Put your Brand Strategy to Work for a More Diverse Membership

Diverse Employees, Diverse Members: Connecting Inclusive Marketing and Equitable HR in Credit Unions

What is Your Unit-Level Marketing

Strategy?

1. Price Leadership2. Differentiation

Choose A Branding Strategy to Communicate with Target Segment(s)

(Based on assumptions about target and firm’s brand authorship)

• Firm authors brand• Target perceives the

brand (or refuses)

• Firm co-authors brand• Target co-authors or

spreads the brand

Mind-Share, Emotional Viral, Socio-CulturalDesigning a Brand

StrategyImplementing Brand Strategy

Identify branding goals

Product

Map existing brand culture

Price

Identify brand opportunities

Place (Distribution)

DesignPromotions

(Communications)

WHAT’S A BRAND ANYWAY?

Classic Managerial Perspective

• Brands are “images” (the frosting on the cake)• Branding is an advertising

function

Socio-cultural Perspective

• Brands are cultural artifacts• Brands deliver value by

“framing” it• Branding involves multiple

authors vying for control over meaning

GENERAL BRANDING STRATEGIES

1. Traditional a. Assumptions – firm-as-author, passive targetb. Types

a. “Mindshare” Branding

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Brand is a set of value

propositions

Communications: tell a consistent story about

the brand’s benefits (value)

Company’s role: brand steward that stays on

message

Consumer’s role: perceive brand benefits through use

and repeated exposure

Works best for low-involvement

OR complex purchases

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GENERAL BRANDING STRATEGIES

1. Traditional a. Assumptions – firm-as-author, passive targetb. Types

a. “Mindshare” Brandingb. “Emotional” Branding McDonalds “Little Sister” Spot from the 70s

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the brand is a relationship

partner

Communications: build personal connection to customer through brand

Company’s role: relationship partner

(platonic, familial, romantic, spousal, etc.)

Consumer’s role: build a personal relationship with brand

Most effective for personal services or products with a service componentEmotional branding =

mindshare + relationship

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GENERAL BRANDING STRATEGIES

1. Traditional2. Non-Traditional

a. Assumptions – multiple authors, active targetb. Types

a. “Viral” Branding

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The brand is a message that spreads like a virus

Communications: introduce the brand (virus) into a population through opinion leaders

Company’s role: hidden puppet-master who gets the rightcustomers to grant the product authenticity

Consumer’s role: “discover” the brand, spread the word

Works best for new products and/or new technologies

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GENERAL BRANDING STRATEGIES

1. Traditional2. Non-Traditional

a. Assumptions – multiple authors, active targetb. Types

a. “Viral” Brandingb. “Cultural” Branding

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GENERAL BRANDING STRATEGIESCultural Branding• Brand is an icon

ücontainer of myths and meaning

• Communications: encourage people to perform myths and meaning via the brand• Company’s role: myth-maker• Consumer’s role: myth-maker

üpersonalize it, enact rituals to experience it using the brand

Mean Joe Greene

Halftime in AmericaHilltop

Works best for

identity-expressive products

HOW TO INFUSE DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION INTO YOUR BRANDFrom Doug Holt’s “Brands and Branding” (white paper)

1. Identify (DEI) Goals That Branding Can Address

2. Map Existing Brand Culture (Research)

3. Analyze Competitive Environment, Scan for Opportunities

4. Design the Strategy (Put it All Together)

There are lots of ways to design a brand

***These four bases must be

touched

See: Cultural Strategy Group

Step 1: Identify DEI Goals Branding Can Address

Parameters• Branding is a long-term project• Branding overlaps/interacts with

other elements of strategy

Potential DEI Goals• Customer composition and market

coverage (reach and location) • Product implications for inequality

and inclusion (e.g., mortgage, small business loans)• Corporate citizenship and

neighborhood engagement (e.g., gentrification)

Step 2: Map Existing Brand Culture

BRAND CULTURE…Shapes Components of Brand Value…

For Customers/Prospects

For Influencers(if applicable)

For the Firm (current strategy)

1. Reputation

2. Relationships

3. Experience

4. Symbolism

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion issues can be direct inputs to brand value components by each set of the brand’s co-authors

Step 3: Analyze Competitive Environment

• Benchmark against key competitors• Scan and monitor for environmental shifts

Step 4: Design Strategy (Put It All Together)

• Describe the brand’s path to a desired state• Describe the logic the brand follows along the path

THE REST…

• Implementation (marketing mix/4Ps)• Evaluation