Branding – A Symbol of your Identity

One day, your header is yellow; the next day, it’s green. One day, you use the Toastmasters International logo; the next, no logo; the next, the District 4 logo.

And then you wonder when your audience isn’t sure which messages are yours – and which originated elsewhere. You do not have a clear brand, or identity, which represents a consistent message and core values, a brand that is symbolized by a consistent visual image, color or tagline.

What goes into creating a recognizable brand?

• Representative – the brand name or visual should represent the purpose of the product, service and/or organization and establish its positioning relative to competitors. Over time, a brand should come to be synonymous with the value of the organization and its offerings.
• Memorable – your audience, or customers, must be able to easily identify the unique logo (think of Apple Inc.’s logo, either with or without color), tagline (such as Nike’s "Just Do It" slogan, which premiered in 1988), or even tune (such as the Intel signature sound).
• Consistent – the brand should be used in all communications, across all geographies. For example, every beverage company ensures that their brand name and logo translates well internationally, and will never release public information – press releases, advertisement, e-mail, even a social media presence – without their brand clearly identified.

In many industries, such as high tech, companies hold their partners to stringent rules when co-branding messages. Just skimming the surface, consider any computer hardware manufacturer (HP, Lenovo, Dell, etc.), which often include the branding of internal components such as processors (Intel, AMD, etc.) and graphic cards (nVidia, ATI, etc.) their advertisements – and even attach the component logos directly on their desktops and laptops. These component logos are used with the agreement of the component manufacturers, and are governed by detailed contracts that govern the size and placement of these logos.

A brand is different from a theme; a theme is temporary, often associated with a period of time or an event. For example, a conference may have a theme around which presentations and decorations are organized. Within the Toastmasters organization, each International President and each District Governor defines a theme, which changes every year when a new leader is elected. These themes are used for a specific event or term, but the brand of the organization as a whole – as a public speaking entity – does not change.

Who has done it right? Check out the top 100 commercial brands according to Business Week, as well as the top 100 non-profit brands by Cone.

Taking a lesson from the top 100, once you have established your brand, use it consistently, across all media, in all messages, to all audiences – in e-mail, press releases, flyers, business cards, programs, and so on, and so on, and so on…………