10 Principles of Brand Strength...(Part One)

Today, due to the downturn in the economy and the ensuing reset in customer priorities, corporations need to be more aware than ever before of the many underlying forces that impact a brand’s ongoing strength. Business is changing, but the principles of strong brands still hold true. We, Mass Inspire, strive to make sure that knowledge is availed, thus make you know why we value you as customer and what we strive to deliver. What you say, is what we do. 

We want your customers to say WELL DONE to you, and you to us.

1 COMMITMENT

A measure of an organization’s internal commitment to, or belief in its brand.

Commitment is the extent to which the brand receives support in terms of time, influence and investment.

It is of no importance to have a brand, if the employees do not believe in it, eventually lacking commitment to it. An air of pride should surround the bride, not arrogance. It should always be cultured deep within the organization that it is simply a way of life.

2 PROTECTION

This component examines how secure a brand is across a number of dimensions – from legal protection and proprietary ingredients to design, scale or geographic spread.

Whether it is Coca-Cola’s patent on its exact formula or IBM’s strategic acquisitions, protection is a vital brand component.

It is important to ensure that your brand, is a representation of your organization; Yours, and Yours alone. Yes, you cannot share your brand or have people impersonating it; the repercussions could cost you all the input you have invested in the firm.

Patent your brand.

3 CLARITY

The brand’s values, positioning and proposition must be clearly articulated and shared across the organization, along with a clear view of its target audiences, customer insights and drivers.

It is vital that those within the organization to know and understand all of these elements, because everything that follows, hinges on them.

At heart, clarity measures the degree to which the brand and its owner are truly dedicated to understanding and defining their customer. From this stems a clear view of what the brand can offer to address an identified customer need. Without clarity, a brand lacks insight – the most precious of commodities, particularly in a recessionary climate. Indeed, as Harvard Business School suggests, instead of cutting research budgets in a recession, “you need to know more than ever how consumers are redefining value.”

So clarity, as we view it, is about audiences as well as what your brand can offer.

4 RESPONSIVENESS

This component looks at a brand’s ability to adapt to market changes, challenges and opportunities. The brand should have a desire and ability to constantly evolve and renew itself. *Brand refreshing, remember?* 

In 2010, many brands demonstrated responsiveness by adapting to customers’ increased desire for sustainable products, as a result of the two year recession.

While the trend has been apparent in virtually every sector, it has been especially evident in the automotive category, where the growing concern among customers regarding fuel efficiency and greenhouse emissions, as well as demand for hybrids, has kept brands on their toes.

Another challenge has come in the need to respond to consumers by harnessing the latest technology. This is evident in the growth of smartphones – especially Apple and BlackBerry, with Nokia seemingly in retreat. Not to be forgotten is the latest innovation from Apple: the iPad.

Yet another challenge is the need to address competition, or perhaps to gain domination over the opposition.You simply cannot sit back, and watch your competitors make juice from the fruits you have borne.

5 AUTHENTICITY

This component is about how soundly a brand is based on an internal capability. Authenticity asks if a brand has a defined heritage and a well-grounded value set, as well as if it can deliver against customers’ expectations.

Customers’ desire for authenticity has always been essential. Customers, more reluctant to spend, want to trust the brands they purchase from – and a large part of how brands elicit this trust is through authenticity and a strong heritage.

At Mass Inspire, we aspire to ensure that we give you a brand that simply breathes an aura of freshness to your organization. These are codes that we choose to live by.As always, we always aim to make you say, 'WELL DONE"!!