Brand Champions

Brand Champion of the Day- The Daily Blonde

Over the course of the past several months many of my friends kept informing me that I needed to follow The Daily Blonde on twitter. A few weeks ago I finally decided to do so. When I first visited her twitter site I read that she calls herself a left-handed Polish chick and commentator on bull crap. That got my attention. As it was designed to do. Since my first visit to twitter I have discovered that The Daily Blonde is a tireless writer (over 44,000 tweets) and has a tremendous following. Her blog is very witty and cuts right to the chase. For me her brand attributes include driven, engaging, intelligent, maverick and others. Today she takes time out of her demanding schedule and raising five kids to share with us what she thinks it means to be a brand champion. 

"When I started my blog two years ago it was specifically an outlet for my often tilted views on daily life. I had no agenda but I knew that I wanted to name it something that had meaning to me.

"I grew up loving the newspaper and always read the front page, no matter how bad the news was. I also read the back of every cereal box, as many books as I could and constantly wrote stories about my day. Not much has changed, although the Special K box does not make for interesting reading these days.

"The Daily Blonde was the first idea that popped into my mind for the name of my blog. 'Daily' because I love reading the paper daily and that meant I would have to be consistent with my blogging. 'Blonde' because I knew there were two ways to spell blonde and I have two hair colors: naturally brunette and bottled blonde. I also thought "blonde" looked catchier in a header than "blond" which was bland.

"Over the course of the first year, I realized that I had to narrow my content. I am a Mom but felt that my blog wasn't about motherhood, it was about my opinions on everything. I also had to decide on a look for my blog that was consistent. It was the one thing that bothered me most when I read other blogs: they weren't consistent. Constant header changes and ever-changing icons meant I wouldn't recognize the blog the next time I visited. As a person who is very bad with remembering names, visuals are very important to me.

"Finally, The Daily Blonde had an icon. A likeness of me when I don't eat too much ice cream. As the blog continued to evolve I made sure that two things stayed the same: the 'newsy' feel and my "blondie" icon. Within days of creating the icon, my traffic increased by leaps and bounds. I deleted all of the affiliate links and started aggressively selling ads to small businesses. All of my ad space sold right away because my brand was consistent everywhere I posted: bookmarking sites, Twitter,Facebook, my business card and any place I frequented on the Internet. I also commented on other blogs with The Daily Blonde, not my real name.

"To me, a brand champion is someone who has passion for their brand. They believe in it  and stand behind it. Not just the product, but the concept. I love writing and I believe my brand has succeeded because I don't make drastic changes. In addition, I ask for feedback from my readers. What's working, what's not. Branding myself has been an interesting journey. The Daily Blonde has such a diverse audience that the branding part had to be something slightly quirky (like me) yet simple enough that people would remember it."

Daily Blonde thank you so much for sharing with us your bio and what you think it means to be a brand champion. You certainly have been successful in recruiting champions for your brand. I know I am one now and I anticipate many more today.

Rex Whisman

Brand Champions Blog

Only Co-Brand When Missions and Core Values Align

Last week while waiting for a flight I read with keen interest in the USA Today about the co-banding, I mean co-branding, efforts on emerging bands and Motel 6. According to the story, Motel 6 believes that if they allow up and coming bands to stay for free the bands will deliver positive messages about their experience on-stage, through tweets, on facebook walls and more.

Because the bands demographic is the same as what Motel 6 is targeting too, this co-branding appears to make sense for all parties. I am not so sure. In the past Motel 6 has positioned itself as an affordable alternative to other options. By co-branding with new bands, will that message become diluted? If the motels become filled with younger audiences, even those following the band, will those who have been loyal customers in the past some how feel abandoned? What about Motel 6 employees? Do they have a say?

Like many struggling companies, and even some who are not, this strategy seems like another quick-fix attempt to look cool. It does not seem to be a sustainable strategy based on mission and core values. Isn't that the best way to recruit and retain brand champions? What do you think?

Rex Whisman
Brand Champions Blog

Usain Bolt Recruits and Retains Brand Champions

I am not always a big fan of sport athletes building nation brands. In the case of Usain Bolt I think he not only enhances the Jamaica brand, but his mind-boggling accomplishments might be impacting the globe. His seemingly world-breaking efforts on the track, along with his dynamic personality infectiously recruits a legion of champions for his brand around the world.

I was first introduced to the Bolt brand when I watched him compete at the Beijing Olympics a year ago. I could not believe my eyes when I saw him cross the finish line of the 100m. So, like many of you, I watched in anticipation his 100m and 200m races at the World Track & Field Championships recently in Berlin. The crowd, venue, television camera angles and of course his run-away efforts created a multi-sensory brand experience.

When we build brands we hope that we are successful in delivery on our promise and creating emotional experiences for our current and potential brand champions. Watch this and tell me that Usain Bolt does not understand what it means to be a brand champion.  

Rex Whisman Brand Champions Blog

Brand Champion of the Day- Stanley Kaplan, Education Pioneer

On Mondays and Fridays I feature someone or some organization who understands what it means to be a brand champion. A person or group that realizes the importance of mission, core values and stakeholder engagement to build a sustainable brand, and who are successful in recruiting and retaining champions for their brand. No one exemplified that way of developing a brand than Stanley Kaplan, the founder of the first test-preparation company in the United States.

When conducting my own business I help my clients build brands that are focused on mission and core values. When executing a brand strategy I try to utilize forward-thinking methodologies. When I conduct business I think about other pioneers in the education field. Those who honor the teachings and traditions of education, and those who try to place them in a modern context. While I never had the opportunity to utilize any of Kaplan's products or services, I respect him and his company.

Mr. Kaplan recruited and retained many champions for his brand. Unfortunately Mr. Kaplan passed earlier in the week. For your efforts and contributions to education, Stanley Kaplan, you are the Brand Champion of the Day.

Rex Whisman

Brand Champions Blog

Brand Champions Share Their Stories at the Brand Cafe

Last Monday was the eighth monthly meeting of the Brand Cafe. Last January I thought it would be interesting to form a community of brand geeks who would be given the opportunity to talk shop over coffee at the Brand Cafe. We now have over 100 members in our online community. We limit our monthly gathering offline to 20 people so that we can have an engaging conversation.

Each month a brand related topic is chosen and attendees share experiences, ask questions and learn from one another. Past topics have included multi-sensory branding, social media and brands, verbal and visual identities and others. Monday's topic was on brand research. I look forward to another dialogue about my favorite subject, brand, next month. I thank all of you who have attended over the past several months and become brand champions of the Brand Cafe.

See you online or off!

Rex Whisman

Brand Champions Blog

Events Should Deliver On-Brand Experiences

I was thinking about this concept last evening as I attended a networking event for the American Marketing Association Colorado Chapter. As a brand consultant and as vice president for brand management at AMA Colorado, I need to make sure that what an organization says it will deliver in its brand strategy becomes a reality for events like this. Those in attendance whether consciously or sub-consciously will be evaluating their brand experience based upon what the organizations promises to deliver.

From the invitation content to the venue, from refreshments to dialogue, and all other touch points of the event much reflect an on-brand experience. When this happens current brand champions have their connection validated. When this happens prospects can be converted into new brand champions. Of course this can only happen when the organization has a brand strategy by which to guide and assess behavior.

Earlier in the week I facilitated a meeting about how to deliver on-brand higher education experiences online through social media and mobile marketing. In the case of those situations, here too an organization needs a brand strategy to guide delivery. I also think for those individuals and organizations new to social media and mobile, events can be a great way to test how best to utilize these emerging communications channels.

How do you utilize your events to deliver on-brand experiences?

Rex Whisman
Brand Champions Blog

How Do Images Enhance or Dilute Your Personal Brand?

As the world embraces social media and our personal brands become more and more transparent on sites like facebook, twitter, linked-in and others, what role do photographs and other images play in the process of enhancing or diluting our personal brands? Like other forms of communications, a visual image can influence how others think about our brand.

I have never been much of a photographer and I have never considered myself photogenic. But I do believe that images such as photographs play an increasing role in supporting brands online, especially on social networking sites. When people do not take the time to understand how to download an image or have no images to download, then it appears that they have no identity. What does that say about how they think about their own brand?

If your image looks like the silhouette from facebook, does your brand exist? How do you recruit and retain brand champions if you have no image?

Rex Whisman

Brand Champions Blog

Brand Champion of the Day- Martin Mendelsberg, Blogger, Designer, Educator, Strategist, Typographer and More

In 1990 I had the opportunity to meet someone who I would describe today as a contemporary Renaissance Man. Back then he was a colleague who helped me better understand the world of graphic design. Since then Martin Mendelsberg and I have had the chance to work together on many projects. Martin often consults with me on brand projects for the BrandED Consultants Group. When he is not consulting, teaching and engaging in a whole host of other projects, Martin devotes attention to his work as a world-renowned poster designer which he will discuss this coming Thursday at 4:00 pm MDT on Your Brand Radio. Today he shares with us his view on what it means to be a brand champion.

Thinking About Advertising, Posters and Social Issues

"My friends and colleagues will tell you I hate logos. I’m not a big fan of catchy ad campaigns, direct mail media or any other forms of spin marketing including social media, which is also full of spin. I practice as a graphic designer, typographer and educator. If I am a designer why do I hate all of this stuff? The answer is simple we are surrounded by visual clutter much of it found in advertising. More than 40 years ago Victor Papnek wrote, “There are professions more harmful than industrial design, but only a very few of them. And possibly only one profession is phonier. Advertising design, in persuading people to buy things they don’t need, with money they don’t have, in order to impress others who don’t care is probably the phoniest field in existence today.” Has anything really changed? One of my guidebooks is Papanek’s Design for the Real World: Human, Ecolory and Social Change.  

"I am also a poster designer who’s DNA is embedded with social, political, and cultural issues. In business practice I seek the essences of companies and organizations in order to build targeted stories for users or customers. Posters are essences that employ minimal use of pictures and text. “Peace of Mind” illustrated on the left tells a story with no words, here was a chance to construct a poster with the cohabitation of global religious and cultural symbols working in harmony. Will this poster change behaviors and attitudes, perhaps not, but a story from the Talmud states, “To save one life is to save the entire world.” The poster pictured on the right was produced for the UN Refugee Agency; as of April 19, 2009 there was an estimated 9.2 million refugees without a sense of home and community. http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c4d6.html
 
"My practice is built around business, non-profit, and social issues. There are direct relationships between these areas especially in communication strategies and choice of media. The sensitive use of pictures and words are the embodiment or culmination of a story well told."

Learn more visit, Martin Mendelsberg’s GRAPHIC ISSUES: http://mendelsberg.wordpress.com/

Martin, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to share your insights about brand.

Rex Whisman
Brand Champions Blog

Higher Education Brands Put Bud Light on Thin Ice

Yesterday I tweeted and asked my network what they thought about Anheuser-Busch's decision to place college and university colors on Bud Light cans, and distribute them near campuses. As you might well imagine many of the colleges and universities have complained about this move. Some institutions believe that their stakeholders will think that the school endorses the move by Anheuser-Busch. Others think this decision will demonstrate that schools are contributing to binge drinking on campus.

In the past Anheuser-Busch has been successful in creating advertising and promotion plans that are edgy, comical and engaging. Those tactics have enhanced the Bud Light brand. The decision to place college and university colors on Bud Light cans and distribute the cans near campuses, appears to be a move that dramatically dilutes their brand. In response to the uproar Anheuser-Busch announced that if any school files a formal complaint then the cans will be removed from proximity to campus.

In tough economic times even strong brands can make silly decisions in an attempt to gain quick-wins. More often than not, this short-term thinking backfires. Even in difficult times sustainable brands are based on mission, core values and stakeholder engagement. That is the most effective way to recruit and retain brand champions. What do you think of Anheuser-Busch's move to include school colors on their cans? 

Education Branding: Do Rankings Affect Image and Reputation?

Most publications including The Chronicle of Higher Education featured stories this week about the 2009 US News & World Report rankings that came out last Thursday. That day I raised the same question as above on twitter. Many people retweeted my post, thank you. So, do rankings like the infamous US News & World Report ones still matter?

If I would have asked that question a few years ago the answer would have been a definite yes. Today I am not so sure. For a number of reasons, colleges and universities do not seem to be as obsessed with where their school ranks on the number of lists that are out there. I recall when I ran a marketing department at a private university rankings were very important. However, once we undertook a brand development process that focused on our purpose and what we stood for, the ranking priorities seemed to lose some steam.

Now that I am a brand consultant for colleges and universities and help them understand that a sustainable brand is based on mission, core values and stakeholder engagement, they realize that those are the important drivers of image and reputation. Not a magazine. A magazine does not help you recruit and retain your brand champions. What do you think?