When you read the title of this post what came to mind? Perhaps it’s Joe, the passionate Canadian face of Molson’s “I am Canadian” campaign, or maybe it’s just a can of Molson beer. Either way, well done Molson, well done.
The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a “name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers.” In other words, your brand is the amount of real estate you own in your consumers’ minds, and branding is about getting your prospective customers to see you as the only solution to their problem.
Branding goes way beyond a logo or colour scheme. When you think about your brand, you should think about the entire customer experience. Ask yourself, what does your logo look like? Your website? How do you answer the phone? How engaging is your social media? How does your staff treat your customers?
In order to become the industry go-to (like Coca-Cola for pop, Apple for consumer gadgets, and Molson for beer) your company must be aware of your brand personality and understand the needs and wants of your audience. A good brand isn’t an overnight success, but rather the result of a thoughtful and strategic plan.
Look at Canada’s brand: in light of the recent Ottawa shootings, our country Canada has stayed true to our brand values. Canadians have managed to remain calm, polite, dynamic, positive, and strong. We have not slandered other cultures and burned bridges. Instead, we have stayed true to what our country stands for – which is Canadians helping Canadians.
As a result, Canadian citizens have come together as a community providing support and protection to other Canadians. We even created our own empowering hashtag – #CanadaStrong to keep the national conversation going. That’s pretty Canadian, eh?
Watch Justin Trudeau be really Canadian, it’s awesome: http://www.upworthy.com/when-someone-attacks-canada-they-dont-respond-with-irrational-fear-they-do-this-instead?c=ufb1
Successful branding will familiarize people with your company, set you apart from the competition, produce referrals, set expectations, connect you with your customers, give your business value, and tell people who you are. Your brand is really just a promise to your customer and how your customer perceives you.
Do you think your company has a brand personality? Could you or any of your colleagues recite your brand values? How important do you think company branding is to your customers? I look forward to hearing your thoughts and insights in the comment section below.
CreativeWorks Marketing 