Build your own Brand Envelope Dennis Van Staalduinen Director, Brand Strategy – Brandvelope Company of Friends - Ottawa Cell November 27, 2001

The Big Question: So, what do you do? Unless you live in a cave, there's a question you inevitably face many, many times every week. Many of us (myself included) are very uncomfortable with this question in our privacy-and- personal-space- obsessed culture. But listen to what is REALLY being asked. They ask: But they're REALLY asking: "Why should I pay attention to you?" "Why should I remember you?" "What can I say about you?" "Please BRAND YOURSELF for me!"

So, what do you do?

"Why should I pay attention to you?"

"Why should I remember you?"

"What can I say about you?"

What is Branding? Branding is a system for keeping track of things. This simple definition of branding applies to companies, products, individuals… or cows. As it was on the range, so it is in today's crowded marketplace: we need ways to place things in a meaningful context. Definition: How it works: Notice things. Remember things. Refer to things. Branding allows us to:

Branding is a system for keeping track of things.

Notice things.

Remember things.

Refer to things.

Who owns a brand? This question may seem like a simple one to answer, right? I mean, if the Levi's company makes Dockers, then Levi's owns the brand right? You've got to go deeper than that. For example, all of the brands on this page are owned by the same entity. Some brands: The REAL owner: YOU!

How the brand delivery system works How can you be the ultimate owner of a massive multinational like Monsanto? Don't think of the brand as an asset or as property. Think of branding as a system - like the postal system - and the brand as the thing the system is designed to move around. Company You Brand A company creates a product, builds a brand envelope around it, & addresses it to the customer - you. 1 As soon as a brand envelope reaches you (your first contact with the brand), you become the owner of the brand . 2 The company can "manage" the brand, but since you own it, they must have your permission . 3

Things to remember Branding is a fact of life. If you don't brand yourself, you will be branded. Good branding helps people. With it, they can a. notice you, b. remember you, & c. talk about you to others. Express your brand clearly. Do the world a favour & make it easy for them. Your brand belongs to your customers. Treat your brand with respect & humility. Listen to your customers! Some truths about branding that we can draw from this section:

Branding is a fact of life.

If you don't brand yourself, you will be branded.

Good branding helps people.

With it, they can a. notice you, b. remember you, & c. talk about you to others.

Express your brand clearly.

Do the world a favour & make it easy for them.

Your brand belongs to your customers.

Treat your brand with respect & humility. Listen to your customers!

Some final thoughts: Brand is not Brand is Image Character Perception Trust A shell A spine What you say How you act Property A promise A make-over A fitness program Finally, here are a few statements that deflate some myths about branding.