How to turn brand blockers into brand backers
New and updated brands are typically met with criticism, not kudos. As marketers, a brand launch can be terrifying. We wrestle over every detail, research, test, and stand in front of our work proud and vulnerable. We often expect the artists and creative-types to “get it”. They may come back to you with questions about your process, but their curiosity is that of a peer. With others, it seems the first instinct people have is to express their gut reaction about the way it sounds and the way it looks. Often those responses seems very personal and taste-driven. And often, the feedback and questions are centered on what they don’t like or understand. Why is that? Because people like what they create and what they understand.
It’s like naming a baby (we use that analogy a lot). People love it or they don’t. Because of this, expecting parents sometimes keep the name a secret until the child is born, avoiding any criticisms and opinions or having to explain their decision. Brands are just like that. People react. And the loudest reactions are often the most critical. But there’s a silver lining here! They’re passionate.
So, going back to the point about people liking what they create and liking what they understand. Before your brand is ever introduced, you can solve those problems. Through involvement, you can turn your brand blockers into brand backers! Here are a few tips to consider.
Before you ever begin, you could think about the loudest and most listened-to voices in your organization. Is there a way to involve them in your brand VOC, development, a focus group, in the brand launch itself, or as part of an ambassador program at roll-out?
Have a detailed brand launch project plan
Also, make sure the plan doesn’t end when the logo and color palette are complete. Well before your new brand is ready, you should have a communication and launch plan prepared. Ask yourself who needs to know, what they need to know, and why it matters to them. Because the first thing they may ask you is, “What do I need to do?” because at work, new information is often met with “how does this affect me?”
- Identify your audiences
- The closer to the center, the sooner they should be involved
- Identify the key messages and what you need from each group
- Plan communications & engagement tactics accordingly
It takes a village to build and launch a brand
New brands and rebrands are a lot of work that spans multiple months. Your stakeholders will not be involved in every decision. As such, it’s important to keep in mind that they’ll be missing a lot of context on choices, but at the same time, they don’t need to become branding experts themselves. So, skip the IQ of it all and focus on the EQ. What are the messages and things you’ll do to help your stakeholders start to form a bond with your brand?
There are tons of ways to involve people. Here are a few that we’ve seen work very well.
Pre-Planning
- Focus groups
- Employee VOC
- Identifying external VOC
- Advocacy and sponsorship (establishing a Brand Council or attaining executive sponsorship for the project)
Brand Development
- Project check-point feedback
- Voting (on short-listed items)
- Naming colors, fonts, or bespoke graphic elements
Brand Roll-out
- Brand ambassador programs (training of new and existing employees)
- Site launch parties (hosts, SMEs for questions & answers)
- Facilities updates (feet on the ground ensuing brand updates are applied)
- Branded merchandise
- Gamification
- Create a moment – a launch event
It’s always time to promote your brand
When the brand launch is done, your job isn’t. Just like promoting a new product, it takes time for people to know it, consider it, appreciate and value it. So, make sure there is a constant drumbeat of material telling all the stakeholders about it. You could:
- Keep up with reminders. Post about who you are, what you stand for, and what makes your brand unique.
- Start new traditions with the brand at the heart. These could be onboarding programs, training and development, award programs, or a new holiday – the brandiversary!
But as we said at the start, like a relationship, your stakeholder attitudes and affinity with your brand evolve over time. So be sure that you are shaping what you hope that brand relationship will be.
For more on branding…
If you’re as passionate about branding as we are, keep reading! We offer tons of material about branding. Here are a few fundamentals. And please reach out if you’d like to talk about your brand, your hopes and visions for it, and we’d be delighted to help you bring those hopes to life!