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Archive for the ‘Branding’ Category

Lesson 184 The Presidential Address

Posted in Branding, Integrated Marketing, International, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Planning, Public Affairs, Strategic Communication on September 28, 2013| 1 Comment »

A major address by a president or CEO can be a powerful brand clarification tactic if it is followed by a carefully crafted and coordinated strategic communication and integrated marketing plan.

I came to understand the power of the carefully prepared and orchestrated  presidential address over many years of practice, and it caused me to ask whether or not President Obama’s United Nations address this week has the potential to be the foundation of a long-awaited clarified U.S. Foreign policy.

Such a speech standing alone will not accomplish this goal.  But if that speech contains a limited number of differentiating themes that can be lifted and later reinforced over time, the goal of a clarified policy or brand identity can certainly be reached. But it takes coordination, repetition, and the realization that such clarification only happens over time. Later speeches must repeat these themes in different contexts, and related  department and agency heads and staff must do the same thing.  In fact, all official and daily communication should find ways to reference those themes.

I analyzed the printed transcript of Obama’s UN speech this week and came up with  five such differentiating themes, and one overall perspective.  Overall, he asserted that all nations must stop focusing of what they are against, and begin immediately to articulate what they are for. Then within that perspective, I found these themes:

(1) National security. All nations, including the U.S., will act first to protect the security of their citizens. This explains how and why awkward affiliations and partners can occur.

(2) Universal opportunity. The U.S. believes all people are created equal. Therefore, everyone on the planet should have an opportunity to achieve what they are capable of achieving.

(3) Preserving the planet. Circumstances require that all nations must immediately focus on solving food, water, disease, air quality, land use, and energy crises.

(4) End nuclear weapons. The world must quickly accomplish this together. We simply have no choice.

(5) World peace. We must learn to accommodate various forms of democracy, governance, cultures and religion. We are one interconnected planet.

Are these themes complete and differentiating enough to constitute an entire U.S. foreign policy? If we can agree this is feasible, then to make it work a highly experienced chief strategic communication officer will have to be fully engaged in all White House deliberations, and also have the authority and access necessary to  coordinate all foreign policy communication, and communicators.

In addition, the 24/7 news cycle must be fully accommodated so that all daily messages reinforce those themes, and all action decisions are made taking the speed of daily news demands into account. This also means that operations must be made efficient enough to prevent the leaks and uncoordinated messages that have been undermining the president’s credibility.

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Lesson 169 International Branding

Posted in Branding, Integrated Marketing, International, Lessons Learned on June 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Next week the Worldview Conference on Media and Higher Education is taking place in Toronto. I will be on two panels, one of which is interestingly titled, Branding and the Sophistication of the Communication Culture in Universities.

What makes this panel especially compelling to me is that it, along with the entire conference, is truly international and the implication is that brand identity is not only a signficant issue for universities everywhere, but communication initiatives are also becoming much more sophisticated.

My remarks will be built on my lessons learned over years of struggling to define brand for extremely complex academic institutions.  In the process I have come to believe that a powerful institutional brand is composed of the four or five most differentiating characteristics that distinguish it from others. Once they are effectively summarized and condensed into a simple statement, they become the institution’s brand identity. And eventually they come to be collectively symbolized in consistently used elements of design.

These institutional defining brand characteristics tend to be a combination of program strength, type of campus experience, cultural characteristics, commonly held values, and geographical location features. For them to be enduring over time they must be totally anchored in reality. Otherwise they only function temporarily as promotional hype.

It seems to me that brand identity will become even more important to competitive success in a global market than it has been in a domestic one. The more differentiated the brand the more likely an institution will stand out visibly in this new media world. And as student and faculty migration becomes more global, it is only natural to conclude that overall institutional characteristics will govern location choices.

In addition to this acknowledged international importance of institutional brand, this conference is a very strong affirmation of how international our industry is becoming, and how this reality is changing the game for everyone.

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Lesson 163 Brainstorming Publicity Ideas

Posted in Branding, Integrated Marketing, Lessons Learned, Planning, Strategic Communication on May 4, 2013| 1 Comment »

How many times have I been in meetings with small nonprofits listening to volunteers make long lists of ideas for how staff can improve visibility and recognition?

Most of the time I just wanted to tell them that anyone can think up more stuff to do, and more stuff to send out. Doing that is not even helpful. The key is to know exactly the right messages, the right audiences, the best tactics, and a feasible way to evaluate effectiveness… and then to make sure there are enough people available to do the work, and an adequate budget.

This is not rocket science. For marketing and communication professionals, it’s difficult to comprehend why people in general don’t understand all this. Too many people think more is better, and they really have no idea what professional public relations practitioners actually know and do.

Simply put, it’s never a matter of making lists of things for the current staff to do, and then making assumptions that they never thought of these things! Trust me, they have. Rather, it’s a matter of going through a systematic planning exercise to determine what not to do, as much as knowing what to do. Sending out more stuff only contributes to an already saturated environment, even when your organization has adequate staff and expertise.

First, you need to identify a set of message points that differentiate the organization from other similar ones. Collectively, these points define brand identity. Then, a few manageable priority markets must be identified, along with the media that each of them prefers. A simple survey mechanism also must be identified to assess market needs, as well as communication effectiveness. And finally, any added work needs to match the size and talent of available staff. Volunteers and interns are helpful, but not reliable over time.

It is very important to remember that more is never automatically better in communication. Less communication, well done and focused, can move organizations ahead. Small organizations must settle for baby steps. But regular and persistent baby steps do lead to  growth and recognition. It’s smart planning, rather than just more activity, that produces results.

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Lesson 160 Editorial Priorities Committees

Posted in Branding, Integrated Marketing, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on April 13, 2013| Leave a Comment »

We have been discussing the role of group process in strategic communication and integrated marketing. Last week’s post described the use of brand clarification groups.  This process not only produces more precise mission, values and vision statements, it also produces lists of competitive advantage characteristics which can then be prioritized into powerful branding themes. The challenge now is to communicate this clarified brand identity to every individual in every constituent group in today’s extremely complex media environment.

My first suggestion here is to have these statements and themes on a single sheet of paper on the desk of everyone on the communication staff.  In this way whenever they are preparing official statements or editing official materials they can make sure they are including consistent brand identity reinforcing messages and stories wherever possible.

My second suggestion is to form an ‘editorial priorities committee” that uses this “branding sheet” as a guide to brainstorm a list of compelling institutional stories that will reinforce these statements and themes. This committee can have both inside and outside the institution membership so that all constituent perspectives are represented. It can then meet periodically to review and refine a master story list. Repeating key reputation defining stores creatively using a current “news hook,” or a new angle, rarely gets old with audiences that have a natural interest, or even potential interest, in a particular organization.

All corporate magazine editors deal with the issue of whether or not institutional “information” publications exist primarily to report the organization’s news, or to focus primarily on promoting positive achievements and distinctions. My experience suggests that the most popular institutional publications achieve readership credibility only by doing both. They report the news, including all sides of controversies… and they rigorously reinforce brand identity.

We live in a world of information clutter. Imaginative repetition is precisely what is needed to cut through that clutter and establish sustained brand clarity and reputation. And this clarity is precisely what is needed to achieve long-term institutional goals.

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Lesson 159 Brand Clarification Groups

Posted in Branding, Integrated Marketing, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on April 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »

This post continues a series about the role of group process in planning and managing a strategic communication program. What differentiates strategic communication from traditional public relations and advertising is bringing the subject matters of organizational behavior, integrated marketing, and group dynamics into the field.  And group dynamics tools are key to clarifying competitive advantage, brand identity, and to mobilizing  and motivating people to go out and tell the institution’s story.

The most successful brand clarification projects begin by forming small brainstorming groups within each constituent category. For example, university executives might commission several small homogenous groups of students, faculty, administrators, alumni, donors, community leaders, and parents simply to come together to list those features that make the institution special or unique.  Experience teaches that they will list prominent fields of study, outstanding student opportunities, unique experiences or traditions, internal culture characteristics, commonly held and articulated values, campus landscape features,  colors, textures, and even geographic location differentiators. Brainstorming will produce a long list. The next task, then, is to put them in priority order, and finally to identify the top 4 or 5. Most of the time these groups will produce very similar lists.  It may surprise you how often collegiate as well as other institutional experiences turn out to be very similar.

These priority ordered lists should then be given to a smaller representative committee to review. These people should merge them into a final list of 4 or 5.  A good writer, should now be able to write mission, vision and values statements based on them. These statements, along with the branding points list, can now be officially approved by the institution’s executive committee and board of trustees. They then become the foundation guidelines for all official institutional communication.

This is a widespread institutional listening exercise. Everyone who participates always enjoys it.  It takes time, but the buy-in is critically important. People love to talk about the experiences they had in college, or with any institution where they have been involved. Everyone can end on the same page, and are now in agreement with respect to what makes the place so special.

The final outcome of this project will be accurate positioning statements and brand characteristics that volunteer and professional leaders helped produce together. And the resulting consistent messaging is what eventually will cut though today’s mind-numbing media clutter, and clarify the institution’s distinctive competitive advantage in the marketplace.

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Lesson 158 Using Action Teams

Posted in Branding, Integrated Marketing, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on March 29, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Last week I discussed the use of task forces in integrated marketing. They are a key part of bringing marketing, organizational behavior and group dynamics into what many people think of as the public relations and advertising field. Action teams are also extremely powerful tools in creating the perception that an institution is stepping out and claiming new prominence as a leader in the world.

Action teams are useful in solving specific problems or in launching new initiatives, especially those with the potential of attracting widespread attention. A university might need to recover from an unfortunate institutional crisis, or is ready to unveil the results of a bold new strategic plan.  In either case, bringing the best thinking and most creative talent in the institution together to address the situation can be very powerful.

An effective action team is made up of the best talent in the institution no matter where they are located. They might be in central administration, or in fine arts, or even in athletics marketing. They can come from anywhere. The key is talent and creative thinking. First of all, it is helpful to have a person on board who knows the current research findings and can design a simple survey if needed.  You will also need an experienced strategic thinker and planner, a writer who can write concise copy after listening to planning discussions, a designer who can produce art that symbolizes ideas they helped develop, and a project manager who can put it all together into a plan of action.

You will also need to be able to pull these highly talented people off the job into a truly integrated and ongoing process. This most often will require the authority and support of the president.  Most action teams will not take up all of its member’s time, but they will need to be able to make this project their top priority for however long it takes.

I have found that well structured and facilitated action teams can be the most powerful tool in the integrated marketing toolbox. So the more you know about how to create them, and the more experience you can get in managing them, the more success you will have in putting your institution on the map.

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Lesson 157 Using Task Forces

Posted in Branding, Integrated Marketing, Lessons Learned, Strategic Communication on March 23, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Following last week’s post, one of my readers said: “Tell me more about how task forces work in integrated marketing. I think most readers least understand the group process aspect of integration, and yet you suggest that it is a critical component.”

I have described the way I view the strategic communication subject matter as bringing the substance of marketing, organizational behavior, and group dynamics into what many still call the public relations and advertising field. And in doing this, the additional skill of group facilitation becomes a key part of professional practice. Where many managers are too impatient to use group process in decision-making, I assert that significant organizational transformation and advancement becomes possible though informed, empowered, and inspired groups.

Institution-wide task forces have the potential to get a critical mass of informed people on the same page with respect to  competitive advantage.  I have found this to be the case even in very large institutions. And when “inside” people are telling the same story on the outside, their “word-of-mouth” impact can be extremely powerful.  Today such messages find their way into social media, and when they go “viral” they become what we call the “buzz.”

An effective task force is made up of representatives from the major program areas inside the institution. These should be people who have some instinct for, and/or interest in, marketing communication, not necessarily the administrative heads. The primary agenda topics should be (1) the identification of the institution’s brand identity, (2) the clarification of how each program’s distinct sub-brand identity connects with the overall brand, (3) keeping each other informed about what the others are doing, and (4) helping each other solve problems and address issues.

Getting people on the same page with respect to competitive advantage requires facilitated group process. Therefore, it is a significant aspect of “integration” in today’s integrated marketing and communication practice.

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Lesson 140 Higher Education and the Internet

Posted in Branding, Lessons Learned, Media Literacy, Strategic Communication on November 23, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Writing in the Boston Globe, Joseph E. Aoun, President of Northeastern University, recently asserted that massive open online courses, referred to as MOOCs, could mean “the end of higher education as we know it.” Start-up companies such as Coursera and Udacity are aggregating courses from various universities and offering them online. Some of the top universities in the U.S. are contributing courses. Anyone can enroll. Most courses are free. Millions have already signed up.

MOOCs promise greater access to large numbers of people, many of whom have no other way to enroll in college. The best professors and the most sophisticated technology can be featured, and so the American Council on Education (ACE) is investigating the feasibility of offering credit. For many pioneering universities it can also be a brilliant international marketing initiative. Offering these courses tells the world that no matter where you are you can have access to the most prestigious institutions in the world, and you can have it for free!  In an industry that is rapidly becoming global this kind of visibility and recognition is priceless worldwide brand reinforcement.

Some see these new organizations, or aggregators, eventually becoming degree granting organizations. They also view this development as primarily opening up various types of credentialing, from degrees to certificates, not just to aggregators, but to associations and governments as well. But others still persist in thinking that these courses will merely function as easy entry points into more traditional institutions. These people continue to believe that a complete education requires a signficant amount of actual face-to-face interaction. But whatever the result, MOOCs are likely to be significant game-changers for traditional universities.

Up to now on-line education has had somewhat of a different focus. Both for-profit companies and universities have been developing online degrees and certificates, but mostly for adults and nontraditional students, and mostly part-time.  This market has been largely driven by the need for convenience. For many people work and family obligations make enrolling in traditional residential or commuter institutions very difficult. 

But a large drop-out rate has been seen in almost all on-line programs. Analysts cite the lack of social and face-to-face interaction as one big reason. So digital specialists are working on innovative ways of addressing this problem online. But the lack of  real life interaction is partly why my university has gone ahead and made a big investment in the belief that there will always be a significant market for a collegiate, residential, total university experience.  Online at TCU will function mostly as a supplement. Digital media will certainly change the way professors teach. It will enhance the efficiency and quality of many subjects. And it will bring in experts and experiences from all parts the world, and keep students and faculty interconnected no matter where they travel.

Google searches alone have already transformed research, student preparation, and even term paper writing. We are indeed in the early stages of a dramatic sea change in all of education. President’s Aoun’s suggestion that all this in the end will “change higher education as we know it” is no doubt accurate. Not only is this industry rapidly becoming global, but new media will also continue to change every aspect of the game. 

In the final analysis, media technology will bring many more revolutionary improvements to education than we can envision. And it’s indeed exciting to imagine all the possibilities. But, also experiencing the world of discovery face-to-face with inspired  teachers and committed fellow students will always be at the heart of a truly meaningful education for many of us. To know people only online is not to really know them at all. That special connection between teacher and student is what makes the real difference. And that’s what you remember for a lifetime.

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Lesson 117 Integrated Advancement

Posted in Branding, Integrated Marketing, Lessons Learned on June 17, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I got into a discussion with colleagues this week about the meaning of the word “integration” as it applies to all areas of university advancement. I explained my approach to the topic this way:

Integrated marketing is simultaneously considering product, pricing, program delivery, and communication so that communication can be effective.  It’s impossible to communicate a wrong product, or a product that is priced poorly and delivered inefficiently.

In fact, brand identify is often the primary product of an academic institution. It is what constituents are actually “buying.” And so integrated group processes become essential to clarify a differentiated brand identity and to stimulate essential word-of-mouth communication.

Integrated communication is using multi-platform media tactics simultaneously to converge intensively enough to cut through today’s media clutter. Effectiveness comes from using only the preferred media tactics of each market segment and age group.

Integrated planning usually results in using both “old” and new media, as print often still serves as the tangible “hold-in-your-hand” symbol of an institution or program while electronic tactics facilitate information searching  and two-way relationship building.  I think of integrated communication as “orchestrated” communication.

Integrated advancement then is the bringing together of all this with alumni relations, fund-raising, government relations, and student recruiting.  A task force composed of representatives of these areas can be used to make certain that the institution’s mission, vision, values, and how they come together in branding themes, are commonly understood.

Confusion and breakdown can also be avoided by implementing integrated advancement. For example, in both alumni relations and development there are tendencies to want a brand and logo for every event and program.  Campaign directors also often think a separate theme and logo are needed for fund-raising to be successful.  Yet, if everything an institution does is really to advance the overall brand, why would any of these activities need a separate identity?  Does this not work contrary to the cause?  Imaginative ways to enhance overall brand intensity can be found through integrated planning.

Ideas about how knowledge in one area can strengthen another are also uncovered through integrated planning. For example, how does what development officers know about building relationships with donors help people in communication with their news media constituents.  When the role of each is better understood by the other new ideas emerge that strengthen the whole.

Alumni relations professionals are beginning to expand their programs so as to function as a “portal” through which all alumni can access the total university for their lifetime.  Development operations are also looking to other advancement areas for help in addressing concerns about donor fatigue and loyalty. And marketing and communication practitioners are devising media platforms and strategies to help upgrade the effectiveness of the other advancement areas.

Integrated advancement therefore is simply using group processes and coordinated communication tactics to speak with one voice.  This results in a differentiated, competitive and effective brand identity. And it’s a compelling brand  identity that enables an institution to achieve its primary goal of academic distinction.

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Lesson 114 IMC is for All Organizations

Posted in Branding, Integrated Marketing, Lessons Learned, Planning on May 25, 2012| Leave a Comment »

My primary contribution to higher education and the nonprofit world has been to adapt core concepts of integrated marketing to be used as planning tools to strengthen the effectiveness of strategic communicators.  And so I frequently get asked: “Do these ideas apply to just any organization, including businesses?”  And my answer clearly is always, “Yes.”

But as a matter of clarity let me first point out that I still find people defining marketing as selling. It is not. To understand my formula you must see marketing as a way of thinking. And I also find people in the field defining the term “integrated marketing” differently than do I. So there seems to be no uniform definition. 

What follows, then, is my hard “lessons learned” fundamental formula, the core concepts that I think define IMC as a way of thinking. And the formula applies to all organizations, sometimes with transformational results:

1. The very first principle of IMC: Simultaneously consider product, price, distribution methods, and communication tactics, as a fundamental way of thinking about communication strategy. A weak product that is priced and/or distributed poorly cannot be communicated effectively. This  is equally true in the nonprofit, commercial, and public service sectors.

2. Treat the corporate brand as your most important product.  Brand attraction is what establishes trust and builds confidence  in the integrity of your entire enterprise.  It incorporates assumptions about core values and reliability.

3. Also concentrate on sub-brand clarification for the key product/program and service divisions of the organization. Sub-brands should position divisions appropriately to their function, but also advance the overall brand identity.  This requires a relentless passion about carefully crafted and compelling words, as well as creative and consistent design.

4. An essential ingredient is a firm belief in the power of group dynamics. Only “bad” meetings are a waste of time.  Task forces and small groups should be used to mobilize the troops, getting key people on the same page inspired to help tell the story inside and out.  Action teams composed of the best available writers, designers, and strategic thinkers should  be used to implement key reputation defining initiatives.

5. Select multi-platform media tactics based on individual audience and target market preferences.  Then launch these tactics simultaneously to converge intensively on each target.   This is the only way to break through the confusing information clutter of today’s digital media world.

6. Always prefer interactive media. Feedback and response over time is the only way to achieve any level of understanding. Comprehensive surveys can mislead.  But today’s interactive communication is a form of market research that keeps everyone current about what works and what doesn’t.

In the final analysis, integrated marketing brings a broader way of thinking and planning to the profession of strategic communication. Simply put, incorporating this “value-added” subject matter better qualifies strategic communication professionals to function more impressively as a member of the top executive team.

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