Any lifeguard worth their weight in seashells knows the value of CPR. The technique revives victims from near death; thus, granting them a second opportunity at life. By now you must be wondering what any of this has to do with brand strategy. Surprisingly, everything! Restructuring one’s brand is a great deal like going for a light swim in the ocean. The great vastness of those intrepid waters represents the corporate marketing realm. The strong swimmers may prove capable of handling the harsh, changing tide, but it is the struggling swimmers that deserve our attention. They venture out into a vast ocean without the proper skills or resources necessary to ensure that they can bear those tumultuous currents. Naturally, when one does not understand the fundamentals of swimming, the risk of drowning looms inevitable. The same idea proves true for the small or growing businesses that think they can tread water with the big boys of the corporate marketing world. Some businesses may successfully accomplish this feat, but most are not so lucky.
That is where branding agencies come in. They not only throw swimmers a life preserver, they give them a vital lesson in CPR, or Corporate Position Restructuring. They give your brand that surge of life that better enables you to get back into the water and swim with the best of them. But having the right tools at one’s disposal will only go so far unless they are properly utilized. CPR gets a swimmer’s heart beating again, but it does no good if the swimmer refuses to heed the warning of the lifeguard and jump right back in the water without better understanding of how to swim in that sort of environment. Likewise, an organization cannot simply retool their brand identity and unveil it to the world without a genuine belief in the new direction it attempts to blaze forth. The directions must be understood and felt within every level of the organization.
As a brand becomes restructured, the first subject to define is one’s brand identity. Corporations should consider this lesson in CPR as an extension of that definition process. In May, we discussed the importance of “building blocks” toward achieving a full realization of brand identity. This realization included the creation of values for which your brand stands. More importantly, however, is the practice of those values. Simply saying that your company supports green initiatives is not enough. Your employees and your partners hear your company say that, but what proof is there that you believe it?
Take cues from companies like Toyota who announced earlier this week the establishment of the Green Awards to “encourage, acknowledge, and award the Champions of Earth for environmental leadership.” If you are a small business manager, starting your own rewards program might prove too far out of reach. Instead, participation in simple outreach programs and community initiatives work just as well. SCS Realty in New Jersey recently underwent a rebranding process and vowed to “go green” as part of its new corporate partnership with Real Living. To prove it, they recycled all of their old logos, papers, and office equipment to demonstrate their commitment to this initiative. Smaller businesses that lack the vast resources of corporate giants should consider this strategy in the future. It successfully places your brand in public’s direct gaze and allows the consumer to see that your organization truly believes in the values it claims to promote. The last thing you want to do is jump back into the water over and over again, especially in these fiscally hard times, only to need saving every time like a damsel in distress. Clearly define your new brand positioning. Believing in your brand direction is great, but LIVING your brand speaks volumes to your partners.
