As I mentioned in my last post, I am conducting interactive communication Q&A sessions with a number of ANA Annual Conference speakers. Jim Speros, Chief Marketing Officer at Ernst & Young, is my first guest. Please find our conversation below.
1. Jim, your presentation at this year’s ANA Annual Conference: Masters of Marketing is titled “From Brand Equity to Brand Reinvention.” What points can you share from your experience that contribute to building a successful brand?
I believe there are six critical steps to build and manage brands for success.
• You need to understand how your brand fits into the overall architecture of your company. Understanding the brand in the context of the type of company you're in will allow you to drive a brand strategy that's consistent with the way your organization functions.
• Establishing a brand governance system is critical to effectively managing your brand. You must determine what elements of your brand management system should be centralized vs. those that should remain decentralized. Strong centralized systems often look to the CEO to serve as the brand's champion and seek to drive a high level of consistency. Care should be taken, however, not to over manage your brands to the point where there is no flexibility to support local market needs.
• All effective brands have a clear understanding of the elements that comprise their identity including the heart and sole of the brand - its core essence and core identity. These elements must remain consistent globally and add personality. Taken together, these fundamentals form a snapshot of the brand's identity.
• Effective brands synthesize the brand's identity into a compelling positioning that defines the mental map point you want to occupy in the consumer's mind.
• With all of these elements in place, the brand steward must then align all touch points that interact with the consumer and ensure that the promise articulated in the positioning is carried through at every interaction point.
• Finally, a successful brand measures and reports on progress. It's critical that management receive quarterly reports on the overall vitality of the brand.
One final thought, brand reinvention requires fresh thinking that goes beyond process management. You must look to serve your customers in new and innovative ways. When you've figured that one out, you're on your way to be wildly successful!
2. What advice do you have for marketers at other companies who are facing similar challenges – both in revitalizing brands and creating new ones?
I would strongly urge that companies focus on innovation. Too many of us in the business believe that ROI will be our savior. ROI is an after-the-fact measure that has nothing to do with serving customers in new and original ways. You want to be the company that finds the next Starbucks, Apple iPod, Virgin Airways, or Dyson Vacuum Cleaners. You must be bold, take risks, and try things that have never been tried before. When you strike gold, you leave your competitors in the dust.
3. Can you provide us with insight on how you have successfully managed brands in B2B and B2C?
The tools and processes are the same. The most important thing is to insure you really understand what your brand stands for and then relentlessly drive that understanding through all touch points in the marketplace.
4. Based on your experience, what can attendees expect to gain from attending the ANA Annual Conference – and what are you most looking forward to this year.
Attendees can expect to experience some of the best and brightest minds in the business - people who cause us all to rethink how we are doing our jobs. In addition, attendees can expect to freely network and build relationships with people that will be invaluable to them throughout their careers. The ANA Annual Conference is the one conference you can't afford to miss and the place to be to recharge your marketing batteries.
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