Mary Jane Braide will highlight branding essentials for start-ups and social enterprises in the early stages of development. It’s never too soon to establish a clear value proposition and your positioning—even if it feels like everything is in a state of flux!
3. …start thinking about brand strategy
sooner
…practical tools to build the brand as you
evolve
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4. A bit about me
1. First career: Organizational change management,
time based competition, lean manufacturing
2. Second career: Corporate brand strategy
3. Fun: Volunteer MaRS brand advisor
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5. BRAND IS BRAND IS NOT
Advertising
Value - as seen by
others - that comes Print materials
from promising and Logos
delivering Slogans
something relevant Websites
and different.
Direct mail campaigns
PR
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10. “A strong brand is the customer’s shorthand for
making good choices in a complex, risky and
confusing marketplace.”
Kevin Randall, Director of Brand Strategy & Research at Moveo Integrated Branding
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11. Brand matters to investors...
“Compared to scale, proprietary
technology and
monopolies, brand is an
equally powerful, leveragable
and more sustainable
advantage.”.”
Credit Suisse
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12. Brand matters in your category
“Industries that show high-potential for brands
include those where trust is a growing purchase
criteria, either because of lack of product track-
record, proliferation of unknown competitors or risk
to health or safety.”
The Power of Brand Investing, Credit Suisse, Research Institute, February 2010
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13. 67% cumulative outperformance
Brand index versus S&P 1500
Source: Credit Suisse
The Power of Brand Investing, Credit Suisse, Research Institute, February 2010
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19. But how?
• The business model is unfinished
• The product is changing
• We have 200 feature requests
• We don’t know how we will go to market
• Regulators are stalling us
• We’re not fully funded
Get used to it.
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21. Lean
Lean Start- Brand Branding
Lean
Up Strategy for Start-
ups
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22. Lean management principles
Know
Perfect
customer
over time
value
Create
Customer
value
flow
stream
Maximize
flow
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23. The Lean Start-Up: you are a learning machine
Vision
Define
Learn
Experiment
Steer
Leap
Test
Measure
Pivot or preserve
Accelerate
Batch
Grow
Adapt
Innovate
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24. Brand strategy principles
• Be relevant – you’re only as valuable as your markets
think you are
• Be different – but only different where it matters
• Always deliver – good to have a dream, but not likely to
get there overnight
• Have a story - connect your big idea to hearts and minds
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25. Lean
Lean Start- Brand Branding
Lean
Up Strategy for Start-
ups
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26. Lean branding for start-ups
Know your big idea
BUT
Only build the minimum viable brand
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27. Your big idea
What’s your hypothesis about the difference you will make?
What was the source of that insight? Examine it in depth.
Have you tested it? Did you really listen to what you heard?
Can you boil it down to one core promise?
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33. PROMISE
[What will you allow me to do]
This is not a promise of what YOU will do. It’s a
promise of what the customer can do with you
in their life.
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37. A story has a beginning, a middle and an end.
It begins with a powerful anecdote, explains why it matters
and then pays off with a solution.
38. Micra Electronic Transaction Solutions is a
proprietary, integrated transaction delivery
This is platform targeted to small and medium sized
businesses and individuals not previously able
to conduct micro transactions using card
technology.
not a Working off a BlaBla network with a Yadda
Yadda micron Bit Bibbildie Boo Bob, the METS
system could enable up to 40 million
transactions per year in the $2 billion dollar
story
micro transaction market.
Our first wave of financing supported a six-
member development team and one general
manager. Our next phase requires new
financing to cover a sales team dedicated to
working with VISA in Asia.
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39. The one area the credit card companies have
This is not been able to penetrate is the micro
transaction space for small business. We
figure they’re leaving about $2 billion a year
a
on the table.
Micra is an IP protected app and hardware
combination that covers transaction support
for SMEs and individuals to collect payment
on any credit card on any web-enabled
story device.
We’ve got 2 VISA trials now which are giving us
the revenue to cover development. We’re
now into a second funding round to build the
team we need to take Micro to AMEX in Asia.
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40. POSITIONING
[Audience, need, benefit, proof.]
For...(audience definition)
...Who need (pain point or need)
...Company or product X delivers (offer and benefit)
...Which only we can promise because (main proof
points)
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41. POSITIONING: For example
[Audience, need, benefit, proof.]
For cost-conscious, tech-able homeowners...
...Who want to manage their growing energy costs
...Company X delivers online energy management and
time of use tools that allow 24/7 remote and onsite
energy optimization
...Which only we can promise because of our
proprietary bridge between homeowners and
utilities, our multi-platform facility and our
smart, learning systems.
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43. GOOGLE: Ten Things
1. Focus on the user and all else will follow.
2. It’s best to do one thing really, really well.
3. Fast is better than slow.
4. Democracy on the web works.
5. You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.
6. You can make money without doing evil.
7. There’s always more information out there.
8. The need for information crosses all borders.
9. You can be serious without a suit.
10. Great just isn’t good enough.
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44. My start-up values
I believe in…………….
I care about……………….
I think these things lead to successful choices……………..
I don’t want us ever to…………………….
I’m doing this because I……………………..
I stand for……………..
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49. VISUAL IDENTITY: tips
• Pay for good talent
• Don’t ask for spec work
• Provide a design brief
• Insist on being involved in concept and mood exploration
• Get 2-3 logo options
• Trust the talent you hire
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54. NAME: Two types to consider
1. 2.
Instant Invested
meaning meaning
Facebook Amazon
Burger
Blackberry
King
Evernote Koodo
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55. NAME: Pros and cons
1. 2.
Instant Invested
meaning meaning
Communicates Flexible
for you Evocative
Can take time
Can fence you
and money to
in
build meaning
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56. NAME: Criteria of a good name
Evokes the customer benefit • ThinkPad
Either descriptive, evocative or blank • Facebook, Twitter, A
slate. mazon
Easy to say and spell • WIND
Memorable and different • Swatch
Unambiguous • Whole Foods
Available • Uniqlo
Translatable or multi-lingual • Dialogue
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57. NAME: The process
1. Create a brief and set the criteria ahead of time
2. Crank out a long, long-list. Anything goes. Get people
involved. No contests please.
3. Shorten to 3-5 and test them informally. Use them in
context.
4. The right name will take time to grow on you.
5. Take 2 to full legal testing.
6. Secure the top name in your immediate
markets, including online
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58. Tagline
An important discipline Great tags tell a big story
Should be about what the • Just Do It
customer will experience, not • A Diamond Is Forever
self-descriptive • We Try Harder
Forces you to hone your core • What Happens In Vegas, Stays
idea into few words In Vegas
Focuses you on the external • A Different Kind Of Company.
audience A Different Kind Of Car
Has to be credible internally • The Future Is Friendly
• Think Different
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59. Building a tagline
1. What is our vision of the possible?
2. What is our core benefit to the buyer/end user?
3. What is our core source of value creation?
4. How can we sum all that up in natural language?
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60. Name + Tagline
If you have a descriptive name, choose an evocative tagline
If you have a coined or evocative name, choose a descriptive
tagline
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62. BRAND ARCHITECTURE
HOUSE OF BRANDED ENDORSED OR
BRANDS HOUSE SUB-BRANDS
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63. BRAND ARCHITECTURE: logic
HOUSE OF BRANDED ENDORSED OR
BRANDS HOUSE SUB-BRANDS
Established Minor or major
Unrelated products
brand equity extensions
Same channel
Product and channel on a central strong
Available resources
synergy brand
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Hinweis der Redaktion
Goal was not to take a snapshot of your current stateWe were asked to explore perceptions, drivers and influencers associated with your key stakeholders