Start-Up Marketing School: Class 2- Developing a Brand and Positioning It to Stand Apart from the Crowd
Creating a longstanding and successful brand takes more than a good name and a logo. This session will include two talks on how to clarify the vision of what your business can be and the process of creating the story that surrounds it. (keywords: messaging, value proposition, publicity)
Intro: Legal Protections for You and Your Brand
Talk 1: Creating a great brand strategy
Michael Duda – Managing Partner, Consigliere Brand Capital
Tai Foster – Senior Manager, Communications at Under Armour
Talk 2: Public Relations and Creating Your Story. Marketer + Agent + Journalist
Kevin King – Senior Vice President, Horn Group
Lauren Goode – The Wall Street Journal Digital Network
Notes:
3 pillars of marketing
developing brand
developing cases and content
developing customer base
vision, messaging, publicity, how you put that story out there
Karen Won on trademarks:
from a legal perspective, not all brands are legally respected/ protected as brands
under the law there are 5 strengths
- fanciful marks- completely made up- examples include Starbucks, Verizon
- very strong trademark rights
- arbitrary marks- exist in English language but change meaning- examples include Apple, Kayak
- suggestive marks- allude to quality or characteristic- examples include Coppertone, Jaguar
- protectable under trademark law as long as they don’t blur into the next category
- descriptive marks- describe goods or services- examples include hotels.com, Cartoon Network
- not legally protectable until your brand gets recognized
- at least 5 years to prove it to the legal system, invest in brand and cannot hold proprietary rights
- generic terms- name is exactly what it means, cannot be recognized as a brand under the law
completely innovative product that the market has not seen before- need to create a genre of product and unique product name; ex. Xerox and photocopier
legal clearance- search relevant field to see if there are previous, already existing brand names
federal trademark register- clearance gives you valuable info
federal vs. state filing
- go to federal pending
Talk 1
Mike and Tai
Build products with soul
adjust the conversation but stay true to the brand
brand- mission, purpose, story, people, experience
what people say and feel about you
customers control the convo
great stories behind great products
brand matters
- bond with your customers
- irrational reason to buy things
brands can help save the company
- react well in disaster
- be honest
- go above and beyond
you should be clear about the brand from Day 1
brand strategy= business strategy
vision, purpose and promise, soul, personality, tell your story, what makes your brand unique- cut to the chase and communicate it clearly
have to know your consumer markets- local, global
publicity and PR in the beginning
need to inspire your employees
start with the story-communicate easily
appease- consumers, wall street, B2B
throw the ball where the receiver is going, not where he is right now
be consistent with your brand
- messaging might change a little but you need to build a culture that believes in the message
- employees are biggest brand advocates
amplify the message through all channels
influencers- employees, consumers, celebrities
look for niche markets- where the story would be told
be realistic about agencies
- you can have two out of the three- fast, good, and cheap
viral is not a strategy
- can’t control it
- usually an after-effect
listen and respond, then listen again but have a point of view
can’t spin anything
be transparent- be polarizing but not offensive- nobody talks about someone in the middle
parallel path- product and statement
balance- continually pushing out stuff but not forcing it
priorities- traffic has the experience they came for; blog is only an avenue
Talk 2
Tami- B2B; sell to marketers
storytelling- very important
1. launch a blog
- update regularly
2. give your customers a voice
3. get help but not too much
if you’ve heard of the company, they’re too big for you
Kevin- all comes back to your objectives
spend less time talking about what you do and more time talking about how you’re doing it
media training helps but someone has to be that “visionary”
figure out what tone you want to take as a young entrepreneur
Lauren- big companies are good to get the word out; also have accountability
what are your PR objectives?
the squeaky wheel gets the grease
good communication strategy is closely tied to your business strategy
make sure its simple and good
too many words in life; cut through the clutter
have your own take, but make it good
the media is also an audience- be open to new world of media
