The document discusses building a strong brand for a business. It defines what a brand is, noting that a brand goes beyond just a logo or name and instead represents the total experience and impressions associated with a company. It outlines the key components of a brand, including touchpoints where the brand interacts with people. It also discusses why companies undertake brand-building initiatives and the benefits of having a strong brand, such as serving as an organizing principle for the company and improving customer relevance and differentiation.
1. Brand Basics: Building Your Business on a
Powerful Promise and Engaging Experience
Part 1:
Understanding
Brand
A Cisco Partner Plus Resource
2. “ Building a brand is…
more intuitive than
analytical, and most
of the time it can’t be
seen. But it can always
be felt.”
– Scott Bedbury, from
"A New Brand World"1
3. 3
This part of the Brand Basics course will prepare you to
develop and strengthen your company’s brand. We will answer
the question “What is a brand?” and discuss the value it can
deliver to a business like yours, illustrated through examples,
including those involving B2B and technology companies. To
get you on your way, we’ve also included tips to rally your
organization around the need for a well-defined brand.
Brand Basics Part 1: Understanding Brand / a Cisco Partner Plus Resource
5. What is a Brand? 5
“Brand” means different things to an emotional level. Customers preferred
different people. Traditionally, brand has to buy products of companies whose
In this section you will
been used as shorthand to describe a reputations they were familiar with—
learn:
company, product or service. Once, a companies that they trusted, knew
• How to define and better brand consisted of nothing more than a and above all, liked.
understand brand logo or even just a name, but with the
dramatic increase in companies and Today, brand is what a business stands
• What the components for. It is the intangible collection of
customer choice that we have seen,
of a brand are impressions, emotions, values, aspirations
brands have evolved to become more
• Why undertake a complex—and central—parts of every and ideas associated with a company. It
brand-building initiative business, whether that business is is supported by very tangible things like
targeted to consumers (B2C) or other people, products and price points. It is
businesses (B2B). not just a logo, tagline, type or advertising
campaign; it is all these things and many
As competition increased, companies more. When all these different factors
began to realize that not only could they come together, they form a brand. It is
connect with customers on a rational that holistic experience that customers,
level—by having cheaper prices for employees and stakeholders have when
quality goods, for example—but also on engaging with a company in any way.
Brand Basics Part 1: Understanding Brand / A Cisco Partner Plus Resource
6. 6
Brand as a Promise
At its simplest, a brand is a promise.
It is a promise made by the firm to its
customers, employees, partners and
everyone else it comes into contact
with that they will have a consistent and
desirable experience, both functionally
and emotionally. If that promise is fulfilled
time and time again, customers will come
to view the brand favorably; if that promise
is broken, they will lose faith in it and be
less likely to buy that company’s products
or services.
Brand is more than
just a name or logo
– the best brands
are indistinguishable
from the customer
experience.
Brand Basics Part 1: Understanding Brand / A Cisco Partner Plus Resource
8. 8
Shared Characteristics of Coca-Cola is the most valuable brand
a Strong Brand in the world according to the 2012
Brands, like the businesses they report on the 100 Best Global Brands
represent, can be strong or weak. from Interbrand, the world’s largest
Understanding the evolving definition brand consultancy. The Coca-Cola
of brand is the first step in building brand is worth more than $77 billion.
a robust brand. But what are the Instantly recognizable and consumed
characteristics of a strong brand? across the globe, Coke die-hards are
Although specific circumstances affect not difficult to come by. Blind taste tests
a large part of that answer, successful that pit Coke against Pepsi, however,
brands share certain similarities: often reveal that even ardent fans base
their opinions less on the physical
• A clearly formulated brand promise product than they think. Coca-Cola is
that is directly connected to business so successful because it has created
strategy more than a drink—it has created an
• Employees who understand the experience based on the promise of
brand and are held to its standards timeless refreshment and enjoyment
in their work that is reaffirmed at every touchpoint.
The famous contour bottle, for example,
• Attention to every touchpoint to was designed to be recognizable even
Coca-Cola extends ensure that each is on-brand and can when shattered.
its brand to every holistically deliver on the brand promise
touchpoint: the Coke
bottle was designed
to be so distinct
that it should be
recognizable even
when broken.
Brand Basics Part 1: Understanding Brand / A Cisco Partner Plus Resource
9. 9
Reasons for Building a Brand or acquisition, may require the alignment
Brands come about organically. Whether of visions and aesthetics. Or quite simply,
you like it or not, your company will the leadership might realize that the
necessarily develop a reputation in the company could gain from a higher profile
marketplace. So why build a brand? and stronger reputation.
Undertaking a conscious brand-building Your brand will develop with or without
initiative allows you to take control of that your conscious involvement. Shaping
process, and guide it along a set path. that process will allow you to access
The question is not whether or not to the tremendous power of brand.
have a brand; it is whether your brand
will align with your strategic vision.
Still most companies wait for an event
to awaken them to the need for a brand. “Authentic brands do not emerge from marketing
There are several triggers that might
spur a company to undertake a branding
cubicles or advertising agencies. They emanate
initiative. Changes in the category, such
as a new entrant with similar offerings,
from everything the company does, from store
may create a need for differentiation. An design and site selection to training, production,
internal restructuring, such as a merger
packaging and merchandise buying.”
– Howard Schultz, from "Pour Your Heart into It: How
Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time"2
Brand Basics Part 1: Understanding Brand / A Cisco Partner Plus Resource
11. The Power of Brand 11
Brands are usually thought of as being the industry and became the preferred
In this section you will integral parts of the B2C marketplace— partner of almost every business. GE
learn: Starbucks, Gillette or Apple may spring spends heavily on advertising to share
to mind—but they are just as important its achievements and forward-looking
• The value of brand in B2B in the B2B space. The B2B marketplace practices. Clearly these highly successful
• How brand serves as a is full of clutter and noise. Customers companies understand the inherent value
guiding principle for an are overwhelmed by undifferentiated of building a strong brand.
organization lists of features and tit-for-tat pricing. A
strong brand identity, then, is all the more Brand has three particularly useful
• How a strong brand functions for a professional services
improves customer important to help your B2B firm stand out
from the crowd. In fact, three primarily company: (1) It can be used as an
relevance and competitive organizing principle, (2) it can make the
differentiation B2B companies made the top 10 in the
Interbrand report on Best Global Brands company more relevant to its customers
of 2012 mentioned on page 8: IBM (#3), and (3) it can help differentiate otherwise
GE (#6) and Intel (#8). IBM established common products from those of its
itself early on as a thought leader in competitors.
Brand Basics Part 1: Understanding Brand / A Cisco Partner Plus Resource
13. 13
Brand as an Organizing Principle UPS recently
Companies are collections of individuals, rebranded itself
each with their own ideas and opinions. with a strong
Aligning all the stakeholders under a emphasis on
set of common values can be a boon logistics. No
for productivity and collaboration. A longer is UPS
company that develops a value-based simply a package delivery service;
identity can also increase employee rather, it aims to serve the business
satisfaction, thereby fostering a positive community as its premier logistics
work environment and reducing turnover. partner, promising seamless supply-
Brand is the ideal concept around which chain services. The brand connects
to rally your organization, because it this value proposition to an emotional
combines your business goals with an idea: UPS “hearts” logistics. In this case,
emotional promise. It’s this emotional the brand refresh served as the principle
component that will make your brand around which to organize the business,
stand out in the minds of your customers— changing the perception and positioning
there is no reason it shouldn’t be relevant of UPS in the B2B community. And the
to and motivating for your employees emotional component made the brand
as well. Companies should endeavor to relatable both to customers and to
create one common understanding of the employees who suddenly had a perfect
brand that is effectively communicated answer to the question, “Why do I show
to all internal audiences, providing an up for work every day?”
organizing principle for the firm.
Brand Basics Part 1: Understanding Brand / A Cisco Partner Plus Resource
14. 14
The Power of Internal Brand Training employees in your brand will Ritz-Carlton
Resonance help them create the right experiences demonstrates the
Many companies still use the traditional for customers and make the right power of internal
top-down management approach, a decisions on the company’s behalf. brand resonance.
remnant of the Industrial Age. However, This is of particular importance in a The brand is based on
this model has less resonance in B2B environment, where face-to-face the idea of “ladies and
today’s knowledge-based economy time involving sales representatives and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen,”
and more firms are learning the benefits corporate teams makes up a large part so it is important that employees understand
of employee engagement. Particularly in of business activity. If your employees the brand inside out in order to reach the
the technology industry, it has become understand the brand well, they will be required level of service. Ritz-Carlton’s
common to hear CEOs or other business able to communicate it effectively in internal engagement has been so thorough
leaders talk about how robust talent pools their work without the need for direct that it provides all employees with a
are their greatest asset. Although talent is supervision or constant instruction stipend they are to use to personally
of the utmost importance in today’s world, from the dreaded “brand police”. make a stay more enjoyable for the
it is most effective when all employees guests of their choice. Not only does this
fundamentally understand what their practice represent an excellent example of
business stands for. empowering employees to bring the brand
to life for customers, it also demonstrates
the level of training and trust the company
has invested in its employees.
Brand Basics Part 1: Understanding Brand / A Cisco Partner Plus Resource
15. 15
The Power of Customer Brand
Relevance
Brand building, when done correctly, For years, Xerox was synonymous with
can also help a company become more the banal act of copying documents.
relevant to its target market. The process But with the expansion of electronic
entails gaining a deeper understanding forms of communication, it saw its B2C
of the people you are selling to, including market shrinking while noticing a growing
their needs and values. Learning what opportunity in the B2B space. With its “Ready for real business” campaign,
customers really care about—both on Xerox repositioned itself as a strategic partner in business services. Its
an emotional and functional level—is key to advertising campaign focused on how Xerox helped well-known firms deal
crafting a brand, because it helps to focus with their specific business problems. By anticipating customer needs, Xerox
your promise and link the business to the was able to make itself relevant to a new market and landed itself a spot on
brand through a shared understanding of the 100 Best Global Brands list.
unmet customer needs. If your customers
feel like their major issues are addressed
and fears alleviated before they have
even articulated them, they will be more
likely to do business with you. Such
an issue is relevant in the technology
services industry where technical faults
are often the primary worry. A company
that addresses particularly important
customer concerns in its brand building
will stand above the rest.
Brand Basics Part 1: Understanding Brand / A Cisco Partner Plus Resource
16. 16
The Power of Competitive Brand
Differentiation
Intel illustrates the power of brand differentiation.
Brands also serve to differentiate The company makes products that few customers in
products in a cluttered space. People the wider public understand; microchips are difficult to
face a barrage of nearly identical products differentiate in the eyes of an unspecialized audience.
in every industry. Consider the toothpaste In fact, few people would be able to say what exactly
aisle of a drugstore; there are rows and makes a computer with “Intel inside” better than its competition. Yet, Intel
rows of brands with virtually the same continues to be upheld as a mark of quality and reliability. Intel managed
range of products. These products, at to transform an unexciting business into a powerful brand by slapping
the very least, have similar rational its logo on millions of computers and making sure it got a place in every
benefits. What causes a customer to advertisement for a product that used its technology. In the “sea of
gravitate towards one brand over the sameness” that is the microchip industry, Intel’s brand catapulted it far
others time and time again? It is the beyond its peers. It has been so successful that most people would be
emotional connection that he or she hard-pressed to even name an Intel competitor.
feels for that brand. In an industry like IT
services, it can be difficult for customers
to differentiate one company from its
competitors on purely rational grounds.
In many cases, in fact, competitors are
selling exactly the same products from
exactly the same partners! Although high
quality, desirable products and services
always serve as the foundation, a strong
brand can be that crucial deciding factor
that encourages customers to choose—or
recommend—you over your competition.
Brand Basics Part 1: Understanding Brand / A Cisco Partner Plus Resource
18. The Business Value of Brand 18
A strong brand is more than just a nice- Consider one of the great examples of
In this section you will to-have; strong brands drive tangible strong branding, Apple. The electronics
learn: business results. Brand influences producer boasted long lines at stores
customers’ willingness to purchase your around the world and months-long
• How brand can move product, the price they are willing to pay waiting lists at the launch of its first
customers through the for it and their likelihood of returning for iPad—a product no one had ever seen
marketing funnel more. The value of brand can also be or used before. Why the hype? Why were
• Why brand loyalty means measured: many consultancies have people willing to spend such a substantial
more revenue evolved practices around deriving the amount of money and effort on obtaining
value of brands through comprehensive, a product they knew so little about?
• That brand can have
fact-based methodologies. Because they believed in the promise of
measurable monetary
Apple’s extraordinarily powerful brand.
value
Brand Basics Part 1: Understanding Brand / A Cisco Partner Plus Resource
19. 19
The Marketing Funnel & The process begins with Awareness,
Brand when potential buyers first encounter
The marketing funnel describes the the company. The next stage is Familiarity.
process a customer goes through At this point, customers have decided they
when purchasing a product. It helps need the product the company offers.
us understand how brand affects They begin shopping various sellers with IBM’s Smarter Planet initiative shows
purchase decisions. no firm intention to buy. The next step, how a strong brand can propel a
Consideration, is when customers decide customer through the marketing funnel.
to buy a product and begin comparing Smarter Planet categorizes IBM’s products
competitors. At this stage, a strong brand and services according to the business
can tilt the scale in one company’s favor. problem or need—not according to what
AWARENESS
In the next step, Purchase, customers they actually do. The same offering might
choose to buy one company’s product even fall under two categories. In many
FAMILIARITY instead of its substitutes, a decision that ways, what IBM offers is not unique;
can be heavily influenced by the brand. myriad companies, for example, offer
After Purchase and if the customer feels supply chain management. But when
CONSIDERATION ADVOCACY that common service is slotted under
that the brand promise has been fulfilled,
the final stage is Loyalty. Not only is the a heading like “Smarter Commerce,”
customer likely to come back for more, it instantly appears more innovative
PURCHASE and novel. A customer is more likely to
but is also more likely to recommend
that company to others. The opposite purchase IBM’s products over those of
also holds true: if customers have a bad its competitors because of how they are
LOYALTY
experience, they can turn from advocates framed. Why would you purchase a supply
to antagonists. chain management product when you
could buy a Smarter Commerce solution?
Brand Basics Part 1: Understanding Brand / A Cisco Partner Plus Resource
20. 20
Driving Preference cases, the product is hardly different—it
Preference can be one of the strongest is the perception of quality or credibility
drivers of sales. Coke outsells Pepsi in that it carries that ultimately brings in
all but a few markets globally despite a the sale. For B2B businesses, this often
general liking for sweeter beverages; means displaying thought leadership.
Gillette is all but synonymous with razors. Many brand experts credit the success
If your brand is strong enough, customers of Accenture’s brand to its extensive
will buy your products even if they are collection of white papers and reports.
economically or technically inferior to their Although your company may not have
competitors. Consider the old adage from Accenture’s vast resources, positioning
decades past, “Nobody ever got fired for yourself as a credible and knowledgeable
A perfectly functional black cap like the one on the
buying IBM”: regardless of the quality of partner could allow a price premium in
right can be had for less than $5. Why will people
the product, IBM was considered a safe the future, at no added cost. pay $20 or more for the one on the left? The answer
company to buy from because of the is simple: brand.
strength of its brand and the credibility
that it afforded.
Allowing a Price Premium
A strong brand also offers a windfall in the
“ A brand is the face of a business strategy.”
premium it allows a company to charge – Scott Galloway, as quoted in "Brand Leadership:
its customers for products. Consider the
Building Assets in an Informational Economy" 3
difference in price between generic and
branded products at a pharmacy. In most
Brand Basics Part 1: Understanding Brand / A Cisco Partner Plus Resource
21. 21
Fostering Loyalty services, and more likely to recommend for the results page of a branding
Above all, there is a tremendous amount you to other potential clients. All of these agency case study. That’s a figure
of value in loyalty. Customers who are effects are multiplied by the prevalence that market analysts and investors
loyal to a particular brand tend to act in of social media, an environment in which pay serious attention to.
ways that are not strictly economically companies and customers can seemingly
make or break a brand’s future in minutes. Professional brand valuation initiatives
rational. Consider walking that extra block can be prohibitively costly or offer a
to your preferred coffee shop despite low ROI for small- and medium-sized
a cheaper substitute available at hand, Brand Valuation
companies. However, there are some
or booking a flight at an inconvenient Beyond the many secondary ways that standardized options that may be
time just to travel on your favorite powerful brands contribute to business available at a lower cost. “DIY”
airline. Loyalty can turn customers into value, today brands can actually contribute methodologies that, while not meeting
advocates, promoting a brand to friends, directly to a company’s balance sheet. the strictest accounting standards, can
family and colleagues without any Brand valuation methodologies are be used to build a case for brand with
monetary compensation. becoming more and more accepted as private investors. We’ll talk more about
a component of business accounting, these in Part 3 of the Brand Basics
Brand loyalty also has value in a B2B and brand equity is increasingly being
setting: once clients become familiar course. What’s important to remember
treated as a business asset. You may is that the savviest businesspeople in
with and begin to appreciate what your have noticed in an earlier example that
company stands for, they are more likely the world view brand not just as a
the Coca-Cola brand is valued today at marketing “nice to have,” but as a
to expand their relationships with you over $77 billion. That’s not just a number
by purchasing additional products or critical company asset.
Brand Basics Part 1: Understanding Brand / A Cisco Partner Plus Resource
23. Considerations for Developing a Brand 23
Leadership Alignment evaluation based on clear objectives and
In this section you will All company leaders must be aligned tangible metrics. Establishing these early
learn: on the need for a brand. They need to on will help turn what may seem like an
agree on what they mean when they opaque and purely qualitative process into
• The importance of one with defined goals against which your
say “brand,” and that brand is valuable
companywide buy-in leadership can measure progress and
and why, both in a general and context-
when undertaking a assign accountability.
specific sense. Educating stakeholders
brand-building initiative
and securing their commitment upfront Guidelines for establishing objectives
• The importance of is critical—if the process is not followed and examples of specific metrics will be
setting measurable through to completion, your brand will explored in the next section. However,
goals develop inconsistently at best, confusing as you consider entering into a branding
• How to get support for all those who interact with the company. initiative, it is a good idea to ask yourself
building a brand in your questions like:
As mentioned earlier, a business is
organization
a collection of individuals; if these • What are the top three business goals
individuals cannot agree on the need we hope to achieve?
for a brand, how will you get them
to agree on what your brand is? A • What metrics might we attach to each
consensus much be reached before of these goals?
the brand building even begins, to set • Do we have the mechanisms in place
the stage for future success. to track our goals? If not, how can we
install them?
Objectives and Measurement • Always remember the old adage, “That
Like any aspect of a business, brand which gets measured, gets done.”
building can and should be subject to
Brand Basics Part 1: Understanding Brand / A Cisco Partner Plus Resource
24. 24
Championing Brand in Your • Be passionate. There is no stronger • Start general and grow specific.
Organization motivation for brand adoption than It is easier for many to understand
Now that you have learned the basics seeing personal belief in a CEO, how brand has proved its worth in
of what a brand is and how it can drive CMO or equivalent. B2C businesses like Coca-Cola or
business results, it may be useful to If you are on your organization’s Nike. Then extrapolate from these
communicate the need for brand building marketing team, here are some tips on examples and bring it closer to home:
to others in your organization. Specific how to explain the value of branding to explain how the same principles would
organizational dynamics play a big role, your leadership: apply in the B2B market and to your
but some general guidelines may be company specifically.
applicable to your situation. • Begin the brand discussion in
the territory of marketing. As an
If you are an organizational leader, here established business practice,
are some tips on how to explain the value
of branding to the rest of the company:
using this tactic will make brand
seem more familiar to leaders. But “ Goods and services are no
• Make the case for differentiation.
remember to take every opportunity
to explain how the benefits of brand
longer enough.”
It is no secret that the IT services
category is cluttered, with little
extend far beyond the borders of – Joe Pine and Jim Gilmore, from
traditional marketing.
difference between competitors. "The Experience Economy: Work
Many in the organization will intuitively • Explain how brand drives business.
Using tools like the marketing funnel, is Theatre & Every Business is a
recognize the value of standing out.
show leaders how brand building Stage"4
• Position brand as a beacon around can drive measurable and quantifiable
which employees can rally. Frame the revenue to your company. Convince
discussion as helping develop your them that an investment in brand is
company’s reason to exist, vision for an investment in their business.
success and values.
Brand Basics Part 1: Understanding Brand / A Cisco Partner Plus Resource
26. Conculsion 26
A strong brand has the ability to catapult Brand is important even in the case
a company from commodity to cultural of B2B and professional services In this section, you learned
icon. Too often, companies consider companies—some might say brand is what a brand is and what
brand to be purely the domain of the especially important for IT services it isn’t, and how strong
marketing department, or are content companies due to the “sea of sameness” brands can drive tangible
to allow their brand to be defined by an that often engulfs the offering. Your brand business results. You also
advertising tagline. The best brands are is a promise you make to your customers picked up a few tips on
developed with the whole organization that differentiates you from the rest. how to kick start your
in mind, and align the company’s rational When you fulfill that promise, you gain branding initiative. In Part
benefits and business model to an a reputation—a reputation as a brand 2: Defining Your Brand,
emotional promise expressed across and as a business that people prefer you will begin thinking
the customer experience. to engage with. Building that reputation about what you want your
consistently and effectively will, over brand to stand for from a
time, translate to business results. strategic standpoint.
Brand Basics Part 1: Understanding Brand / A Cisco Partner Plus Resource
27. Additional Resources 27
Brand on Wikipedia A New Brand World
A basic catalog of information on An insightful and enjoyable book on
brand, its components and prevalent what makes brands great from the
branding strategies. inventor of Nike's "Just Do It" campaign,
Scott Bedbury.
Brandeo
A blog with articles on the business Tomorrow Starts Here
implications of branding and an A site that brings Cisco’s Brand Vision
encyclopedia of branding terms. and Brand Promise to life.
Tom Fishburne Marketoonist Cisco Partner Plus
A visual, entertaining blog with easy-to- Collected information and resources
read entries on fundamental concepts for Cisco Partner Plus partners.
from the world of branding.
Brand Simple
A highly readable, informative book by
Allen Adamson on how creating a strong
brand requires focusing on the basics.
Brand Basics Part 1: Understanding Brand / A Cisco Partner Plus Resource
28. Bibliography 28
1
Bedbury, Scott, and Stephen Fenichell. A New Brand World: 8 Principles for Achieving Brand Leadership
in the 21st Century. New York: Viking, 2002. xvi.
2
Schultz, Howard, and Dori Jones. Yang. Pour Your Heart into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup
at a Time. New York, NY: Hyperion, 1997. 254.
3
Aacker, David A., and Erich Joachimsthaler. Brand Leadership: Building Assets in an Information Economy.
New York: Free, 2000. 33.
4
Pine, II B. Joseph, and James H. Gilmore. The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a
Stage. N.p.: Harvard Business Review, 1999. iv.
Brand Basics Part 1: Understanding Brand / A Cisco Partner Plus Resource
29. Presented by
Publicis Brand Optimization Systems (BOS) Group develops
brand strategies for clients and brings them to life through
brand identity, employee education and experience design.
BOS Group is part of Publicis Worldwide.
Third party company names, trademarks and logos mentioned in this material are the property of their respective owners and their use does not constitute or imply an endorsement, sponsorship,
affiliation, association or approval by the third parties of the material or with Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates (“Cisco”). The information contained in this material are the opinions of Publicis
BOS Group. Cisco disclaims all warranties as to the accuracies, completeness or adequacy of such information and shall have no liability for omission or inadequacies in such information.