Pixels with Purpose: High-resolution branding in the social media age

Arts & Business Council
High-resolution branding in the social media age
Sametz Blackstone Associates
2 September 2009
Pixels with Purpose

Brandon & Tamsen
Brandon C. Walsh
Director, Strategy
brandon@sametz.com
Tamsen S. McMahon
Director of Digital and Strategic Initiatives
tamsen@sametz.com
@tamadear
www.sametz.com
www.sametz.com/roundthesquare
@sametz
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© Sametz Blackstone Associates

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Social networking is more popular than email.
Mashable.com

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Social networking is more popular than email. And porn.
TIME Magazine

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People are talking. (Are you listening?)

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Their conversations matter more.

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Only 10% of people trust advertisers.
Gallup

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Only 10% of people trust advertisers.90% of people trust recommendations from people they know.
Nielsen

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What they’re saying affects your brand.

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4 out of 5 bloggers post reviews and blog about brands they love or hate.
Technorati.com

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36% think more positively about organizations that have blogs.
Universal McCann

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Your brand is more important than ever.

Branding…
Is not about your logo, it never was…
Brand is the carrier of what you stand for, your:
promises, expectations, experiences;
capabilities, strengths, attributes;
position in the competitive environment.
Helps attract and retain, staff, board, donors, partners, artists, and more.
Creates value that extends beyond one-off campaigns.
Builds resonance and connection that helps keep diverse revenue streams healthy.
Is critical to cutting through the din…
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Branding…
Is not about your logo, it never was…
Brand is the carrier of what you stand for, your:
promises, expectations, experiences;
capabilities, strengths, attributes;
position in the competitive environment.
Helps attract and retain, staff, board, donors, partners, artists, and more.
Creates value that extends beyond one-off campaigns.
Builds resonance and connection that helps keep diverse revenue streams healthy.
Is critical to cutting through the din…
And ultimately influencing thinking and behavior.
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So, do your pixels have purpose?

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Or are they adding to the noise?

5 principles of branding

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Know who you are, and who you can be.

A brand foundation to build on
What you communicate about the excitement and value of your work, and about your organization’s “personality,” must grow organically from who your organization really is.
Brand foundation combines ideas that can be defined and communicated—and the beliefs you seek to engender about your organization.
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What you communicate about the excitement and value of your work, and about your organization’s “personality,” must grow organically from who your organization really is.
Brand foundation combines ideas that can be defined and communicated—and the beliefs you seek to engender about your organization.
No smoke, no mirrors.
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Desired
Position
Personality / Image
Departure points
Areas of endeavor
Vision
Mission / Model
Attributes

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Transparency

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Know who you serve, and why they care

Constituents who care
More than just your “audience,” your constituents are all the people for whom your work is––and could be–– meaningful.
The internal and external groups / populations whose interest, participation, and support are important for your vibrant present––and for stability and growth going forward.
Different ways to cut the deck…
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Distance…
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Group 1
Group 2
Group 3
Group 4
Funders and supporters
often cut across all

Values…
For the BSO, for instance…
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Performance
Education
Outreach
Capital projects
Innovation

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Resonance

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Use your messages, in their words

Messages that motivate
Externally focused, strategic messages express and connect what an organization wants to be known for and what key constituents need, value, and will support.
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Externally focused, strategic messages express and connect what an organization wants to be known for and what key constituents need, value, and will support.
A palette of ideas that can be easily delivered to key constituencies,
a mix of aspiration and expectation;
support consistent, compelling perception;
inform written and spoken communications;
influence how people think / act.
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That which you stand for and seek to advance
What your constituents care about, will participate in, and value

Where you can win!
Start the conversation here.
That which you stand for and seek to advance
What your constituents care about, will participate in, and value
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Evolving a message system
High-level
message
Customized for a specific constituency
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Areas of focus
Initiatives,
programs,
opportunities
Supporting
stories
Fact sheets, giving oppts

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Clarity

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Look the part, be the part.

Design that delivers
Brochures, postcards, websites, and newsletters each have unique communication responsibilities—but building communications informed by a common set of focused approaches generates communications that:
are effective and creative;
work across all media to build a consistent image across different opportunities;
increase understanding + connection + participation + loyalty;
speak to their audiences;
meet their tactical objectives;
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Brochures, postcards, websites, and newsletters each have unique communication responsibilities—but building communications informed by a common set of focused approaches generates communications that:
are effective and creative;
work across all media to build a consistent image across different opportunities;
increase understanding + connection + participation + loyalty;
speak to their audiences;
meet their tactical objectives;
and build brand.
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A mix of…
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That which you can own
Focused approaches
Name(s)
Color
Logo(s) / logotype(s)
Typography
Taglines / modifiers
Imagery
Service marks
Composition

Every communication is an opportunity to build brand
20-90% reinforces brand (depending on strategy)
Your
organization
Promises
Expectations
Position
Attributes
Personality
Tactical communications
– by program, function, audience, initiative
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(Compelling) Consistency

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Put it together, dot by dot.

Architecture for action
Communications are ultimately about influencing thinking and behavior.
An architecture of communications should consider:
Who is it for?
Who is it from?
What is the desired outcome?
As well as timing, shelf-life, media, and production values (cost) as appropriate.
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Desired Outcome
Audience
Awareness
Comprehension
Participation
Loyalty
Support
Group 1
www
Season kit
Development kit
Production value
Postcards / mailers
Membership materials

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Desired Outcome
Audience
Awareness
Comprehension
Participation
Loyalty
Support
Group 2
www
Season kit
Development kit
Production value
Postcards / mailers

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Desired Outcome
Audience
Awareness
Comprehension
Participation
Loyalty
Support
Group 3
www
Season kit
Development kit
Production value
Postcards / mailers

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Relevance

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This is a process, not an event.
Roger Sametz

Effective communications deliver value over time
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Brand foundation
Who you are, and who you can be.
Constituents who care
Those for whom your work is––and could be––meaningful. They are vital to your success, and they are not monolithic!
Externally focused, the intersection of what audiences value, and that which you stand for and seek to advance.
Compelling consistency; a mix of elements you can own and focused approaches to elements you can control.
Evaluate and adjust
Are people getting it? Are people perceiving you as you want to be perceived? Is something out of tune?
A plan for action
A communications architecture; for whom, from whom, outcome, frequency, production values, and more.

Now what?

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1 Observe2 Investigate3 Hypothesize4 Experiment5 Analyze6 Retest

Observe
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Grow bigger ears – and eyes.
Paraphrase of Chris Brogan

Alerts
Google
Technorati, google blogs
socialmention
Twitter search
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RSS readers
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Investigate
2

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Audiences

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Who are they?
Where are they?
What are they saying?
What do they see?

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Resonance and dissonance

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Who are they?
Where are they?
What are they saying?
What do they see?

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Who are they?Who are you?Where are they?Where are you?What are they saying?What are you?What do they see?What do you show?

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Content

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Who and what are the best sources of content?
What already exists?
What do you need togenerate what doesn’t?

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Outcomes

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What do you want to achieve?
What do you want to have happen?

Move people closer:
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People
Awareness
Comprehension
Loyalty
Support / Advocacy
Participation

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Measurement

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How will you measure?
What does success look like?

Hypothesize
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Match platform to purpose
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Awareness
Social Networks
Comprehension
Blogs
Participation
Twitter
Loyalty
Multimedia
Advocacy

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Will {content}, from {sources}, used across {tools} produce {results}?
How will I {measure}?

Experiment
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Observation ≠participation.
You have to do it.

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practice first

Analyze
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 Numbers Sentiment Actions

Retest
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© Sametz Blackstone Associates, Cher image courtesyhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/23664669@N08/3070993793/
Which one are you?

Questions?

Brandon & Tamsen
Brandon C. Walsh
Director, Strategy
brandon@sametz.com
Tamsen S. McMahon
Director of Digital and Strategic Initiatives
tamsen@sametz.com
@tamadear
www.sametz.com
www.sametz.com/roundthesquare
@sametz
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