Brand Begins at Home

Welcome to Monday Marketing Briefing, where the week begins with a quick jaunt through the marketing world. Stick on the kettle, grab a chair, and enjoy the latest news, insights, and opinions (all of which are my own).

There's no better way to instigate existential dread at the marching of time than the sudden shift in gear following Halloween. Before we'd spent even a single minute in November, the pumpkins were discarded, the leftover sweets thrown out, and all eyes turned to Christmas.

Or at least... that's what it felt like, as a string of companies unleashed their festive marketing efforts upon the world. LinkedIn was even asking the immortal question of 'how soon is too soon?', and I couldn't help but ponder the answer.

Of course, this year's head start is likely one of necessity. As discussed a couple of weeks back, consumer confidence is low and competition is high - meaning companies are clambering over one another to get to the front of their customers' minds.

The challenge is no longer just to stand out, either. With an early start and so much other noise to contend with, Christmas just became even more of a marathon, rather than a sprint; even Santa has trouble staying memorable and relevant until December 25th.

As for me, I haven't even started my shopping yet, but something's telling me I should start making a list...

To the untrained eye, the 'brand' is often seen as something of a marketing fancy; one of those airy, amorphous activities with little tangible value.

Of course, we know the truth: cultivating, nurturing, and implementing the brand are all valid activities that go far beyond the scope of what some painfully refer to as 'colouring in'. The brand is the company's very identity - the cornerstone of its voice and vision - and it deserves the attention it gets.

Such an opinion on the matter is, however, indicative of a recurring issue - namely that the roots of the brand don't stretch far enough into the company itself; it's not reaching employees, who are in turn not nourishing that shared identity.

So what do we do about this? Before we answer that, let's ask ourselves why we care.

• We're guided by the brand. It's the direction in which every employee should be facing, the so-called 'same page' we should all be on. If it's not managed to grab a hold of the company's attention, we get something of an identity crisis, with individuals and departments going rogue, inconsistent visuals and voices, and confused customers.
• Marketing loses support. Without focus and without inspiring everybody, the brand - and, ultimately, Marketing - is less likely to have support from other departments. We'll need that in the future to help facilitate collaboration and results, so don't want to hurt our chances of working together further down the line.
• It makes our lives easier. If your colleagues have invested in the brand, it takes a lot of pressure off you and the rest of your marketing team (if you have one - even more pressure off if you're flying solo). Previously, you might have needed to intervene in every presentation, eyeball every scrap of wording, and chase down unsanctioned logos - all of which takes up a lot of time.
• Authenticity is at stake. Unchecked, this gulf between the brand and the company can lead to glaring holes in the authenticity of the brand. For B2B marketers, this can sabotage authority-building efforts because messaging isn't up-to-date or correct, while B2C marketers can find themselves at odds with the company's ethos - which is easily picked up on by consumers.
• You need cheerleaders. Employees who believe in the brand will speak up on its behalf, evangelising to all and sundry. That's the best kind of press.

In short, it matters. Like a healthy houseplant, we have to encourage the brand to take root in the company itself, connecting with the individuals it represents.

As always, I'll admit to not having all the answers, but I can speak from experience on how to tackle this disconnect. At Surveil, Marketing has implement an initiative we've dubbed 'Sprout'. It's the umbrella for our internal marketing efforts, all designed to empower the brand and get our colleagues invested and interested. Here are some of the ideas that...uh...sprouted from Sprout:

• Internal initiatives. Knowing that Sprout exists, and that the internal audience is being considered, is already a great start and has been well-received. Under Sprout, however, we've launched smaller initiatives. Take, for example, the return of our monthly newsletter to share information across the company, delivered in the de facto tone of voice. Or our brand new Lunch & Learn series, helping to spread ideas and approaches across departments, so we know what position the brand takes.
• Spotlighting individuals. There are always employees who vibe exceptionally well with the tone of voice and overall feel of the brand - and they make for great collaborators (see my Halloween team-up with Stuart Blakemore for example). Spotlighting and supporting these individuals is a great way of improving brand investment, enhancing brand authority, and allowing them to further their own limelight ambitions.
• Sharing branding guidelines. Making guidelines as accessible as possible is a winning idea. We're in the middle of migrating our guidelines from a stuffy PDF into a dynamic SharePoint site page, allowing users to access logos, templates, tone, colours, etc. from one single location. Half the job is giving your colleagues the tools.
• Listen to people. In our roles, we're open to a lot of scrutiny and more than a few ideas we'd rather not hear. But sometimes, there are good ideas and even better feedback which we need to take on board. If we dictate the brand without explanation or a listening ear, we risk alienating entire departments who aren't willing to represent (or be represented by) the brand.
• Leading by example. As marketers, it's up to us to live and breathe the brand every single day. In a way, there's something comforting in being able to refer back to 'the brand' as some sort of all-seeing entity for which we care. By adopting this approach, it's easier for others to do the same - and you'll all be moving in the same direction in no time.

Once you've bridged that divide, it's so much easier to move ahead with confidence as a unified brand; there's a sense of clarity in answering the question 'what would the brand do?' and that makes for a whole host of benefits.

But that, I think, is a story for another time. I could carry on for longer, but I fear your coffee will go cold. So, let's pick up the importance of brand next time. After all, it's a question we get asked a lot...

To be continued...

Sainsbury celebrates as its focus on value and benchmarking against discounters sees them eats into the market share.

It's a sad day for Confused.com as Sam Day - the CMO credited for turning the brand around - is leaving after six years in the role.

The UK government has cracked down on marketing vapes to children (smart move).

Coca Cola are going all out this Christmas, leveraging AI in their Santa-heavy campaign.

Sports Direct are betting on Christmas to boost the brand after something of a perception issue.

What Is It? Glide, a no-code app building platform.

Who Is It For? Ambitions tech-focused marketers looking to make their own app without going through the pain of learning how to code from scratch. Also, any marketer looking to get devilishly clever with how they manage workloads and valuable data.

Why Does It Belong in the Toolbox? Thanks to an easy-to-grasp interface, it's relatively straightforward to get started building an app. Despite there being no coding involved, you'll also pick up some app fundamentals as you go - perfect for those of us who learn better when they get hands-on. There's also a great case for the many different features available on Glide ; you can build an app to suit so many different needs, empowered with a healthy dose of integration. There are even a bunch of templates to call upon if you're after a head start.

Data is at the heart of so much we do these days - and like many of you, I have a few projects in the works that depend on it. So this week will be all about data; we'll be collecting, analysing, and employing the intelligence that'll pave the way for our projects moving forward. Good job I like Excel, isn't it?

Have a great week and thanks for joining me!