I Hate Branding

I HATE BRANDING : I HATE BRANDING Princewill Omorogiuwa DipM MSc MBA (Kingston) PGCLTHE MCIM AMRS Chartered Marketer

Learning Outcomes : Learning Outcomes Students will be exposed to the concept of branding. Key distinctions between branding and brand building will be brought to the fore. Appreciate the benefits of brand building To recognise the challenges of building brands

Introduction : Introduction If there is a phenomenon that has energised marketing professionals, and indeed the business people, it is branding. It has led to multi-million dollar campaigns of some of our most celebrated brands. Branding has found its way into boardroom deliberations of manufacturing and service sector firms and even those in the voluntary and public sectors.

What is Branding? : What is Branding? A brand is a name term symbol or combination of these that identifies and distinguishes the goods and/or service of one seller from another.

And…… : And…… Branding is about the association of unique symbols to identify any organisation. Examples include….

What then is Brand Building? : What then is Brand Building? Brand building is the process of ensuring and assuring the consistent delivery of the promise made to an organisation’s multiple stakeholders.

Is there really a difference? : Is there really a difference?

First let us now consider the Arguments….. : First let us now consider the Arguments….. Why?

These arguments will……. : These arguments will……. Help us understand not only the reasons why the emphasis has been on branding but……….. Also clearly demonstrate the superiority of deeply embedded brand building initiatives over superficial branding activities for the achievement of sustainable competitive advantage.

First Argument……………………….Visibility Vs. Credibility : First Argument……………………….Visibility Vs. Credibility With Visibility, Branding argues, that what prospects do not know about they probably will not buy. This is a fair but fundamentally naïve comment. With credibility, The real question is when they get to know about our brand will they buy again and will they endorse our brand to aid the purchase decisions of their friends?

Slide 11 : Brand Building Initiatives Branding Organisational Mission Visibility Credibility Decision driver © Brand Traffic System, Princewill Omorogiuwa, 2009

Second argument…..Leading branding versus leading brand building : Second argument…..Leading branding versus leading brand building

Third argument…..Responsibility for brand building versus responsibility for promotions : Third argument…..Responsibility for brand building versus responsibility for promotions

Key Components of Brand Building : Key Components of Brand Building Focus is mostly on visibility with little attention to credibility Huge budgetary implications with low returns Branding focuses largely on the deployment of various marketing communication tools . E.g. public relations, advertising and sponsorship among others

Key Components of Brand Building : Key Components of Brand Building Combines visibility with credibility to achieve synergies High budgetary implications but with higher returns

Therefore…… : Therefore…… Brand building and not branding is the necessary condition to corporate success.

How do we build Brands : How do we build Brands

Slide 18 : Attract, train and retain high caliber of staff. Resource investment must focus on customer retention and loyalty. Managing brand perceptions. Organisational re-alignment.

Key Challenges to Brand Building : Key Challenges to Brand Building

Slide 20 : Qualified staff are scarce to come by Fear of feed back – managers usually don’t do a good work in evaluating the returns on resources committed to brand building Lack of proper documentation on brand building exercises. This makes evaluation and comparative analysis quite difficult. Cost implications are usually on the high side

Benefits of Brand Building : Benefits of Brand Building

Benefits of Brand Building : Benefits of Brand Building Competitive advantage Higher returns Increased stakeholder value Motivated staff

Benefits of Brand Building : Benefits of Brand Building Positive corporate image Customer retention and loyalty will be realised All of the above leads to profitability

We have discussed… : We have discussed… The distinction between branding and brand building. We have looked at the arguments that underpins this issues. We have determined how to build brands We have considered the challenges. And elaborated on the benefits of brand building.

Conclusion : Conclusion In conclusion, we need to ensure that we are focused on delivering a proposition consistently over time and better than the competition. Brand building is an on going process. It must be the concern for all. If brand building is made the focus of everything that we do in our organisation, it would galvanize us to superior performance.