The Key to Successful Branding? Know and “Own” the Organization

Whether you work as in-house staff or as a hired consultant, the first step of any branding process is to understand the client’s organization. It’s a foundation stage where you identify the client’s value proposition and key message.

How successful you are at this stage will determine the effectiveness of the branding program. More often than not, those projects that “never seem to complete” have their problems rooted at this stage.

Know the organization

Then how would you approach this important stage? It usually starts with an initial meeting and some sort of creative/brand/design brief from the client.

However, don’t just trust this information and jump right to the next step. It’s tempting to do this when the deadline is tight and the project budget is low, but I would strongly advise that you consider this information as an initial guide only, and take further steps to ensure that you really “know” the organization:

1. Offer a questionnaire to guide the client through the process and help them to be clear about what they want. Your goal is to discover what the client’s true desired picture is and whether that matches with the existing brand.
2. Research the existing brand, focusing on how the market perceives the brand, not on how the client believes it is perceived.
3. Go beyond what is required, until you can confidently say that you have the same picture as the decision maker(s) and can visualize their idea/concept crystal clear in your mind!

Avoid these common branding mistakes

If you understand the client’s organization thoroughly and communicate clearly, you can avoid these common pitfalls:

1. The client is not sure about what their brand should stand for
2. Not everyone on board has the same picture of the organization’s brand
3. What the client thinks they are is not necessarily the same as what the audience/customer thinks they are
4. Board members share a common vision of the brand but don’t know how to communicate or explain it
5. There was not enough effort in the branding area, so the current brand was created accidentally/unintentionally
6. They keep changing what their brand stands for depending on trends and market demands

“Own” the organization

Communicating with the client clearly and thoroughly up front will ensure that your new branding program not only looks fresh and creative, but also meets the objectives of the organization and creates a real return on investment.

Going the extra mile at this stage will pay off well in the later stages of brand development. I like to think of this step as “owning” the client’s organization, because if you have the spirit of ownership, you will be in the best position to communicate and express the brand effectively.

How much time do you spend on getting to know the organization before you start a branding project? Let me know by leaving a comment below.