Everyone's a Brand Consultant today - choose wisely. by Q. Malandrino, Chairman & CEO - BrandLink Corporation

A Brand Foundation must be based of whats strategically 'right -- without being influenced by how it gets communicated.

(PRWEB) November 7, 2004 -- It's a fact that how a company is perceived is important toward business success, and many different professionals claim that they can help with optimizing perception. Ergo, everyone does Branding, and everyone claims to be a Brand Consultant.
   
Just a few years back, Branding as a discrete discipline didn't exist and the word Brand was used mainly in reference to consumer products. In the early 1990s, the term Brand started to be applied also to corporate entities and to b2b companies, every organization wanted to become a brand, and many different professionals have made Branding the umbrella for their own competency. One can say that all of them are Brand Consultants, as all of them touch and influence 'the brand'. If that is so, who should you trust to take care of your Branding? Let's define first what 'Branding' is and what is composed of, and then decide who's best at doing what.
   
Branding is a layer between you and your marketplace, one that translates what you do for a living into terms that are valued by your intended audiences. Branding is made of three integrated and sequential parts: a Brand Foundation (Brand Positioning, Messaging, internal Brand Culture, Brand Architecture), then an Identity System to visualize it and create the necessary verbal components, and then a wide variety of Communications to let it all come to life. If you want a strong brand, you need to address all of these components, and the professionals who can help you do so are Brand Consultants, Verbal and Visual Identity Experts, and various types of Communicators. Each of them is best at different parts of Branding.
   
Brand Consultants are best for the Brand Foundation: they can precisely define its four components, can explain how they relate to one another, and create them on the basis of what's strategically right - without being influenced by how they might then be communicated. As to the other two parts of Branding, they may have qualified skills in Identity Systems, but do not have the expertise, tools and resources to handle the full range of Communications.

Identity Experts are best for the Identity System: they know that it's about disciplined and system-based creativity, know the complexities of the all myriad applications, know what to make permanent and what to make flexible, and (typically) have qualified naming capabilities. As to the other two parts of Branding, they typically don't have the strategic business skills necessary to develop a Brand Foundation, and do not have what's needed to handle the full range of Communications.
   
Ad agencies, P.R. Firms, and other professionals are best for all aspects of Communications: they know the channels, and have all the tools and resources to fully 'broadcast' the brand. As to the other two parts of Branding, they are ill-suited to create a solid, long-term Brand Foundation because - a) they do so on the basis of its communications potential, and on how memorable they can make it, and b) they cannot help but favoring as a message channel their own competency (ads, P.R. programs, videos, etc.); and they can't do a true Identity System because they tend to see it merely as ... a great-looking logo.
   
As to all other types of professionals who claim to do 'Branding' ... they don't. Their proposition is I am a brand consultant, the engine of Branding is ... (insert own competency here), and as a result of my work you'll have a strong brand". They tend to make 'Branding' and 'Brand' a direct by-product of their own specialty.

All in all, each of the many professionals has discrete strengths, and you should choose accordingly. Do you need to define a desired perception or a solid conceptual framework for how to go to market? Engage a Brand Consultant. Has your Company defined that desired perception but doesn't enjoy it in the marketplace because the messages aren't out there? Get a P.R. firm or an ad agency. Does your Company need a different look & feel? Get an Identity Expert.

All in all, as the basis of a brand is necessarily a Brand Foundation, get a Brand Consultant to create it, and then engage a variety of Communications professionals to bring it to life. It'll cost a small fraction of your research, marketing, identity, PR, advertising and promotion, or other budgets, but it will define what to say with all that money. Don't let the messenger decide what the message is.

One final thought: wouldn't it be GREAT if one could one-stop shop - if there was a firm that was really good at all of the various components of Branding? Absolutely, it would. As soon as I find one I'll let you know.

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