strategies and tactics.
So, your homework for this week is to answer these questions: Do I have objectives established for each goal in my brand blueprint? Do my objectives have specific timeframes? Do they have a defined set of metrics?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss brand blueprint strategies.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss brand blueprint goals. Goals form the foundation layer of your brand blueprint, spelling out what your brand needs to achieve. Typically, a brand will be assigned no more than 3-5 high level goals. Goals describe a desired end state and are not measurable or actionable. Nor do they have a specific timeframes associated with them. Rather, they provide a focus for your branding efforts.
Once established, goals change relatively infrequently, because the rest of the brand blueprint stems from them, goals require careful and thoughtful crafting, with discussion and input from all key constituents.
So, your homework for this week is to answer this question: Do I have established goals for my brand?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss brand blueprint objectives.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss brand blueprints. A brand blueprint defines who your brand is and how you will tell your story. Therefore, the brand blueprint maps specific goals, objectives, strategies and tactics based on your touchpoint path. In the end, this creates an integrated and systematic marketing communications program.
In today’s world, your marketing communications program for your brand should be web-centric; utilizing print, digital and social media. On the next few episodes I will discuss brand blueprint goals, objectives, strategies and tactics.
So, your homework for this week is to answer this question: Do I have an integrated marketing communications program based on my touchpoint path?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss brand blueprint objectives.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss touchpoint paths. Another way to look at touchpoints is as a series of transactions a consumer needs have in order to reach a specific branding objective this is called a touchpoint path. For example, a consumer needs to decide they have a need for a product or service; then they agree to share their needs and values; then they have to request a proposal be written on their behalf and finally they decide to purchase—the branding objective has been achieved.
Touchpoint paths will obviously vary based on the brand and its specific branding objectives. By creating these ideal touchpoint paths, you can then link the most appropriate strategies and tactics to each consumer transaction. This allows you to focus your brand message to a specific touchpoint. In addition, it illuminates touchpoints that have weaker or worse no strategy or tactics assigned to them.
So, your homework for this week is to answer these questions: What transactions does my consumer need to have to reach my branding objective? Do I have strategies and tactics in place for each consumer touchpoint?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss brand blueprints.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss touchpoints. In looking at the way’s consumers think and interact with a brand and its competitors, it must be appreciated that their views and impressions are shaped through a variety of observations and experiences, called touchpoints. These perceptions can be shaped with or without basis, because they can be skewed by emotionally charged situations. How an individual feels dictates what they will think and how they will act when considering a brand.
Every point of contact a consumer has related to the brand is a touchpoint. There are two types of touchpoints an action taken by the consumer and a feeling or belief relative to the brand.
So, your homework for this week is to answer these questions: How do my consumers feel about my brand? How do my consumers act when they think about my brand?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss touchpoint paths.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss brand standards. Brand standards are unquestionably one of the most critical elements of the branding process. Brand standards are a set of guidelines for the brandmark, colors and typography as well as the photography, graphic elements and messaging that comprise your brand. The value of specific yet flexible standards is inherently strong as the whole of a branding initiative should be greater than the sum of its multidisciplinary parts.
Brand standards promote consistency in the way that the brand is represented. For example, using different brandmarks or fonts can lead to brand identity confusion. The last thing you want is for consumers to be confused about who the brand is and what it stands for. When the brain processes familiar communications, there are associations and emotions that come with it. However, without brand standards, instead of seeing something natural and familiar, the brain ends up with conflicting signals, or the unease that comes when something is “off.”
So, your homework for this week is to answer these questions: Are my internal and external communications consistent with my brand standards? Do my employees and vendors understand how to consistently represent my brand?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss touchpoints.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss symbols. Here are examples of companies that use symbols; Shell, Target, Domino’s and Timberland. Symbols employ simple, literal graphics and pictorial representations to portray the brand meaning or an attribute. Often symbols start as combination marks using the brand name and over time the associated type is dropped as the brandmark builds recognition.
Here are the advantages symbols: • Pictorial graphics enhance the brand message • Used to shorten long brand names • Name no longer represents the brand
Here are the disadvantages symbols: • Often requires more promotion • Potential cultural miscommunication • Can be confused with other brand symbols
So, your homework for this week is to answer these questions, to determine if a symbol would best represent your brand: Do pictorial graphics enhance my brand message? Is my brand name long?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer Briefing I will discuss brand standards.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss pictographs. Here are examples of organizations that use pictographs; the Olympics, the Bronx Zoo, and the National Park Service. Pictographs—sometimes called pictograms—are simplified graphic representations of objects, people, animals and even activities.
For instance, each Olympics develops unique pictographs for sporting events as part their theme branding. Pictographs are used as public symbols for wayfinding, safety and transportation as well as in public spaces like zoos and parks because they can transcend language barriers.
Here are the advantages of pictographs: • Substitute for words • Overcome language barriers • Extension of brand identity
Here are the disadvantages of pictographs: • Confusion with other pictographs • Confusion with other brandmarks • Potential cultural miscommunication
So, your homework for this week is to answer this question, to determine if pictographs would best represent your brand: Does my brand offer products, services, events or other categories that would lend itself to representation by pictographs?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss symbols.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss mascots. Here are examples of companies that use mascots; KFC, Mr. Clean, Pillsbury and Michelin. Mascots or characters can be anything from animals to human figures to objects.
Generally, mascots are drawn like cartoons or illustrations and are often rendered like a caricature. Mascots were originally created because they were thought to bring good luck, which is why they are often associated with sports teams.
Here are the advantages of mascots: • Give brands a personality • Serve as a brand rallying point • Create excitement and media exposure
Here are the disadvantages of mascots: • Often require more promotion • Confusion with other mascots • Potential cultural miscommunication
So, your homework for this week is to answer these questions, to determine if a mascot would best represent your brand: Would the use a character support my brand offering or promotion? Does my brand name lend itself to representation by a mascot?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss pictographs.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss logotypes. Here are examples of companies that use logotypes; Exxon, Mobile, Makita and Braun. Logotypes—sometimes called logos or wordmarks—use a unique typeface or type treatment for the brand name to create a memorable identity.
Logos are used when the brand name is short, direct, descriptive or distinctive enough to represent the brand messaging and position without the support of visuals.
Here are the advantages of logotypes: • Easy to promote • Memorable • Distinctive
Here are the disadvantages of logotypes: • Tend to be difficult to reproduce at small sizes • Won’t translate well for international commerce • Horizontal logos don’t translate well to social media, which favors square formats
So, your homework for this week is to answer these questions, to determine if a logotype would best represent your brand: Is my brand name short? Is my brand name very descriptive of my brand offering?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss mascots.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss lettermarks. Here are examples of companies that use lettermarks; IBM, HBO, ESPN and CNN. Lettermarks use the brand name’s initials, abbreviation or even acronym to create a unique identity.
Lettermarks use unique typefaces and type treatments without the support of graphics to become a substitute for the brand’s full name.
Here are the advantages of lettermarks: • Letters translate better visually than the whole name • Used to shorten long brand names • Name no longer represents the brand
Here are the disadvantages of lettermarks: • Often require more promotion • Won’t translate well for international commerce • Can be confused with other brands
So, your homework for this week is to answer these questions, to determine if a lettermark would best represent your brand: Is my brand name long? Does my brand name no longer represent my brand offering?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss logotypes.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss letterforms. Here are examples of companies that use letterforms; McDonald’s, Monster Energy, GE and Texaco. Letterforms combine the lettermark and iconic mark to exemplify the brand name.
These highly stylized symbols are distinctive enough to stand alone as a metaphor or literal representation of the brand message and meaning.
However, like other marks, letterform symbols often begin using the brand name and as they build recognition over time, the supporting copy is dropped.
Here are the advantages of letterforms: • Used to shorten long brand names • Name no longer represents the brand • Icon for website favicon or social media
Here are the disadvantages of letterforms: • They often require more promotion • Potential cultural miscommunication • They can be confused with other brand symbols
So, your homework for this week is to answer these questions, to determine if a letterform would best represent your brand: Is my brand name long? Does my brand name no longer represent my brand offering?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss lettermarks.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss icons. Here are examples of companies that use icons; Apple, Dropbox, Facebook and other social media channels. In 1984, Apple introduced icons on its Macintosh computer to view and navigate files and applications. Today, icons can be found on computers, phones, tablets and websites as one of the fundamental features of their graphical user interface or (GUI).
In addition, icons now play important role in brand identity. Many application-based companies employ icons as their primary brandmark or as an extension of their brandmark to be used on computers, phones and tablets. For example, Twitter uses a logotype as its primary brandmark and uses icons with the Twitter “t” or bird to represent its network across different devices.
Here are the advantages of icons: • Substitute for words • Overcome language barriers • Extension of brand identity
Here are the disadvantages of icons: • Confusion with other icons • Confusion with other brandmarks • Potential cultural miscommunication
So, your homework for this week is to answer this question, to determine if an icon would best represent your brand: Will my brandmark need to be used across multiple platforms or devices?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss letterforms.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss emblems. Here are examples of organizations that use emblems; Harvard, Starbucks, Harley-Davidson and the NFL. Emblems are also known as shields, seals, crests or badge-style marks because they are shaped like a badge or an insignia.
Emblems employ simple graphics and typography in complex mixtures within the frame of the design. In addition, many emblems contain other information such as establishment date, location, product, service, cause or tagline.
Here are the advantages of emblems: • Clearly communicate brand message • Visually distinctive and unique • Ease of copyright protection
Here are the disadvantages of emblems: • Very complex Gestalt (which is how the brand name and other elements will look together) • Often do not reduce well • Temptation to include too much information
So, your homework for this week is to answer this question, to determine if an emblem would best represent your brand: Would the addition of multiple elements enhance my brand name’s meaning?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss icons.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss cousins. Nickelodeon made a splash with its new family of brandmarks by developing a whole new category called cousins. Cousins use a base logotype as a starting point which is enclosed in variety of shapes or graphical representations that introduce different ideas and themes. This allowed Nickelodeon to communicate the different genres entertainment it offered.
Here are the advantages of cousins: • Unlimited segmentation possibilities • Conceptual ideas and analogies enhance the brand meaning • Always have something new to promote
Here are the disadvantages of cousins: • Require ongoing creative effort • Very complex brand management • Confusing brand messages
So, your homework for this week is to answer this question, to determine if cousins would best represent your brand: Do a variety graphical representations or interpretations enhance my brand message?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss emblems.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss combination marks. Here are examples of companies that use combination marks; Amazon, Puma, Coca-Cola and Sprint. Combination marks—sometimes called signatures or iconic logotypes—as the name implies, are brandmarks that use a symbol and wordmark together.
Unlike the emblem, the combination mark is not contained within a badge design and can be used together and separately. They are ideal for small businesses and start-ups because they are flexible and communicate the brand message more clearly than other brandmarks.
Here are the advantages of combination marks: • Clearly communicate brand message • Visually distinctive and unique • Ease of copyright protection
Here are the disadvantages of combination marks: • Very complex Gestalt (which is how brand name and symbol will look together) • Strong need for graphic standards • Temptation to include too much information
So, your homework for this week is to answer these questions, to determine if a combination mark would best represent your brand: Are you a small business or start-up? Would the addition of a symbol enhance the brand name’s meaning?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss cousins.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss avatars. MTV’s logo from the 1980s, literally rocked the creative world by developing a whole new category of brandmarks called "Avatars". Avatars use a base brandmark as the starting point from which graphical representations are created that introduce different ideas and themes. This allowed MTV to communicate the different genres of music video and entertainment it offered at the time.
An avatar is a continuously changing brand identity that temporary manifests into new forms. Avatars work best for the personification of brands that are the embodiment of constant evolution.
Here are the advantages avatars: • Unlimited segmentation possibilities • Conceptual ideas and analogies enhance the brand meaning • Always have something new to promote
Here are the disadvantages avatars: • Require ongoing creative effort • Very complex brand management • Confusing brand messages
So, your homework for this week is to answer this question, to determine if an avatar would best represent your brand: Do multiple graphical representations or interpretations enhance my brand message?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss combination marks.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss abstract marks. Here are examples of companies that use abstract marks; Nike, Pepsi, Chase and BP. Abstract marks or symbols work best for brands in which conceptual imagery is the most relevant way to present the brand message. In these cases, there is just no pictorial way to convey the brand message or the use of literal elements will limit the meaning of the brand.
Here are the advantages abstract marks: • Pictorial graphics limit the brand message • Conceptual ideas or analogies enhance the brand meaning • The name no longer represents the brand
Here are the disadvantages abstract marks: • Often requires more promotion • Potential cultural miscommunication • Can be confused with other brand symbols
So, your homework for this week is to answer these questions, to determine if an abstract mark would best represent your brand: Do pictorial graphics limit my brand message? Would conceptual imagery enhance my brand’s meaning? Does my name no longer represent my brand?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss avatars.
Hey, it’s Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today’s technology driven society.
On this week’s episode I’m going to discuss brandmarks. Brandmarks are often referred as logos. Logo is the abbreviation for logotype, which is a type of brandmark. Your brandmark is the most important part of the brand identity because it is the key factor in visual differentiation and communication. When designing a brandmark, it’s important to think big picture and have your brand positioning strategy complete, because this will often be the first introduction of your brand to your target audience.
Brandmarks are as varied as the brands they represent. Here are 12 different classifications for brandmarks; abstract marks, avatars, combination marks, cousins, emblems, icons, letterforms, lettermarks, logotypes, mascots, pictographs and symbols.
Over the next 12 episodes I will describe the different classifications of brandmarks to help you understand the difference between them as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each type. As you will see classifying brandmarks is not cut and dry as they can often easily fit under multiple classifications.
So, your homework for this week is to answer this question: Does my brandmark visually differentiate my brand from my competition and alternatives?
That’s it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss abstract marks.
Hey, it's Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today's technology driven society.
On this week's episode I'm going to discuss creating taglines. Taglines are so important because they're the headline for your entire brand. Your tagline should convey your brand positioning statement. Avoid creative taglines that have absolutely no meaning to your brand. A tagline needs to sum up your brand positioning in two to three words.
As we have discussed there are the 3Ps of brand positioning, premier, preemptive and price. To better understand how to relate taglines to brand positioning, let's look at three car rental companies.
- PREMIER: Hertz Rent-a-Car, the largest company in the car rental category, therefore holds the premier position uses the tagline, "We're #1."
- PREEMPTIVE: Avis Car Rental decided to preempt the competition by targeting business travelers with services like express check-out for those seasoned car rental customers, using the tagline, "We try harder."
- PRICE: A great example of the use of price positioning in the car rental category is Budget Rent-a-Car. No need for a tagline—the name says it all.
So, your homework for this week is to answer this question: Does my tagline articulate my brand positioning strategy?
That's it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss brandmarks.
Hey, it's Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today's technology driven society.
On this week's episode I'm going to discuss brand naming. One of the most important aspects of branding is naming. Whether you are naming an organization, cause, product or service, a good name can make a big difference. The name you choose becomes part of your brand identity. It needs to convey a sense of what the brand is all about, while being distinctive and recognizable.
So, your homework for this week, as you prepare to name a brand, is to consider some important characteristics of naming and the questions to ask yourself about those characteristics. 1. DISTINCTIVENESS: A good name is memorable. You want consumers to be able to remember your name. Does it stand out from the crowd, especially from the other names in its brandscape? 2. BREVITY: If you have a long brand name consumers will take it upon themselves to shorten it. Is the name short enough to be easily recalled and used? 3. APPROPRIATENESS: The intended name should have some sort of relationship with the offering of the brand. Does it have a reasonable fit with the strategic purpose of the brand? 4. EASY SPELLING AND PRONUNCIATION: A name shouldn't turn into a spelling test or make people feel ignorant. Will most people be able to spell the name after hearing it spoken? Will they be able to pronounce it after seeing it written? 5. LIKABILITY: Names that are intellectually stimulating, or provide a good "mouth feel," have a head start over those that don't. Will the intended consumer want to be associated with the brand name? 6. EXTENDIBILITY: Great names provide endless opportunities for brand play. Does it suggest visual interpretation or lend itself to a number of creative executions? 7. PROTECTABILITY: Many names can be trademarked, some names are more defensible that others. Can the name be trademarked? 8. DOMAIN AVALIABILITY: As you decide on a brand name, you should consider whether or not the domain name is available. Is your name available with an appropriate domain extension (.com, .org, .net or .edu)
That's it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss creating taglines.
Hey, it's Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today's technology driven society.On this week's episode I'm going to discuss brand identity. A brand identity—also referred to as corporate or institutional identity—helps consumers visually identify and differentiate your brand, as well as create a sense of cohesiveness across all types of communications and media. Brand identity includes your brand's name, brandmark, tagline and other elements like colors, typefaces, imaging and messaging.First, you need to figure out your brand positioning strategy, the place you will hold in the mind of consumers in relation to the competition and alternatives for your brand. Creating a brand identity consistent with your brand position takes careful consideration of human visual perception.Brand identity is the public persona that presents a consistent idea of what your business, institution, cause, product or service "stands for." As a result, it is vital to carefully consider how you want to portray your brand because it's hard to change your brand identity once consumersbecome familiar with it.So, your homework for this week is to answer these questions: Does my brand identity flow from and support my brand positioning strategy? Is my brand identity portrayed consistently across all types of communications and media?That's it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss brand naming.
Hey, it's Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today's technology driven society.
On this week's episode I'm going to discuss brand equity. Brand equity is defined as both positive and negative associations by the consumer to the brand's name, brandmark, tagline and other attributes. Therefore, brand equity describes a brand's value. This value is shaped by consumer experiences and perception of a brand. If people think highly of a brand, it has positive brand equity. When a brand consistently under-preforms to the point where consumers won't recommend it, it has negative brand equity.
Brand equity is developed as a result of a consumer's experiences with the brand, which shape their perceptions. An example of positive brand equity is Apple, which one of the world's most popular brands. The company built its positive reputation with Mac computers before extending the brand to iPhones.
An example of is negative brand equity is Goldman Sachs, who lost brand value when the public perception soured as its role in the 2008 financial crisis was exposed. Just one negative incident can eliminate years of positive brand equity.
So, your homework for this week is to answer these questions: What are the positive attributes associated with my brand? What if any are the negative attributes associated with my brand?
That's it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss brand identity.
Hey, it's Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today's technology driven society.
On this week's episode I'm going to discuss your brandscape. Your brandscape is defined as the range of brands available in the market, or a specific segment thereof, especially considered collectively as a cultural phenomenon. What does that mean? Your brandscape is comprised of both direct competition and alternatives for your brand's market category within specific geographical areas.
These include international, national, regional and local areas or a combination of these geographies. The Internet has forced brands to compete in new regions, they had not previously considered.
For example, your local optical shop's brandscape is comprised of direct competition in its market category Opticians within 30-mile radius and national alternatives like optical websites who provide eyewear on mail order basis.
When developing your brand strategy, it critical to thoughtfully consider who comprises your direct competition and alternatives because these are whom you're directly competing with for your target audience.
So, your homework for this week is to answer these questions: Who are my direct competitors and alternatives? In what geographical region or regions does my brand compete?
That's it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss brand equity.
Hey, it's Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today's technology driven society.
On this week's episode I'm going to discuss brand differentiation. Brand differentiation is defined as the claims can you make about your brand that offers the advantage of being the only, first or best choice for your target audience. This is critical to your branding efforts because getting your brand to be the only choice is a matter what's different, not what matters most to the target audience.
Consumers usually have many choices when it comes to choosing a brand—each one offers what seemingly matters most. For example, consider buying a car, the cars in a consumer's consideration set all offer what seemingly matters most to the buyer; they are all sedans, seat five, get similar miles per gallon and so on. Therefore, the consumer can't choose based on what matters most because it's all the same offerings from each competing brand. Their choice will be based on what's different and more valuable to them about a particular brand.
If you're don't communicate your brand differentiation effectively the consumer's choice could very well be based on something of secondary importance, such as a relationship with salesperson or positive showroom experience. If you clearly articulate what makes your brand different you make it easy for the target audience to choose your brand.
So, your homework for this week is to answer this question: What need does my product or service fulfill that makes my brand the most valuable, the only, or best choice for the target audience when compared the competition?
That's it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss brandscape.
Hey, it's Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today's technology driven society.
As I've discussed there are three types of brand positioning you can hold in the mind of your target audience; Premier, Preemptive and Price. In last week's episode I explained Preemptive positioning, so this week's episode I'm going to talk about Price positioning.
Price positioning is utilized when your brand is part of a commodity market category where competitive offerings are virtually interchangeable; this is common among personal computers, community colleges and local pizzerias. When consumers perceive little to no difference between your brand and the competition, you have to compete on high-volume sales and transactions with low prices. In some cases, Price positioning can be utilized proactively as a Preemptive strategy with a target audience that is price sensitive. A great example of this in the car rental category is Budget Rent-a-Car. No need for a tagline—the name says it all.
So, your homework for this week is to answer these questions: Is my product or service in market category where target audience perceives little to no difference between my brand and the competition? In my market category is there a price sensitive target audience that my brand can profitably meet its needs of by being the low-cost provider?
That's it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss brand differentiation.
Hey, it's Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today's technology driven society.As I've discussed there are three types of brand positioning you can hold in the mind of your target audience; Premier, Preemptive and Price. In last week's episode I explained Premier positioning, so this week's episode I'm going to focus Preemptive positioning.The majority of brands can benefit from preemptive positioning by offering unique, credible and relevant value to a specific target audience—known as differentiation or niche marketing. A common mistake is to adopt the offerings and messaging of the premier brand, known as the "me-too" position. Ultimately "me-too" brands are forced to compete based on price and convenience because they seemingly offer no unique value to the target audience. The key to a preemptive position is to target the largest possible audience who share a similar set of needs and values in which your brand is the only or best choice—thus preempting the competition. For example, in the car rental category, Avis decided to target business travelers with services like express check-out for those seasoned car rental customers, using the tagline, "We try harder." And who do they try harder than Hertz.So, your homework for this week is to answer these questions: What segment of my target audience can I bring most value to that is different from the competition? What need does my product or service fulfill that makes my brand the most valuable, the only, or best choice for the target audience when compared the competition?That's it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss Price brand positioning.
Hey, it's Al Bergeron, Chief Creative Officer of bergeroncreative.com, and this is The Brand Whisperer Briefing, where I provide practical brand strategies that will grow your corporate or personal brands. Giving you greater influence in today's technology driven society.
There are three types of brand positioning you can hold in the mind of your target audience; Premier, Preemptive and Price. In this week's episode I'm going to discuss Premier positioning. Chances are I'm not about you because only one corporate or personal brand can hold this position in any market category. It's important to understand what Premier is because you're competing against them, that's where Preemptive and Price positioning come in. I'll be discussing these types of positioning in the next two upcoming episodes of The Brand Whisperer.
Your brand has the Premier position if it is #1 in a specific market category. The Premier brand is the biggest, the first, and the most well-known—think Coke, Google and Harvard, to name a few. Sometimes the Premier brand name is so popularized it becomes synonymous with the category itself—for instance, facial tissue giant Kleenex. Smart marketers use their brand's tagline to communicate their market position to customers and prospects. For example, Hertz Rent-a-Car, the largest company in the car rental category, uses the tagline, "We're #1." On the surface, most brands would want to be marketed in the Premier position. The challenge is there can only be one premier brand.
So, your homework for this week is to answer the question: Is my brand the biggest, the first, and the most well-known in its business category?
That's it for this week. Have a great week! On the next episode of The Brand Whisperer I will discuss Preemptive brand positioning.