core sector communique

THE FUTURE OF BRANDING –

WHY CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MUST MEET

CUSTOMER EXPECTIONS AT EVERY CRUCIAL TOUCH POINT

BRAND REAL, New Book by Expert Laurence Vincent, Head of The Brand Studio at UTA, Challenges CMOs and Entrepreneurs to Focus on Customer Experience, Not Just Design and Graphics

Brand. Today, the word is applied to products, services, organizations, initiatives, and entrepreneurs of all kinds. It’s easy for business managers to get caught up in a cycle of reactive re-branding to develop a constant stream of clever names, catchphrases and trendy logo designs. Along the way, they lose sight of what a brand actually is and why it should matter to customers.

As a seasoned professional specializing in the strategic discipline of branding, Laurence Vincent takes it personally when he hears branding described as an artful mix of wordplay and graphics—or, worse, magic. In BRAND REAL: How Smart Companies Live Their Brand Promise and Inspire Fierce Customer Loyalty (AMACOM; March 2012; $25.00), Vincent shares a practical and powerful approach to the business of branding that is relevant to anyone who has a stake in a brand’s success.

“Brands should stand for something or they shouldn’t stand at all,” Vincent declares. “Real brands make promises they intend to keep. This is as true for a brand that stands for a product as it is for brand that stands for a person. Everything you may already understand about a brand—names, logos, advertising, package design, retail experiences, customer support, etc.—is really just an extension of that promise in action.”

Cutting through the mystique and misconceptions surrounding branding, BRAND REAL clarifies the relationship between brand identity (how a brand looks and feels) and brand behavior (what brands do and why it matters). As Vincent argues, strong brands survive because customers have come to associate their identity with desirable outcomes and relevant benefits. Without a connection to concrete value in the customer’s mind, a brand’s identity is pure cosmetics. That’s why so many brands with dazzling identities quickly fizzle out and fade away.

A practical guide for anyone on the inside of a brand, BRAND REAL shows how to make a brand’s promise stand up when and where it matters most—at every customer touch point. Backed by revelations from brain science and market research, and packed with case studies featuring well-known brands—Starbucks, IBM, Disney, Visa, P&G products, and more—as well as brand leaders in business-to-business circles and from the digital frontier, chapters explore:

§ What really makes a brand memorable? How to win the memory game with customers by connecting a brand to a specific category, from culture (think Trader Joe’s) to ingredients (think Toll House Morsels).

§ Why does this (or any) brand matter? How to clearly define a brand’s outstanding benefits, from functionally (a brand, like Skullcandy headphones, that works better) to belonging (with the purchase of a lifestyle brand, like Ralph Lauren), and drive them home to customers.

§ How to think outside the brand without sacrificing the brand’s core bond with customers—in other words, how to create a brand architecture with a solid framework and room for growth (Virgin does it, from music to airlines to banking, by making customers feel like a rock star.)

§ How to better understand the minds of consumers, how to truly cultivate (not manipulate) and live up to the challenges of brand attachment, and why it’s more important to be relevant than to be liked.

§ How to tap the power of a brand’s story and identity (yes, the stuff of names and logos) to communicate and reinforce a brand’s promise to customers, and how to leverage the customer’s brand experience to prioritize a brand’s operating plans.

§ Why making a brand stand for something is a critical internal mission, with advice on how to engage people on the inside—employees and other brand representatives—to develop a real commitment to delivering brand promise to people on the outside.

Throughout, Vincent provides not only expert advice and instructive examples, but also cautionary tales of brand missteps and disasters. Emphasizing a brand’s substance over branding style, BRAND REAL is a unique and valuable strategic business guide to making a powerful, positive impression on customers and then following through to secure their loyalty.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Laurence Vincent has developed strategies for some of the world's most beloved brands, including Disney, MasterCard, Microsoft, the NFL, Sony Playstation, Four Seasons, and vitaminwater. He is head of The Brand Studio at United Talent Agency and lives in Los Angeles. His first book, Legendary Brands was published in 2001 and translated into 7 languages.