2 Simple Keys to Define Your Brand
Tomesia 0 Comments Brand Identity Brand Strategy Branding Business
What does your brand stand for? Probably a lot less than you think. Here’s why you need to rethink it.
Great brands stand for something. That means clearly defining your brand–but how do you do that?
Here’s another in my series in which I pick a topic and connect with someone a lot smarter than me. (Check out some previous installments at the end of the article.)
This time, I talked to John Parham, the president and director of branding at Parham Santana, an agency that focuses on brand extension for clients such as Kohl’s, PBS, Barbie, and Food Network.
You say a small business needs to know only two simple things to define its brand. So let’s start with the first one.
Rule No. 1: It’s better to be clear than to be clever.
We learned our own lesson on this one. Until recently, we described ourselves as “Experts in Store.” Sounds clever, but it meant too many things to too many people. So we changed it to “The Brand Extension Agency.”
It’s not poetry, but it is clarity. And clarity is what matters most.
To use you as the example, a focus on brand extension could limit your client base, though.
Not really. Every business is a brand, and every business can extend its brand.
Take magazines. Most magazines have seen their print ad revenue decrease due to the Internet. We helped Better Homes & Gardens enter the retail market with branded furnishings and décor. Better Homes & Gardens has a powerful emotional connection with its readers, and that made for a great opportunity to extend the brand.
We decided to be selective. We help big names–magazines or otherwise–define their extendable equity and grow their revenue streams.
There’s nothing more satisfying than walking into a room where people are counting on your specific expertise.
