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8 Steps To Help Brand Stakeholders Find Their Creative Way

8 minute read. This article can be helpful for brand managers, marketing executives, branders, small to medium sized business owners, heads of in-house creative departments, and anyone in the early stages of a product/service/brand launch, or a rebrand.

After years of “Do you do logos?” and “How much for a rebrand?,” I also get a lot of requests from clients for my feedback on agency proposals and presentations. After 25 years in the industry, I have discovered big opportunities for small to medium sized brands to save time, money, and manage expectations as they embark on a new design, new product launch, a rebrand, etc.?

Whether you have the budget to hire a reputable agency or not, these 8 tips can help to foster alignment and clarity between internal and external stakeholders. The tips can also help increase your confidence and conviction as you approach your agency partners, and help to manage everyone's expectations before getting too deep into a timely and costly process.??

STEP ONE — PACK YOUR BAGS

Years ago, I named our brand audit process the Brand Dig and conducted numerous audits over the years to help companies align on creative strategy and direction. The first step is to create your Brand Dig team, which starts by identifying the Expedition Leader and recruiting your team of explorers. Depending on the size of the organization, the team should be between 5 to 13 explorers. Be careful, the more explorers you have, the more opinions you’ll get. The Expedition Leader can be your Creative Director, VP of Marketing, Director of Marketing, or the founder(s). The explorers should be comprised of key stakeholders, director, executives, seasoned managers, and sometimes it helps to recruit new team members for a fresh perspective.

STEP TWO — YOU SAID WHAT?

Now that the Brand Dig team is assembled, start the journey by having each explorer, anonymously, finish this sentence:?

We are the __________ company, best known for __________.?

This exercise will yield more conversations and debates than you’d expect. Warning, this meeting may fuel some tension points, but that’s exactly what you need. It’s this tension that creates eventual alignment. Making sure that everyone on the team is aligned with what the company is and does, is a litmus test to gauge the fundamental alignment of the company's purpose and mission.

STEP THREE — WHY ARE WE HERE?

This one may seem obvious but I'm surprised how many companies don’t have a mission statement. And if they do, it's either too complicated or unfamiliar to most employees. See how many employees know your mission statement (you may be surprised). I’ve witnessed one statement in particular that clearly inspired, motivated, and aligned all team members to show up and live up to the mission. A clear and simple mission statement can be the barometer of relevance for all of your projects and initiatives.?My advice is to keep it conversational, relatable, human, and one that every employee can recite with pride.

STEP FOUR — WHO DO YOU WORK FOR?

“Men and women between the ages of 18 and 65” is NOT your target consumer group. Who is your primary audience? Who is the one individual that this product or service is absolutely perfect for? Is it a 42-year-old woman who is the director of sales of a software company, who enjoys surfing, eating out, yoga, going to NBA games, has 2 kids, 1 dog, who loves camping but lives in a high-rise condo downtown? Get to know your ideal customer. It’s not about neglecting the others, it’s about knowing who you are and how to be your most authentic self with your most loyal customers. We all know you can't be everything to everyone, so be the best YOU for the best THEM, and the others will follow.

STEP FIVE — DON’T BE A COPYCAT!

List all of your competitors, identify the top five most significant ones and study how they look, how they sound, how they talk, how they say it, what they say, why they say it, and DO NOT COPY THEM. I know it’s counterintuitive to not borrow or be inspired by the market leader but it erodes your own identity and it only makes you look like “the other.” To steal market share from the leader(s), you need to show customers that you offer something different and special. You need to show them the reason why they should look at you. This is where one could write that you need to be disruptive, but I would never stoop so low as to repeat such a common trope. Bottom line, to stand out you must find your own authentic and unique voice.?

I once had a client who was an industry innovator and the market leader for many years. Naturally, copycats came along to steal market share and eventually, the leader became a follower. The marketing executive at that time (and there were many that came and went) requested that my team copy a strategy that the current leader was employing. The leader had a completely different brand story, and while they both offered the same products and services, this strategy only reinforced why the current leader was, the current leader.

Brand identities and personas should evolve with the times, meet changing needs, adapt to new market conditions, but they should never lose sight of who they are. Once you start copying others, you lose the very thing that made you a beloved brand to begin with. If you’re a new brand, study the leaders but unleash a persona and an identity that is relevant with your audience and uniquely yours. And don’t forget, “people don't know what they want until you show it to them.” (S. Jobs)

STEP SIX — MAKE THE LOGO BIGGER!

In every Brand Dig that I have led, this was the pièce de résistance. If you only do one of these steps, this is the one you want to do. Using your presentation program of choice, create 5 to 7 slides that each feature a distinctive art, style, mood, design, type, colors, and images that your team deems most relevant and authentic to your brand personality, voice, look, tone, and identity.?

Each slide can feature just a few images, enough to articulate the general mood, tone, look, attitude, feel, etc. If you’re launching a new beer, have 5-7 slides each one featuring a beer can design, a six-pack, an artful image, and some colors. If you’re launching a new restaurant concept, each slide can feature one interior decor image, one exterior, one logo and one menu. Keep it simple. This exercise alone will create volumes of insights and discussions. Once the slides are completed, assemble the team to review and discuss. Copy the images that the team deems most relevant to your brand and place them on one slide. This will be a very worthwhile presentation to share with your agency and creative partners.?

In the hands of a seasoned creative Sherpa, your final slide may reveal a lot about your team. Sometimes, it helps to discover exactly what you should NOT do. It may actually reveal that you need to do the exact opposite. You may conclude that you need the "Modern Craft Look" when in reality you need the "Mid-Century Modern look." This could be its own article, but the gist of it is that sometimes we’re just too close to it, and we may need someone to help us get lost and be uncomfortable.?

STEP SEVEN — TOM HANKS

One of the more popular questions from our Brand Dig was, “If your brand were a celebrity or any public figure, who would it be and why?” The two most popular answers were Tom Hanks and Robert Downey Jr. Tom Hanks because it’s rare to find someone who says, “I just hate Tom Hanks.” Everyone loves Tom Hanks and what brand doesn’t want to be loved by everyone? Robert Downey Jr. because he was once on top, got knocked down, only to get back on top again. Brands strive to be resilient through the good and the bad times. COVID is a true test of brand resiliency.?

Ask the Brand Dig team this question, anonymously, and see what discussions arise from this fun little question. It will tell you a lot about your team members and their perception of the company culture, and of your products and services. See how many answer Tom Hanks. ;-)?

STEP EIGHT — WHERE WE GOIN’?

Most brands do this but if you don’t, you should. Simply ask the team, “Where do we see the business in 10 years?” It’s always good to know where you’re going, so you know what to pack.

So before you ask an agency if you should make the logo bigger and go with that tagline, go on a Brand Dig. It's good to be uncomfortable, to get lost, so we can discover what we didn't know that we needed to know. Worst case scenario, you have an unpleasant trip, no one gets along, and you have to turn the bus around. I guarantee you’ll learn something about your team, your culture, and you'll have some good stories to share.??

Depending on your bandwidth and team dynamics, it can sometimes be helpful to get outside help from a creative consultant. If you need a seasoned guide, send your smoke signals to [email protected].?

Wishing you all happy and safe travels.?

Frederic Terral, Explorer