Where have all your Brand Champions gone?
Be honest. After developing a solid brand strategy, an engaged internal team and an experienced agency partner to create your branding, did the focus and enthusiasm for ongoing brand management fall off after launch? We get it. The brand development process takes time, energy and money so once it is crossed off the to-do list, it can be a challenge to keep the maintenance and growth of your brand top of mind with internal and external teams.
The tips we provide below will establish momentum during the development and launch phases of your brand and will set your branding up for long-term success.
Work with a true branding partner
It’s not hard to find an agency to create your branding. But effective brand management requires an agency that will be as committed on Day 10,001 as they were on Day 1. This means selecting an agency that has successfully managed brands over time and treating them like a partner not a vendor. Sharing things beyond marketing goals like company performance, business development plans and operational changes that impact your culture is key to having a strong relationship.
Know your agency team from the start
When meeting with agencies, make sure the people in the room are those that will be managing your brand after it launches. It is not uncommon for the “A Team” from an agency to lead the charge but then the brand management gets handed over to the B, C or even D team of an agency. This leads to branding inconsistencies and a scattershot approach to marketing.
Require account manager consistency
If you don’t require account management consistency, your account manager could change multiple times in a year, leaving you in the unfortunate position of re-educating agency staff instead of concentrating on growing your brand. When a change occurs with your account manager insist that your agency gets the new team member up to speed on your brand, goals and competitive landscape before taking over your account so there are no gaps in strategy or tactical executions.
MAKE A BRAND MANAGEMENT PLAN
After your branding has been created, work with your internal team and agency partner to create a strategic marketing plan for the year. The plan should include SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-driven and Time bound) goals, the tactical brand executions needed to reach those goals and the corresponding budgets.
Stick to your plan
While it’s tempting to pursue one-off tactical opportunities that may come up, you must stick to the strategic marketing plan to maximize the impact of your branding efforts. This does not mean that you can’t take advantage of unplanned opportunities that align with your strategy. It will just prevent you from going in too many directions and losing sight of your established goals.
KEY TAKEAWAY
Branding is a marathon, not a sprint. You need the right agency partner to help create your branding, launch it to the market, develop the marketing plan to support it and manage your brand strategically over time. This is the best approach for branding sustainability and success.
