How-to guides
Get up to speed quickly with some of the fundamentals of brand management with these concise how-to guides.
At the monthly board meeting, the IT director challenges you to explain exactly what a brand is and why it matters. What is a brand?
You’ve just taken responsibility for the company’s brand. You’ve got a nagging suspicion that it isn’t performing well. You need to check this before someone challenges you about it at the next Board meeting. How to tell if your brand is underperforming.
You’ve identified that your brand is underperforming. You need to develop an action plan to turn it around, fast. What to do if your brand is underperforming.
The Sales Director has asked you to provide a plan showing how you will develop the brand. You’ve been given a week to produce this. How to develop a successful brand in three steps.
Your boss has asked you for an update on the brand strategy, and wants to know whether it has been written and if not, when she can expect to see it. How to write a brand strategy, and what a brand strategy should include.
At the recent team meeting, one of your colleagues has claimed that you don’t need to do a brand strategy because the company has a marketing strategy “and they’re the same thing.” How do you respond? What’s the difference between a brand strategy and a marketing strategy?
The CEO has demanded to know how the brand is performing. What information do you need, and how should you answer this question? How to research a brand’s performance.
You’ve briefed your market research team to deliver some research into your brand. They’ve come back with a proposed approach. How do you know whether their plan will deliver the insights that you need? How to make sure that your market research team is delivering the best research.
You’ve just presented your new brand proposition to the board. It’s a work of genius. The CEO has just asked you how you plan to ensure that your target audience knows about, and understands, this new proposition. How to craft a great brand communications campaign.
A new member of your team has asked what the brand stands for, and what makes it different from the competition. The four ingredients of an unbeatable brand proposition, and how to create one.
The Head of Product Development has just asked you to confirm whether the pack design should show the company’s logo above or below the product logo and description, and for guidance on the policy on the relative importance of the different brands that you’re responsible for. How to choose the correct brand architecture and brand hierarchy for your company.
The previous brand director has retired. He was a nice enough bloke, but had a reputation for being a bit of a plodder. You have just been promoted as his replacement and it has been made clear that you will be expected to make a real difference to the role. How to be the best brand director your company has ever had.
You’ve created a superb brand proposition. Your team want to develop an expensive new advertising campaign to promote it, but you know that there’s no point in promoting the proposition until it is firmly embedded in everything that the customer will experience when they engage with the company and you need to start by identifying, and reviewing, every stage of the customer journey. How to protect your brand with a customer journey audit, and what to do with it.