10 Keys to Brand Alignment

Rethink—a fresh take on connecting with your customers

Our Story


Imaginasium guides company leaders through measurable change and wins

followers inside and out by aligning their brands through strategic business

communications.

We concentrate our efforts on uncovering each client’s authentic and unique brand

narrative and bringing it to life. Then, we help them inspire and align every storyteller

charged with delivering on it, from boardroom to switchboard, and build the tools —

the Form — that help tell the Story.

Making the Case for Change


Formula forchange

!D = Dissatisfaction with howthings are

V = Vision of what’s possibleF = First, concrete steps that

can be taken

Must be greater than…

R = Resistance

D x V x F > R(Gleicher’s Formula)

What does it take?


ADKAR (Change Management Learning Center)

Awareness of the need for change – Management communications, customer input, marketplace changes, available information

Desire to participate & support the change – Sense of belonging, WIIFT, career advancement, power, incentive, trust, hope

Knowledge on how to change – Training/education, information access, examples, role models

What does it take?


ADKAR (Change Management Learning Center)

Ability to implement required skills & behaviors – Practice, coaching, mentoring, removal of barriers

Reinforcement to sustain the change – Incentives, compensation, celebrations, personal recognition


Start asking a few

questions around your

company. And then listen.

You’ll identify potential

trouble spots…and

opportunities.

Are you aligned?

Share Vision,Involve Leadership


!“One of the most critical long-term success factors and challenges is aclear & embraceable vision that’s shared by the team and delivered to

customers time after time.

Vision is what every successful leader & company thrives on, yet one of

the hardest to truly communicate & achieve. For most leaders, the

roadblocks to formulating & sharing an inspiring vision that rallies the

troops and gets you to market quickly are many — and the resistanceto change within the organization in order to achieve that vision is often

even greater.”

The Power of Vision

Leaders.Storytellers. Steve Jobs = Apple

Bill Gates = Microsoft

Sam Walton = Wal*Mart

Richard Branson = Virgin GroupGiorgio Armani = ArmaniOprah = Oprah

(Thanks to Tom Peters)

Some of the best



“Leaders…Make…Meaning”– John Seely Brown (Xerox Palo Alto Research Center)

Compelling stories!

Coherent themes!

Soaring messages!


Need marketers sitting at the tableEstablish current situation & rationale for change (business issues, competitive issues, market changes, customer issues)Outline what might happen if change isn’t madeProvide VISION…for after change takes place. Scope of change, what success looks like, alignment with business strategy, who’s impacted…what won’t changeTalk about impact…on day-to-day activities, behaviors expected, feedbackShare success stories. WOW stories & the heroes

Leaders…

Involve an Eclectic Team(& process)


How to get thereFull Brand Alignment Mapping

COMMUNICATIONSASSESSMENTHow are youcurrently tellingyour story?

DISCOVERYUncoveringyour story.

BRAND DEVELOPMENTDiscovery, Research, Identity

BRANDSTANDARDSHow will you tellyour story movingforward?

IMPLEMENTATIONStory+Form(creative andmessage delivery)

BRANDALIGNMENTMessageCommitment

BRANDEVANGELISTS PLAN

COMMUNICATIONSPLAN

STRATEGICMAR/COMM PLAN


Boardroom to the switchboard involvementExplore…company, industry, competition, customer segments,brand emotional & rational perceptions of employees/customers/industry/communityIdentify what winning looks like (Goalposts)Wish/Granted…impact the operationsBasic Tenets…Start at the top, every opinion counts, show howthey fit, win hearts & minds, train for change, tell the world (longterm), stay brand focused

Establishing Reality & Desire

Align Internally,Create Evangelists


Getting buy-in!1.] What’s the challenge?(The assignment)

2.] Whose perceptions matter?(Target audience)

3.] What’s going on?(Research)

4.] What do people think?(Current perceptions)

5.] What are you really?(Facts)

6.] What should people think?(Desired perceptions)

7.] What will you tell them?(Value propositions)

8.] How will you speak?(Tone, brand, delivery)

9.] What’s the rally cry?(The one thing)

10.] How does it look to the world?(Creative direction)

11.] How’d it do?(Measurement of success)

The 11 Questions

Creating Brand Evangelists


Who Are Your Evangelists?

! HR Personnel! Internal Communications! PR Professionals! Current Employees! Senior Management/Leadership! Customers! Vendors



Where Do You Start?

! Meetings with internal evangelists! Determining a feedback vehicle! Begin the process of building a story inventory! Use the brand everywhere! Determine measurements for success



Launching Internally

! Senior Management/Leadership! Recruiter, PR, Road Show! HR and Communications! Current Employees

Make the Brand Fluid


Fluid BrandAudiences

How do you feel?

It’s outside the old traditional

thinking of consistency in

building a brand.

Instead…

It drives for consistency of

response with a wide variety

of audiences.

Brand

A

B

CD

E


ANSUL

Story + Form

The right Story, told in the optimal Form,at every touchpoint.

A Compelling Story

Your brand is a story.

Live it inside.

Tell it well outside.

And people will pull up their chairs for a listen.

Much more than an ad

campaign, web site or

tagline could ever be, the

brand story is the core

truth of who you are,

agreed to by all inside,

and used to open

conversations with those

outside who need your

products and services.

What’s your story?


Telling Your StoryTelling Your Story



Who are you?

Why are you here?How are you unique?Who cares?Why do I care?What’ll keep me engaged?Fire up the checkout clerk as well as the customer.

Telling Your Story


Telling Your Story

Develop the story…tell the impact you want to achieve

“This is what we want to change…the difference I want tomake…and here’s how we’re going to do it”Tell it to real peoplePersonal relationships, engaging…two versionsMake sure you can live itStrengths, USPs, UBPs, Position

USPs(Unique Selling Propositions)

Key Strengths

UBPs(Unique Buying Propositions)

Position

Defining the Story


Branson on Branding

Brand

AudiencesHow do you feel?

“The idea that business isstrictly a numbers affair hasalways struck me aspreposterous. For one thing,I’ve never been particularlygood at numbers, but I thinkI’ve done a reasonable job withfeelings. And I’m convincedthat it is feelings — andfeelings alone — that accountfor the success of the Virginbrand in all of its myriadforms.”

A

B

CD

E

The Right Form


It’s All in the Packaging

Sight

Hearing

Touching

Smelling

Tasting

Dental City ~ Stationery

Dental City ~ Direct Mailer

Dental City ~ Product Catalog

Dental City ~ Packaging

Dental City ~ Environment

Voice is:

! Style, tone & manner of

speaking

! Expresses brand claims

internally and externally

! Defines & differentiates the

brand from others

! Helps drive internal

evangelism

Manitowoc voice:

! Ambitious

! Aspirational

! Confident

Design The Experience


Design the Experience

Involve all departments

Chart the touchpoints

Avoid Kmart

Pursue Disney, Starbucks, SuperBowl

Think like John Deere

Tell the World


!Brand Distribution vehicles need to deliver a relevant

message to the correct audience at a time when they are

most apt to retain the message and take the appropriate

action.

Content Distribution

Attract Storytellers


Employment Branding– Peter Weddle

Real – attributes must be believable

Relevant – attributes must be important

Recognizable – must differentiate the organization


PossibleAttributes

Culture

Management Style

Workforce (quality employees)Career Advancement OpportunityStability of Employment

Work (stability of what one does)Products/services (quality of output)Image/reputation

Awards & honors

Benefits

What they careabout


!“Our success depends on your success. Our ability to

accomplish what we set out to do is based primarily on the

people we hire – we call each other ‘partners.’ We are always

focused on our people. We provide opportunities to develop

your skills, further your career, and achieve your goals.”

Brand StatementStarbucks


Story Promise

At The Manitowoc Company we give you the tools -great products, great history, great people, greatchallenges and a commitment to excellence - tohelp you build something you can be proud of.

The Manitowoc Company

Sum of attributes translated into a single, captivating,

unmistakable offer no others can match

Key Strengths UBPsUSPs Position

Layered meaning:

! Recognizes manufacturing foundation—“real stuff,” category-leading equipment

! And something deeper— a “real” future (career, friendships, opportunity, outcomes)

“They might be able to build things somewhere else.

But they can only ‘Build Something Real’ at The Manitowoc Company.”

Awareness Ads

Newspaper Ads

Recruitment Web Site


Full BrandAlignment !Make the Case for Change

Share Vision, Involve LeadershipInvolve an Eclectic Team

Align Internally, Create EvangelistsMake the Brand Fluid

A Compelling Story

The Right Form

Design the Experience

Tell the World

Attract Storytellers

The 10 Keys

Your brand is a story.

Live it inside.

Tell it well outside.

And people will pull up their chairs for a listen.

10 Keys to Brand Alignment

Business

Transcript of 10 Keys to Brand Alignment