Brand Identity and

Messaging WorkshopFeb 18, 2015

United Way Ground Floor Program

Introduction

About Me & My Journey –Brand & Communications is A Key Thread

Journalism – Newsline

Communications & PR –Quaker Oats & Pepsi Cola

Brand Management - PepsiCo

Startup CEO - ALUMRISE

CMO - MBO Partners

Full Circle: Startup CEO @Guidrr

Twitter: @aassiaharoonhaq

LI:

www.linkedin.com/aassiaha

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Our Objective

A Simple Objective

Build Your Brand

Explore Brand Identity via Positioning

Understand Framework For Brand Messaging

A Bigger Objective

Demystify the steps

Discuss the ideal and practical process

Marketing Hacks:

Where to spend your time and where not to

Potato, Potaato, Tomato, Tomaato!

Brand

Identity

Brand

Messaging=

Brand Identity - One Leg Who’s Creative?

Who’s Scientific?

Who’s Able to Be Both?

Brand

PositioningMessaging

Brand Positioning

For (target audience), (brand

name) is the (frame of reference)

that delivers (benefit/point of

difference) because only (brand

name) is (reason to believe).

Understanding Target

Audience For Vitamin Water, health conscious women, not

people who like to drink water

For Tiffany, luxury seeking consumers, not jewelry

buyers

For __________, YOUR BRANDS

Tip: Narrow -

not broaden –

your target

audience

Frame of Reference: Tricky &

Necessary To health conscious women, Vitamin Water is the on-

the-go beverage

To luxury seeking consumers, Tiffany is the luxury

accessories brand ..

Tip: Frame of

Reference is What

You Are Not What

You Want To Be

Benefit/Point of Difference To health conscious women, Vitamin Water is the on-

the-go beverage that naturally refreshes without

calories

To luxury seeking consumers, Tiffany is the accessories

brand that are designed to signal luxury

Tip: Benefit/POD

takes time to

develop + must be

proveable!

Reason to Believe (Proof) To health conscious women, Vitamin Water is the on-

the-go beverage that naturally refreshes without

calories because only Vitamin Water combines zero

calories, a naturally squeezed fruit flavors and no

artificial sweeteners.

To luxury seeking consumers, Tiffany is the accessories

brand that designed to signal luxury because only

Tiffany’s iconic crafted creations make it possible

to look luxurious

everyday.

Tip: RTB is how

you deliver the

benefit – proof!

Position Before Brand Identity ..

Once you have a positioning, you can think about how to embody that in an identity

Think of it like a persona, a tribe among which your customer or consumer moves

What does your brand stand for?

Don’t make this up – keep in mind target audience, and your claims about benefits and differentiation

Remember: A Brand positioning statement is NOT brand messaging – it’s internal, something you protect and guard and use as a gauge

Unilever and the Brand Key

Team Alignment Tool

Religion

Brand Identity/Personality Birds of a feather flock together, Identify Your Flock

1st Marketing

Hack!

Let’s Play With Identity

Volunteers?

Checklist Test of Pithy

Test of Visual – not just words

Test of Real – A real person, a real “type”

Test of Voice – Can you imagine how you could deliver this? Whose voice (hint: may not be yours)?

Test – Brands Like Me: Who Else speaks your voice, looks and acts like you need to? They may provide clues for your brand (but don’t copy!)

NOW - You’re finally ready to build brand messaging …

Messaging – The Other Leg Who’s Analytical & Data Driven?

Who’s Experimental & Creative?

Who’s Able to Be Both?

Identity Messaging

Messaging Love – Key Step “More than words”

Look for and bring together pictures, colors, sounds and other signals that speak to your flock

Circle key words that they use – not words you use

“Then you wouldn’t have to say that you love me ..”

In building messaging, speak only to them – as opposed to speaking to the whole world

“Because I’d already know”

Even on your Website, narrow down your home page and key pages to speak to your target, using their words, their voice, their sounds and their preferred terms – it’s as if by speaking to them, you are also speaking FOR them

Messaging Hack 1: Relearn Your Brand

Go out and talk to five customers about your brand.

Do not sell them, or try to persuade them

Simply listen

Please take their photos,

Please ask permission to use what they say (good, bad,

ugly).

Write down what you have learned about your brand

Use this to develop a visual story about your flock –

your birds of a feather. Can you bring them to life for a

marketing partner?

Part 2: Go Test It Don’t change your Web site, start a project or build

a big budget campaign

Do a simple landing page test and make sure your brand

is speaking to your audience

Send it to those 5 people by the way!

Write down what you have learned

Choose the words or images that seemd to resonate

Don’t judge them, seek to understand them

Messaging Hack 2: Think Again

The Person You are Speaking To May Not the

Person You Seek to Serve:

Who are you selling to?

Target audience is not necessarily the end-user of your

product e.g. a software for schools should be sold to school

purchaser, and not to parent

Trick question: Who does Pepsi sell to?

So -- How does this insight change your marketing

messaging?

Does it make it easier or harder?

Messaging Hack 3: Dispel 3

Marketing Myths Myth 1: Marketing is for “creative” people

Brand marketing is a science that uses data, reasoning, intuition –and creativity but creativity is not about colors, fonts, designs – it’s about insights and decisions

Myth 2: Marketing is about design and graphics

Assure that if you work with someone on marketing, they are trained to work with the process, not just share ides about design, color, advertising & fonts! Those decisions come after the main marketing decisions are made – and shojuld be overseen by someone who speaks for the brand

Myth 3: Marketing is something anyone can do

You gave birth to a child, raised it, send it to school. So who cares what happens to the child later? Think about your brand like your child. Make sure you brand has caretakers – who listen & understand your brand – not tell you what to do. Who’s your internal brand shephard? Do you trust them? Do they like your customer? Do YOU like your customer?

Final Hack: Marketing In Digital Age

Old way: Ideate, gather, build, refine, launch

New way: Ideate, build, launch, gather, refine, relaunch

You have

permission to

change message –

but not to change

core brand

positioning or

identity

Thank you!

Homework:

1. Build a positioning with your team

2. Develop identity

3. Try a test messaging campaign

Good luck!