THE BRAND LED BUSINESS

Brand strategies are powerful, underutilized tools that are frequently misunderstood. Regardless of the size or leadership experience of the organization, branding is customarily stymied within marketing communications groups where advertising is sexy, PR is influential, design is uplifting, and social media is alluring.

Who needs strategy?

Over 50% of executives say that their strategies aren’t sound; 66% say they lack the internal cohesion of staff, technology, process, systems, etc.; and an astounding 81% say that the growth initiatives in their company lead to waste. During times like these, we all need to put on our big kid pants, regain self-control, say “no” more frequently, embrace responsibility, and stop chasing shiny, new objects.

When leadership integrates branding into its strategic planning, the benefits are felt throughout an organization and extend into the market. Branding creates organizational focus, clarity, and unity; it lends substance and meaning to strategic efforts; reveals new and relevant opportunities and the potential for new market categories; it embraces a select, passionate consumer group; wins the trust of skeptics; and gains visibility in a saturated market. In a nutshell, branding results in great ROI and increased margins: all from the same playbook.

Bite-Sized Branding. To help businesses think differently about their brand, O’Berry Collaborative is developing a series of brand strategies that suggest ways you can overcome the most common market challenges, one at a time. The first branding bite will be available next week, here is the line-up:

• Product Parity
• Fear and the Facade
• First Impressions
• Message Clarity
• Saturated Markets

*CNBC interview with Cesare Mainardi, Managing Partner Booz & Co., January 20, 2011