Brand with a “B”

I operate under the rule of thumb that if you have been in business for a time (three plus years is a good starting point), you have a brand (whether you know what it is or not is a different question). However, not all brands reach the same heights and that got me wondering what makes a Brand with a “B” as opposed to a brand with a “b”?

Here’s a short list of the things I would look at (in no specific order):

• Authenticity
• Alignment
• Culture and people
• Markers
• Customers (and stakeholders)
• Value

Here is how each contributes to the mix towards attaining a “Brand”:

Authenticity: quite simply are they who they say they are – do they walk the talk, or is the brand just a veneer to mask any number of undesirable things? Witness BP, the poster child inauthenticity on display for all to see in the Gulf of Mexico. Bundled into authenticity are core values and purpose, the two enduring definers or every brand with a “B”.

Alignment: does the brand act as a central organising principle, sitting alongside strategy and driving decisions and actions across the organisation? This is the big daddy of brand with a “B” – you can’t have a strong brand if it is sequestered in the marketing department and only used for show. See my recent blog on Brand Alignment for why this matters so much. In short, brand alignment ensures your brand expectations and brand experience match up.

Culture and people: brands are largely inanimate until brought to life by the beliefs and actions of the people. One of the ways I often talk about brand is as the visible “face” of the culture. “B” brands are fully inhabited and owned by the people of the organisation and can feel downright cultish to those outside.

Markers: there are many brand markers, those more tangible elements of your brand that people connect with. From your storefronts (be they bricks or clicks or both), to your logo, marketing communications touch points and social media efforts. Markers help you get noticed and provide a bridge to the marketplace, but without the other “B” things behind them they are just a nice bit of decoration.

Customers (and other stakeholders): anywhere you find a brand with a “B” you will also find a group of passionate, loyal fans. The size of this group may vary, but every strong brand has them. Brands with a “B” know that while awareness is nice, and it’s always good to have someone buy what you are selling, both of those are mere table steaks compared to one customer (or other stakeholder) who will zealously tell everyone they know how great you are and come back often.

Value: most usually defined by any number of mysterious and proprietary formula ending up with the brand value being seen as a percentage of market capitalisation (if you are publicly traded). Much harder to ascertain for privately held companies. In general, I disagree that the higher this number the stronger the brand, as those formula don’t usually take into account the many other elements of brand strength, such as… everything else listed above.

I think the fact remains a brand is only valuable if it delivers what it promises. And if it does that then someone, somewhere, might at some point, pay money for it. The question of what exactly they would be buying, and whether that value can actually be transferred is for another blog.

So, how many brands with a “B” do you know? Are you one?

See you next week.

Michel Hogan is a Brand Advocate. Through her work with Brandology here in Australia and in the United States, she helps organisations recognise who they are and align that with what they do and say, to build more authentic and sustainable brands. She also publishes the Brand thought leadership blog – Brand Alignment.