I am pleased to introduce you to Drew Kora, today's Brand Champion of the Day. Drew is a graphic designer at Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne, IN, USA. Like some of the others that I have recognized in the past, I met Drew last fall at a conference in Toronto. Drew was an active participant in the pre-conference workshop that I facilitated. We have stayed in touch, and I think he really understands what it means to be a brand champion. The following are the thoughts Drew wants to share with us today.
"For me, brand championing for my university has been like putting together a big puzzle. A lesson I've learned very quickly is the importance of being a great listener. I'm a graphic designer by formal training, and often we creatives have preconceptions of what a school's image, visual or verbal, needs to be in order to be cool and marketable. But creative notions of what's cool and the real world rarely align. So, as a newcomer to this whole brand champion thing, I've spent most of my time simply listening and observing.
Each department, professor, administrator, alum, etc. has a slightly different take on who we are, what we promise our customers, and how we deliver that promise. That's not to say any or all these differing viewpoints are wrong. Actually, I tend to think that everyone is pretty spot on. Their passionate people who love their work. What they're giving me are all pieces to a larger puzzle that I'm trying to put together to make "the big picture." Tying all these disparate groups together is where the challenge lies. But again, listening is key. I listen deep and draw out the core similarities that are shared across the university. Only after I've done my fair share of listening am I ready to start piecing things together.
Really, it's not rocket science. It just takes some common sense and a lot of conviction. It helps that most in the academic field (that I've encountered) have a degree of passion about their work, so I draw that excitement out and use it. After all, most people are all working toward the same goal, just from different perspectives. Unifying their efforts and perspectives under a common language and ethos is like putting that puzzle together. Once that's complete, my listening turns to teaching as I share with everyone what I've observed. And what do you know? We're all on the same side, right? The best part is that if you listen well, getting buy-in is easy. I'm not sharing my thoughts or my ideas, I'm telling them what they already know deep down. But now, it's wrapped up in a neat package for the whole university to share and grow our brand from.
In the end, I guess that makes my role as a brand champion kind of like a funnel. I'm collecting all the ideas spilling and splashing around out there and consolidating it into a neat, easy to pour stream of information."
Drew, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us today. We really appreciate your insights, you are spot on! Check our Drew's blog at www.gravitymachine.net
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