Brand Gap

A Brand is not a logo
A Brand is not an identity
A Brand is not a product
So what exactly is a Brand?
A Brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service or organization
In other words..
It’s not about what u say it is
It’s about what they say it is

Why is Branding so hot?
• people have too many choices & too little time
• most offerings have similar quality & features
• we tend to base our buying choices on trust

Problem
In most companies, strategy is separated from creativity by a wide gap
On one side of the gapare On the other side are
Strategic thinkers Creative thinkers

Analitical Intuitive
Logical Emotional
Lineal Spatial
Numerical Visual
Verbal Physical

Does the left brain know what the right brain is doing?
When both side work together, we can build a charismatic brand.
A charismatic brand is a product, service or organization for which people believe there is no substitute.
Amazone, Apple, Disney, Google, Ikea, Mini Cooper, and many more.

Any brand can be charismatic. Even yours!
But first, you have to master the five disciplines of brand-building
Differentiate
Our brain act as filters to protect us from too much information.
We are hardwire to notice only what’s different.
So, BE DIFFERENT.
The three most important words in differenting your brand: focus, Focus, FOCUS.
The focus test:
Who are you?
What do you do?
Why does it matter?

The most common reason for loss of focus is ill considered brand extentions. For example: focused > Porsche = sport cars
Unfocused > Porsche = sport cars + suvs
Good brand extentions grow the value of a brand by reinforcing its focus.

Collaborate
It takes a village to build a brand
There are three basic models for organizing brand collaboration:
• The one stop shop
• The brand agency
• The integrated marketing team

In reality, collaborative network is not that simple. And..that’s OK.

Innovate
Execution – not strategy- is where the rubber meets the road

Why do companies have so much trouble with creativity?
Because creativity is right-brained, and strategy is left-brained

The reason The Beatles were wildly successful is because” they never did the same thing once.

Question: how can u know that an idea is innovative?
Answer: when it scares out of everybody

To begin with, the brand needs a stand-out name.
The seven criteria of a stand out name:
distinctiveness
brevity
appropriateness
easy spelling and pronounciation
likeability
extendability
protectability

a great name need a great graphics.
NEWS FLASH! Logo is dead. Long live icons & avatars!
For product that sell at retail, the package is often the best and last chance

Validate
validate means bringing the audience into the creative process
the old communication model is monologue
the new communication model is dialogue

Question: how can you test your most creative ideas before they go to market?
Hint: not with large quantitative studies or focus group
Answer:
a swap test is a proof for trademarks.
A hand test is a proof for a distinctive voice
A field test is a proof for any concept that can be prototyped

Cultivate
Business is a process, not an entity
A living brand is a pattern of behavior, not a stylistic veneer
Brands are like people. If people can change their clothes without changing their characters… Why can’t brands?
New paradigm: influence the character of a brand
If a brand looks like a duck and swims like a dog, people will distrust it.

taken from the book " Brand Gap"