Brand Champions

Sustainable Brands Start with Thinking About the Word Brand as a Noun

Several instances over the past few weeks have provided me with the feeling that it is time to get back to some basic thinking about terms like brands, branding, social media and sustainability. Because of the way that many organizations and people apply those concepts, many others consider those buzz words and don't think they have relevance to their organization. I completely understand that thinking. Too often organizations limit their thinking and execution of concepts like branding to short-term, tactical approaches like advertising, mottos, taglines and other traditional marketing channels. They think too soon about the word brand as a verb.

Let us start by thinking about the term brand as a noun. Let us think about our brand as our name and what that name stands for. Once we understand our purpose and our guiding principles, then we can think about the word brand as a verb. The actions that we take to help others understand what our brand stands for and to make it memorable. I think it is also critical for us to think about using the word brand first, and then the term branding. I define branding as the process by which we align our internal culture with our external reputation. Branding is guided by our mission and our core values. Once we understand that, then we can decide how best to use social media or other traditional channels to execute our brand strategy.

When we take these critical first steps our brand strategy has a better chance to be sustainable. We also have a much better chance of recruiting and retaining the right brand champions. 

Rex Whisman

Brand Champions Blog

Brand Champions of the Day- Berliners

As we approach the twenty-year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, I think it appropriate to recognize all Berliners, those who were born there, lived and died in this fabulous city. Of course I want to also give a shout out to those, like me, who have visited and become champions of the people from this city brand. I want to especially highlight those who tore down the wall. Now those are brand champions!

I recall my first visit to West Germany back in 1979. I was living and teaching in Stuttgart then. I remember going to the train station every weekend to visit some new place and seeing trains waiting to depart for Berlin. I wondered what that experience must be like, and should I dare attempt to go there. During the cold war, those thoughts quickly vanished. So I headed south to places like Munich, Zurich, Venice and others.

Fast forward many years. I had the pleasure of visiting Berlin in 2006. There I had the opportunity to attend a multi-sensory brand symposium led by brand futurist, Martin Lindstrom. During that visit I had the chance to walk the many places near and where the Berlin Wall stood for nearly 30 years. Places like the Brandenburg Gate, Potsdamer Platz, Humboldt University and other legendary spots. Of course I thought about the train station in Stuttgart and wished I had given it a shot.

Berlin, heute Sie Sind ein Marke Vorkaempfer!

Rex Whisman

Brand Champions Blog

Re-Brand Public Option

I am sure you have heard about the many ideas being discussed for re-branding the Public Option component to the various health care legislation proposals in the United States. On the one hand I applaud those who realize that the name Public Option does not work, on the other hand, this is another case of I told you so. This situation is what gives brand and marketing professionals a bad name. Often they are faulty themselves, but here I think fault can be spread all across the country.

All to often organizations think that they need to start with a name that sounds good at the time and immediately roll out a really cool advertising campaign. They call this branding. I call this a 20th century, Mad Men approach to marketing, and I say slow down! Let us start by discussing our mission, why are we doing this? Then let us start by talking about our core values, what are our guiding principles? Let us also engage our stakeholders in the process, maybe their input will help us develop our brand name. Then let us have a dialogue about how those align with our strategic plan. Maybe we will discover that even our perceived adversaries are our real brand champions. Then, let us discuss a name and how we are going to promote it. That process is called branding in my book.

Remember the town hall meeting mess. Remember how the "Public Option" was off the table and back, and then off and then back again. No wonder everyone is confused, even the supposed brand champions in Congress. This is your prototypical way not to develop a brand, and this is why many people confuse the word brand or branding with taglines, advertising campaigns, mottos and the like. Now that the powers that be realize they have developed their brand in reverse, some logical discussion is taking place, even across the political aisle. 

I like the idea of Medicare Part E, for everyone. That sounds like another aspect of an already public option. Think about how the US Congress as gone about brand building. Compare that with your process. Then think about how Congress is going about it now. You will have a better chance of recruiting and retaining your brand champions when you develop a process based on mission, core values and stakeholder engagement.

Brands, Authenticity and Rosie O'Donnell

We hear and see words like brand and authenticity all the time. Often times together. In my view a brand is not a brand unless it is authentic. Only when a brand stands for something can it be considered real. Unfortunately most marketers think that a brand is a logo, tagline, motto, advertising campaign or some other representation of the name. Those are tactics that may or may not be sustainable. They are often not authentic. To me your brand is your name, what your name stands for and the associations that people make with your name. Yesterday I referenced Chad Ochocinco in this context. Today I reference another person who appears to be trying to reinvent themself, Rosie O'Donnell.

Two days ago I read about the new Rosie O'Donnell satellite radio show, Rose Radio, which will soon air M-F, 10:00 am- 12:00 pm ET on XM Radio. In Monday's USA Today story Rosie chronicles her career. She describes many of her past challenges and discusses how restrictive many of her efforts were because of corporate or other interests. She says her goal for the second half of her career is to be authentic, and how the no-holds barred freedom of satellite radio can help her do so.

While I have seldom been a big fan of hers in the past, I have always felt that Rosie O'Donnell was authentic. She stood up for issues that did not have mainstream support. It is interesting to read that she either did not feel that way or that because of the motives of others, people did not think her brand was authentic. I look forward to seeing how this latest career move plays out and if Rosie is able to recruit new brand champions, and if she is able to retain her current brand champions. Ideally she should be able to do both.

Will XM Radio enhance or dilute the Rosie O'Donnell brand? Will she enhance or dilute the XM Radio brand?

Chad OchoCinco Develops an Effective Brand Strategy

Someone who I think understands that a brand is your name, what that brand stands for and the associations that people make with the name is Chad OchoCinco. Many of you might know him as the former Chad Johnson, wide receiver, number 85 for the Cincinnati Bengals. About a year ago Chad legally changed his last name to the Spanish version of the number on his jersey.

Like many of you, I was not a big fan of Chad Johnson, number 85. He tended to draw attention to himself by creating strange antics on and off of the American football field. It seems that after he changed his name he has a much better understanding of who is and what he stands for. Chad OchoCinco appears to be more of team player on the field. Off the field he has become quite the digital media expert. As of this post he has over 300,000 followers on twitter and he just launched his OGOchocinco online tv site.

I am not always an advocate of name changes because people and organizations have a tremendous amount of equity in their name. Changing it could dilute its value. In the case of Chad Johnson, I think the change to Chad OchoCinco is a good thing. I am now a champion of his brand. A few years ago I would not have written about him. Perhaps as a brand chump back then. Today he is a brand champ!

Rex Whisman

Brand Champions Blog

Brand Champion of the Day, Julie Nirvelli, White Girl Salsa

On Mondays and Fridays I feature people who understand what it means to be a brand champion. Those who are passionate about their brand and what it stands for. Most people fail to think about their brand being their name and the associations that others make with their name when they see or hear it. There is one person who clearly gets it. A few weeks ago I was introduced to a new brand in town and its owner. After seeing the name White Girl Salsa, I had to learn more, and knew others would too. Here is what Brand Champion of the Day, Julie Nirvelli shares with us about her brand, White Girl Salsa.

"My company is White Girl Salsa. I’m going to let that sink in for a second. How does the name make you feel? Did it get your attention? Are you curious about it? Do you wonder if it is politically correct? I’ve found that the name of my business, along with the branding, gets people going in one way or another, but mostly in a fun and happy way!

"People linger on the name for just a bit longer than they would other brands, and this of course, is what we want. I’m sure Rex knows how many seconds you have to get someone’s attention and while you’ve got it, you want to keep it as long as possible. When I worked the farmers’ markets selling White Girl Salsa, hundreds of people came up to the booth saying they had to taste the salsa because of the name. Hundreds more walked by and smiled and pointed out the sign to people they were with. Many came back around for a taste. A couple of people were disturbed by the name and felt it was inappropriate, but I’m okay with that. Either way, it gets people talking and thinking. (It actually got its name from a Hispanic family who loved my salsa so the name really celebrates different cultures.)

"The brand shouts out a fun and unique product and it’s memorable! Fans of White Girl Salsa love to share it with others by taking it to parties and giving it as gifts. I think this is the ultimate brand compliment – my customers acting as champions, “selling” White Girl Salsa to their friends and family. I can’t tell you how many people say they’ve had it at a party. How often do you even know the name of the brand of salsa being served at a party? Customers ask for t-shirts, more recipes and more ways to experience and have fun with the brand. People seem to crave the salsa as well as the fun spirit of the brand.

"I’m not a branding expert, nor did I hire one. I just lucked out with a great name that I didn’t even come up with and branding that is unique in the salsa category. White Girl Salsa is only a 6 month old business but we hope to play with the big boys of salsa on a national level in the future."

 Julie, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to share your wisdom about your brand. I have no doubt that you will be making quite a name for yourself and your brand on a national, if not international scale. You clearly know what it means to be a brand champion, and for that, Julie Nirvelli, you are the Brand Champion of the Day!

Rex Whisman

Brand Champions Blog

David Shrader- Brand Champion of Arts Education

When I think about brand champions, I think about people who are driven by a passion for their cause. I think about people who's core values guide them to support their passion and to help others. I think about people like David Shrader. I first met David (most people, including he, called him Dave, I called him David) when I was a young, naive education professional. I was working for an arts school at the time and had the fortune of connecting with someone who became a mentor to me.

David helped me understand what it meant to be ethical, professional and thorough in my job. He also introduced me to the arts and the value of education in our world. In many regards David provided me with the start to a great career in education. I would not be such an advocate or consulting with schools in their advocacy efforts had it not been for much the skills that David instilled in me. I thank him for that.

Like many all too familiar situations I did never told David any of this in person and won't have the chance to do so. He passed on October 18. As I do with all posts, I went to Google and Bing to find some images or references to David to support his post. This is the first time that I found nothing. At first I was frustrated because I was concerned that the post would feel diluted without a photo of David or an image of one of his great quilts. Then I realized this way is better. It is more Shrader-like.

Having no images of David or his work on the Internet is David being David. He would not want a ton of references about him on the Internet. He would prefer that the light shine on others. That was who he was. This was a man who preferred others take the credit and he the necessary work behind the scenes. His pleasure was seeing others be credited. He liked to keep things simple. So I will honor that today with a simple post about a larger than life person.

Thank you David Shrader for all you contributed to the arts and those of us who you helped play a role. You were a true brand champion for the arts.

Peace.

Rex Whisman

Brand Champions Blog

George Washington- Brand Champion, Early Adopter

During a recent visit to Philadelphia I had the opportunity to spend some time on the Ben Franklin Parkway where there are several amazing sites, including this magnificent statue of George Washington. When walking around this giant piece of work about this giant of a man, I realized that the case could be made that he was an early adopter of what it means to be a brand champion.

Today Barack Obama gets a lot of play on blogs like this one for being a brand champion and understanding that a sustainable brand is based on mission, core values and stakeholder engagement. But, Washington did much the same in his day. He realized that as the President of the United States, he was also serving as brand manager for the nation. How he led, the decisions he made, those he surrounded himself with would affect the image and reputation of the brand.

We can learn much about how to be an effective brand champion by understanding George Washington. We can also learn a lot about brand management from another US President named George, but that is for another day. Today, I salute you George Washington, as an early adopter of what it means to be a brand champion.

Some people who are my brand champions think I have a similar leadership style. Is it because we are both pisces, or because they think I look good on a horse?

Rex Whisman

Brand Champions Blog

Brand Champions of the Day- San Diego State University, American Marketing Association Chapter

For anyone  who is new to the blog, I want to let you know that every Monday and Friday I feature someone or some organization who understands what it means to be a brand champion. Those passionate advocates of a brand who realize that an identity is sustainable based on mission, core values and stakeholder engagement. Those who are effective in bringing their brand to life through 21st century technology.

I am long over due in recognizing the American Marketing Association Chapter at San Diego State University. Not to mention that as a higher education brand strategist, I am always on the prowl for best practices in that category. In my view this student chapter is much more effective than many of the AMA "professional" chapters. The students and faculty at SDSU realize that in the 21st century we do business a different way. Most marketers are stuck in the 20th century and have yet to break away from traditional marketing like advertising and taglines.

I was first introduced to SDSU AMA about two years ago on Facebook. I was doing a search of AMA chapters and the one that came up was a student chapter. I became a fan of their page and always look forward to their news feeds on my Facebook page. Marketers from around the world, especially those in the USA, can learn a thing from this progressive organization about how to enhance your brand through social media. I follow them on twitter and you can too.

For all you do, San Diego State University AMA, you are the Brand Champions of the Day!

Rex Whisman

Brand Champions Blog

Fast Company Magazine- Required Reading for Brand Champions

I have referenced this magazine before and will continue to do so. Fast Company should be required reading for anyone interested in brand development. Are we not all interested? We should be because no matter where we fit into our respective organizations building a sustainable brand based on mission, core values and stakeholder engagement is everyone's job. Fast Company understands that approach and many of its stories are focused on this concept.

A few days ago I read the November 2009 as I was traveling across country. The host of brand articles provided the necessary companion to make my trip seem like a breeze. The energy one feels when reading stories in Fast Company can make even a slug feel motivated to do new and innovative things within your organization. I highly encourage you to check it out.

If a hard copy is not your thing, then you can request to get a daily dose sent to you online. A great way to kick start your day is to read it with your bagel and coffee. Fast Company is required reading for all brand champions.

Rex Whisman

Brand Champions Blog