This is our brand management training workshop on brand positioning. Your brand positioning statement defines the target market, consumer benefits, both functional and emotional, as well as support points.
Workshop for Brand Leaders to help define your brand positioning statement, brand concept and organizing big idea.
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-positioning/
The Creative Brief frames the strategy and positioning so your Agency can creatively express the brand promise through communication.
1, Marketing Execution must impact the brand’s consumers in a way that puts your brand in a stronger business position. The Creative Brief is the bridge between the brand strategy and the execution.
2. Through our Brand Positioning workshop, you will have all the homework on the brand needed to set up the transformation into a succinct 1-page Creative Brief that will focus, inspire and challenge a creative team to make great work.
3. The hands-on Creative Brief workshop explores best in class methods for writing the brief’s objective, target market, consumer insights, main message stimulus and the desired consumer response.
4. Brand Leaders walk away from the session with a ready-to-execute Creative Brief.
The more beloved the brand, the more valuable the brand.
For more on Beloved Brands, here are a few of our most popular articles
1. Beloved Brands Marketing Training programs.
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-management-training/
2. Our Beloved Brands Mini MBA is an online marketing course to help your marketing career.
https://beloved-brands.com/mini-mba/
3. Simple process to build your Brand Positioning Statement
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-positioning/
4. How to write a Marketing Plan
https://beloved-brands.com/marketing-plans/
5. Our one-page strategic plan
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-strategy-roadmap/
6. The best and worst of a Creative Brief
https://beloved-brands.com/creative-brief-line-by-line/
7. Marketing Plan Template
https://beloved-brands.com/product/marketing-plan-template/
8. Our one-page Brand Plan
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-plans
9. How to understand Brand Architecture
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-architecture
10. How to use Marketing Funnels to analyze your brand
https://beloved-brands.com/marketing-funnels/
Workshop to provoke you to think differently and see how a brand’s BIG IDEA reflects the brand’s SOUL and transforms the experience and bond into a REPUTATION
How to write your annual Brand Plan so that everyone in your organization can...Beloved Brands Inc.
Have you ever noticed that people who say, “We need to get everyone on the same page” rarely have anything written down on ONE page? People use the term “fewer bigger bets” all the time, yet these same people seem to be fans of those small little projects that deplete resources. People say they are good decision-makers, yet struggle when facing strategic choices, so they try to justify doing both options. A well-written Brand Plan should force your hand in how to allocate your brand’s limited resources to drive the highest return. We believe that a Brand Plan should be on one page!
While different people will have different approaches to developing and managing brands, we believe there are some fundamental constructs and truths about brand strategy that need to be considered in any brand strategy process. We\'ve developed a short presentation on some of the fundamentals of brand strategy.
Workshop for Brand Leaders to help define your brand positioning statement, brand concept and organizing big idea.
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-positioning/
The Creative Brief frames the strategy and positioning so your Agency can creatively express the brand promise through communication.
1, Marketing Execution must impact the brand’s consumers in a way that puts your brand in a stronger business position. The Creative Brief is the bridge between the brand strategy and the execution.
2. Through our Brand Positioning workshop, you will have all the homework on the brand needed to set up the transformation into a succinct 1-page Creative Brief that will focus, inspire and challenge a creative team to make great work.
3. The hands-on Creative Brief workshop explores best in class methods for writing the brief’s objective, target market, consumer insights, main message stimulus and the desired consumer response.
4. Brand Leaders walk away from the session with a ready-to-execute Creative Brief.
The more beloved the brand, the more valuable the brand.
For more on Beloved Brands, here are a few of our most popular articles
1. Beloved Brands Marketing Training programs.
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-management-training/
2. Our Beloved Brands Mini MBA is an online marketing course to help your marketing career.
https://beloved-brands.com/mini-mba/
3. Simple process to build your Brand Positioning Statement
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-positioning/
4. How to write a Marketing Plan
https://beloved-brands.com/marketing-plans/
5. Our one-page strategic plan
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-strategy-roadmap/
6. The best and worst of a Creative Brief
https://beloved-brands.com/creative-brief-line-by-line/
7. Marketing Plan Template
https://beloved-brands.com/product/marketing-plan-template/
8. Our one-page Brand Plan
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-plans
9. How to understand Brand Architecture
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-architecture
10. How to use Marketing Funnels to analyze your brand
https://beloved-brands.com/marketing-funnels/
Workshop to provoke you to think differently and see how a brand’s BIG IDEA reflects the brand’s SOUL and transforms the experience and bond into a REPUTATION
How to write your annual Brand Plan so that everyone in your organization can...Beloved Brands Inc.
Have you ever noticed that people who say, “We need to get everyone on the same page” rarely have anything written down on ONE page? People use the term “fewer bigger bets” all the time, yet these same people seem to be fans of those small little projects that deplete resources. People say they are good decision-makers, yet struggle when facing strategic choices, so they try to justify doing both options. A well-written Brand Plan should force your hand in how to allocate your brand’s limited resources to drive the highest return. We believe that a Brand Plan should be on one page!
While different people will have different approaches to developing and managing brands, we believe there are some fundamental constructs and truths about brand strategy that need to be considered in any brand strategy process. We\'ve developed a short presentation on some of the fundamentals of brand strategy.
We make brands stronger and brand leaders smarter. Here's how we can help:
1. We lead workshops to define your brand, helping you uncover a unique, own-able Brand Positioning Statement and an organizing Big Idea that transforms your brand’s DNA into a consumer-centric and winning brand reputation.
2. We lead workshops to build a strategic Brand Plan that will optimize your resources and motivates everyone that touches the brand to follow the plan.
3. We coach on Marketing execution, helping build programs that create a bond with your consumers, to ensure your investment drives growth on your brand.
4. We will build a Brand Management Training Program, so you can unleash the full potential of your Marketing team, enabling them to contribute smart and exceptional Marketing work that drives brand growth.
5. Our Executive Coaching program is designed to help Marketing Leaders get smarter, and then drive stronger performance on their brands. Executives can use their increased knowledge to help their own teams get smarter.
We coach Brand Leader on the principles of good analysis, how to assess health and wealth of the brand and turning your analytical thinking into strategic stories, projections and reports. We look at:
1. Principles of Good Analytics Gain more support for your analysis by telling analytical stories through data.
2. Health and Wealth of the Brand Assess brand situation looking category, consumer, channels, brand and competitors
3. Analytical stories get Decision Makers to “what do you think” stage Analysis turns fact into insight and data breaks form the story that sets up strategic choices.
4. Turn analytical thinking into projections Extrapolating data into the future, starts with what you are see in the current.
5. Monthly Brand Report Keep everyone on the team informed, engaged and aware of the strategic thinking
Get our ideal Brand Plan template in a downloadable PowerPoint file.
Link: https://beloved-brands.com/product/brand-plan-template/
Includes ideal slides for vision, purpose, analysis, key issues, strategies, brand positioning statement, and execution plans.
Our brand plan template provides formatted blank slides with key marketing definitions where you can insert your own brand plan.
Gain access to our one-page brand plan and our one-page Brand Strategy Roadmap.
For more on Beloved Brands, here are a few of our most popular articles
1. Beloved Brands Marketing Training programs.
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-management-training/
2. Our Beloved Brands Mini MBA is an online marketing course to help your marketing career.
https://beloved-brands.com/mini-mba/ for online marketing course
3. Simple process to build your Brand Positioning Statement
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-positioning/ for brand positioning
4. How to write a Marketing Plan
https://beloved-brands.com/marketing-plans/
5. Our one-page strategic plan
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-strategy-roadmap/
6. The best and worst of a Creative Brief
https://beloved-brands.com/creative-brief-line-by-line/
7. Marketing Plan Template
https://beloved-brands.com/product/marketing-plan-template/
8. Our one-page Brand Plan
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-plans
9. How to understand Brand Architecture
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-architecture
10. How to use Marketing Funnels to analyze your brand
https://beloved-brands.com/marketing-funnels/
The marketing skills you need to be a successful Brand LeaderBeloved Brands Inc.
Our Brand Leader white paper on marketing skills
At Beloved Brands, we use a 360-degree approach to marketing, which can highlight the skills you need to be successful in running your brand. You must know how to analyze the performance of your brand through a deep-dive business review. Brand Leaders have to be able to think strategically to sort through issues and make decisions on direction. You must know how to define your brand with a positioning statement and a brand idea. Marketers need to understand how to write a brand plan that everyone can follow.
We look at the role of the Brand Leader, how to develop marketing execution strategy, tools to make marketing decisions and how to give direction to an agency.
Free Download on How to stop writing Ugly Creative Briefs
The Creative Brief should help Brand Leaders to control the strategy, yet give freedom on execution. Brand leaders have this backwards, giving freedom on the strategy with various options in the brief, and yet control the execution with a long list of mandatories and direction on style of advertising. But really, you want “creative” options, not strategic options. You should write a very tight brief, based on the strategy you decided on, before you even wrote the brief. Slow down and let your strategic thinking prevail. Brand leaders try to control the outcome of the creative process so they write a long list of mandatories in the brief, they try to steer the type of advertising they want to see, or don’t want to see. You should allow the creative process to unfold, as you always hold the power of decision. Go faster with your instincts to not over-think great ideas.
Feel free to download. Brands need to stand out to win. Marketers face limited resources that they apply to an unlimited choices. The role of the Brand Positioning Statement is to take everything you know about your brand and begin making focused decisions on who you will serve, what you will say that is unique, own-able and motivating to get consumers to think, feel and act differently to create a bond that is stronger than what the product alone could do. A good positioning statement should balance the rational and emotional benefits for the consumer. Your positioning has to reflect your internal brand soul and help shape your external brand reputation.
Feel free to download the White Paper that explains how the more love for a brand creates brand power and profitability. Takes you through the 4 stages of a brand.
Read our story on how to write a brand plan:
https://beloved-brands.com/2012/06/24/brand-plan/
Help for the Brand Manager with tips on how to write a brand plan, including vision, mission, strategies, tactics, execution, and the overall writing and flow of the plan.
Jonathan Lee, Managing Director, Brand Strategy, and Ken Allard, Managing Director, Business Strategy at HUGE, gave this presentation at "Ambidexterity 2," the VCU Brandcenter's Executive Education program for account planning on June 24th at the VCU Brandcenter in Richmond, VA.
This will provide you with an ideal format for how to lay out a Long Range Strategic Plan with the vision, purpose, values, big idea, strategies, and tactics.
The step-by-step process for how to define your B2B brand.
This type of thinking is in my second book, B2B Brands, which I wrote as the playbook for how to create a B2B brand that your customers will love.
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-positioning/
B2B Brands is an actionable “make it happen” playbook, not just some theory or opinion book.
To reach your full potential as a B2B brand leader, you will learn to think, define, plan, inspire and analyze:
How to think strategically
Write a brand positioning statement
Come up with a brand idea
Write a brand plan everyone can follow
Write an inspiring creative brief
Make decisions on marketing execution
Conduct a deep-dive business review
Learn finance 101 for marketers
My goal in writing this book is to make you a smarter B2B brand leader so your brand can win in the market.
To order B2B Brands on Amazon https://lnkd.in/ecesjkq on Rakuten Kobo: https://lnkd.in/eqrf-sU or on Apple Books: https://lnkd.in/eVD63iK
Many brands are misguided by so many notions around and about brand strategy. Here's a brief checklist for you to know if you are approaching your brand strategy right.
Do you know your consumer better than your competition knows your consumer?
Think of consumer insights like you do intellectual property. Your knowledge of your consumer is a competitive advantage. Consumer Insights are little secrets hidden beneath the surface, that explain the underlying behaviors, motivations, pain points and emotions of your consumers. Insights provide a connection point to show consumers that your brand is meant for them.
What are you doing to drive brand love with your consumers? The deeper the love a brand can build with your most cherished consumers, the more powerful and profitable that brand will be, going far beyond what the product alone could ever deliver.
There is only one source of revenue. Not the products you sell, but the consumers who buy them.
Too many people think that brand management matters most to a consumer brand, and they underestimate the value of marketing for B2B brands. And many of these people are running B2B brands. They treat marketing as a support function, hiring low-cost marketing coordinators to support their sales team, and do basic packaging for new launches and run a few basic trade magazines.
A brand strategy is a plan for brand management that answers the big questions: who, where, why, what and when?
Building a strong brand requires a continuous commitment to excellence and an understanding of the qualities that define
the brand.
Here a practical guide to help you outline a successful Brand strategy.
Here is a chance to create a "big idea" for your brand, which that big idea is then used through the organization. It would help frame the long range Brand Strategic Road Map, helping to frame the brand promise, strategy, story, freshness and experience behind the brand. That big idea also gets used to tell the brand's story, both internally through vision, values and behaviours, and externally by creating a brand position in the minds/hearts of consumers through mass communication, logos/packaging and the inshore experience.
Workshop to help turn consumer insights into a brand strategy that will help the brand win in the market
Workshop Agenda
1. How to use consumer insights to bring the consumer to life
2. How to use consumer insights to define your brand
3, How to use consumer insights to develop brand strategy
We make brands stronger and brand leaders smarter. Here's how we can help:
1. We lead workshops to define your brand, helping you uncover a unique, own-able Brand Positioning Statement and an organizing Big Idea that transforms your brand’s DNA into a consumer-centric and winning brand reputation.
2. We lead workshops to build a strategic Brand Plan that will optimize your resources and motivates everyone that touches the brand to follow the plan.
3. We coach on Marketing execution, helping build programs that create a bond with your consumers, to ensure your investment drives growth on your brand.
4. We will build a Brand Management Training Program, so you can unleash the full potential of your Marketing team, enabling them to contribute smart and exceptional Marketing work that drives brand growth.
5. Our Executive Coaching program is designed to help Marketing Leaders get smarter, and then drive stronger performance on their brands. Executives can use their increased knowledge to help their own teams get smarter.
We coach Brand Leader on the principles of good analysis, how to assess health and wealth of the brand and turning your analytical thinking into strategic stories, projections and reports. We look at:
1. Principles of Good Analytics Gain more support for your analysis by telling analytical stories through data.
2. Health and Wealth of the Brand Assess brand situation looking category, consumer, channels, brand and competitors
3. Analytical stories get Decision Makers to “what do you think” stage Analysis turns fact into insight and data breaks form the story that sets up strategic choices.
4. Turn analytical thinking into projections Extrapolating data into the future, starts with what you are see in the current.
5. Monthly Brand Report Keep everyone on the team informed, engaged and aware of the strategic thinking
Get our ideal Brand Plan template in a downloadable PowerPoint file.
Link: https://beloved-brands.com/product/brand-plan-template/
Includes ideal slides for vision, purpose, analysis, key issues, strategies, brand positioning statement, and execution plans.
Our brand plan template provides formatted blank slides with key marketing definitions where you can insert your own brand plan.
Gain access to our one-page brand plan and our one-page Brand Strategy Roadmap.
For more on Beloved Brands, here are a few of our most popular articles
1. Beloved Brands Marketing Training programs.
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-management-training/
2. Our Beloved Brands Mini MBA is an online marketing course to help your marketing career.
https://beloved-brands.com/mini-mba/ for online marketing course
3. Simple process to build your Brand Positioning Statement
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-positioning/ for brand positioning
4. How to write a Marketing Plan
https://beloved-brands.com/marketing-plans/
5. Our one-page strategic plan
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-strategy-roadmap/
6. The best and worst of a Creative Brief
https://beloved-brands.com/creative-brief-line-by-line/
7. Marketing Plan Template
https://beloved-brands.com/product/marketing-plan-template/
8. Our one-page Brand Plan
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-plans
9. How to understand Brand Architecture
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-architecture
10. How to use Marketing Funnels to analyze your brand
https://beloved-brands.com/marketing-funnels/
The marketing skills you need to be a successful Brand LeaderBeloved Brands Inc.
Our Brand Leader white paper on marketing skills
At Beloved Brands, we use a 360-degree approach to marketing, which can highlight the skills you need to be successful in running your brand. You must know how to analyze the performance of your brand through a deep-dive business review. Brand Leaders have to be able to think strategically to sort through issues and make decisions on direction. You must know how to define your brand with a positioning statement and a brand idea. Marketers need to understand how to write a brand plan that everyone can follow.
We look at the role of the Brand Leader, how to develop marketing execution strategy, tools to make marketing decisions and how to give direction to an agency.
Free Download on How to stop writing Ugly Creative Briefs
The Creative Brief should help Brand Leaders to control the strategy, yet give freedom on execution. Brand leaders have this backwards, giving freedom on the strategy with various options in the brief, and yet control the execution with a long list of mandatories and direction on style of advertising. But really, you want “creative” options, not strategic options. You should write a very tight brief, based on the strategy you decided on, before you even wrote the brief. Slow down and let your strategic thinking prevail. Brand leaders try to control the outcome of the creative process so they write a long list of mandatories in the brief, they try to steer the type of advertising they want to see, or don’t want to see. You should allow the creative process to unfold, as you always hold the power of decision. Go faster with your instincts to not over-think great ideas.
Feel free to download. Brands need to stand out to win. Marketers face limited resources that they apply to an unlimited choices. The role of the Brand Positioning Statement is to take everything you know about your brand and begin making focused decisions on who you will serve, what you will say that is unique, own-able and motivating to get consumers to think, feel and act differently to create a bond that is stronger than what the product alone could do. A good positioning statement should balance the rational and emotional benefits for the consumer. Your positioning has to reflect your internal brand soul and help shape your external brand reputation.
Feel free to download the White Paper that explains how the more love for a brand creates brand power and profitability. Takes you through the 4 stages of a brand.
Read our story on how to write a brand plan:
https://beloved-brands.com/2012/06/24/brand-plan/
Help for the Brand Manager with tips on how to write a brand plan, including vision, mission, strategies, tactics, execution, and the overall writing and flow of the plan.
Jonathan Lee, Managing Director, Brand Strategy, and Ken Allard, Managing Director, Business Strategy at HUGE, gave this presentation at "Ambidexterity 2," the VCU Brandcenter's Executive Education program for account planning on June 24th at the VCU Brandcenter in Richmond, VA.
This will provide you with an ideal format for how to lay out a Long Range Strategic Plan with the vision, purpose, values, big idea, strategies, and tactics.
The step-by-step process for how to define your B2B brand.
This type of thinking is in my second book, B2B Brands, which I wrote as the playbook for how to create a B2B brand that your customers will love.
https://beloved-brands.com/brand-positioning/
B2B Brands is an actionable “make it happen” playbook, not just some theory or opinion book.
To reach your full potential as a B2B brand leader, you will learn to think, define, plan, inspire and analyze:
How to think strategically
Write a brand positioning statement
Come up with a brand idea
Write a brand plan everyone can follow
Write an inspiring creative brief
Make decisions on marketing execution
Conduct a deep-dive business review
Learn finance 101 for marketers
My goal in writing this book is to make you a smarter B2B brand leader so your brand can win in the market.
To order B2B Brands on Amazon https://lnkd.in/ecesjkq on Rakuten Kobo: https://lnkd.in/eqrf-sU or on Apple Books: https://lnkd.in/eVD63iK
Many brands are misguided by so many notions around and about brand strategy. Here's a brief checklist for you to know if you are approaching your brand strategy right.
Do you know your consumer better than your competition knows your consumer?
Think of consumer insights like you do intellectual property. Your knowledge of your consumer is a competitive advantage. Consumer Insights are little secrets hidden beneath the surface, that explain the underlying behaviors, motivations, pain points and emotions of your consumers. Insights provide a connection point to show consumers that your brand is meant for them.
What are you doing to drive brand love with your consumers? The deeper the love a brand can build with your most cherished consumers, the more powerful and profitable that brand will be, going far beyond what the product alone could ever deliver.
There is only one source of revenue. Not the products you sell, but the consumers who buy them.
Too many people think that brand management matters most to a consumer brand, and they underestimate the value of marketing for B2B brands. And many of these people are running B2B brands. They treat marketing as a support function, hiring low-cost marketing coordinators to support their sales team, and do basic packaging for new launches and run a few basic trade magazines.
A brand strategy is a plan for brand management that answers the big questions: who, where, why, what and when?
Building a strong brand requires a continuous commitment to excellence and an understanding of the qualities that define
the brand.
Here a practical guide to help you outline a successful Brand strategy.
Here is a chance to create a "big idea" for your brand, which that big idea is then used through the organization. It would help frame the long range Brand Strategic Road Map, helping to frame the brand promise, strategy, story, freshness and experience behind the brand. That big idea also gets used to tell the brand's story, both internally through vision, values and behaviours, and externally by creating a brand position in the minds/hearts of consumers through mass communication, logos/packaging and the inshore experience.
Workshop to help turn consumer insights into a brand strategy that will help the brand win in the market
Workshop Agenda
1. How to use consumer insights to bring the consumer to life
2. How to use consumer insights to define your brand
3, How to use consumer insights to develop brand strategy
My hope is you can use this personal branding framework to get what you want from your career—balancing the challenges to match up to your skills and your passion to match up with your happiness.
In the new economy, Brand Love is the new currency, with marketing shifting to building big ideas, leveraging purpose-driven stories that are in the moment, creating consumer experiences that people talk about, managing ubiquitous purchase moments all helping to steer the brand’s reputation. Marketing has to focus on creating a brand reputation with consumers, and equally creating an organizational culture that reflects the brand’s soul. Instead of shouting your message at every consumers, the best brands confidently whisper to those most motivated by what they do, who then scream with influence to their friends. In the new world, the best brands now fight for a place in the minds and hearts of consumers.
On a daily basis I hear Marketing buzz words bantered about and it becomes obvious people say them and don’t really even know what they mean. I think people use the sacred marketing words like relevant, equity or insights, because they figure no one will challenge them. Of course, everyone puts “strategic thinker” on their Linked In profile. The problem I see is that a generation of Brand Leaders have not been properly trained and it’s starting to show. For the past 20 years, companies have said “on the job” training is good enough. But now the lack of training is starting to show up. The mis-use of these words can be linked to the lack of understanding of the fundamentals of marketing.
This is one of the chapters of my new book: Beloved Brands. If you like this chapter, you can find the book on Amazon at https://lnkd.in/eF-mYPe
With Beloved Brands, you will learn everything you need to know so you can build a brand that your consumers will love. You will learn how to think strategically, define your brand with a positioning statement and a brand idea, write a brand plan everyone can follow, inspire smart and creative marketing execution, and be able to analyze the performance of your brand through a deep-dive business review.
Marketing pros and entrepreneurs, this book is for you. Whether you are a VP, CMO, director, brand manager or just starting your marketing career, I promise you will learn how to realize your full potential. You could be in brand management working for an organization or an owner-operator managing a branded business.
Beloved Brands provides a toolbox intended to help you every day in your job. Keep it on your desk and refer to it whenever you need to write a brand plan, create a brand idea, develop a creative brief, make advertising decisions or lead a deep-dive business review.
UNSTUCK: Use the Brand-As-Business Management Approach to Troubleshoot Your Business is a short guide that introduces six prevalent business issues and the solutions offered by the brand-as-business approach.
These slides are from our brand management training program. With our Brand Plan training, we will show you how to come up with the vision, purpose, goals, analysis, key issues, strategies, execution plans and measurements.
At Beloved Brands, we help brands find growth and we make brand leaders smarter.
This presentation talks about how to unlock the power of content and personalisation using psychology. It explains:
1. Misconceptions about your target audience – the problem with carrying simplistic audience definitions that suited the world of mass marketing over to digital and how to improve your audience research;
2. Optimising personalisation by measuring behaviour – identifying digital measurements that uncover motivations, needs and intentions;
3. Key principles of psychology for behaviour change – how they can be applied to content strategy and personalisation across digital channels to deliver changes in audience behaviour;
4. Real-world examples with practical and experimental approaches.
The way to build your brand and brand strategy is actually quite simple and straight forward. However, you first need a means of measuring your brand health and your competitors too. Your Brand Equity allows you to build your brand using the right decisions.
BrandVision is our Brand Tracking measurement that allows you to evaluate and understand your Brand Equity.
Here are the 5 marketing processes that every brand leader must know to be successful in your job.
✅ How to define your brand positioning
✅ How to write a marketing plan
✅ How to inspire marketing execution
✅ How to analyze your brand's performance
✅ How to think strategically
Every marketer has a natural space they excel and a blind spot they need help in. If you have a gap, it will likely show to those deciding on your next move. Challenge yourself to fill in your skills gaps using experience, coaching, and training to become a well-rounded marketer.
Explore our Beyond the MBA training program which is a virtual brand management training designed for the real world. This is your opportunity to gain access to world-class brand management training.
Our virtual training includes 35 engaging video training sessions as Graham shares the best brand management thinking that covers strategic thinking, brand positioning, brand plans, marketing execution, and marketing analytics.
Upon completing our program, you will earn a certificate in brand management that you can proudly display on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
For more information on Beyond the MBA, go to:
https://lnkd.in/e8f_dKn
Here are some of our best Beloved Brands stories on brand management:
Read how to write a brand positioning statement:
https://beloved-brands.com/2012/05/06/brand-positioning-statement/
Read how to write a brand plan:
https://beloved-brands.com/2012/06/24/brand-plan/
Read how to write a brand strategy roadmap:
https://beloved-brands.com/2013/04/14/brand-strategy-roadmap/
Read how to write brand concept:
https://beloved-brands.com/2013/10/12/brand-concept/
Use your 7-second pitch to manage your brand reputation.
How do you define yourself, by where in the marketplace you see yourself having the biggest impact?
What is the primary benefit you provide your target, whether they are potential prospects?
What is the secondary benefit you provide your target, whether they are potential prospects?
What is the expected result you deliver, that matches up to your target’s potential goals?
How to make decisions on advertising that drives brand linkBeloved Brands Inc.
Brand leaders who are good at advertising can get great ads on the air and keep bad ads off the air.
You need to make decisions to find the sweet spot where your brand’s advertising is both different and smart.
To be different, you need to achieve a branded breakthrough, using creativity to capture consumers. Gain their attention amid the market clutter and link your brand closer to the story.
To be smart, you need a motivating message to communicate the main message memorable to connect with consumers, and make the ad stick enough to move them to see, think, feel, or act differently than before they saw the ad.
In our Beloved Brands book, I outline principles for achieving attention, brand link, communication, and stickiness—the model I call the ABC’s. I show examples of some of the best ads in the history of branding to support those principles. I hope to challenge your thinking about your brand’s advertising.
Brand link is not just about more of your brand, but rather the right engagement of your brand, and the placement of your brand. Sometimes less is more, when you tell stories.
This type of thinking is in my Beloved Brands book, can be found on Amazon https://lnkd.in/eF-mYPe or on Apple Books: https://lnkd.in/ekQ-n9X
Anyone who does not include “profit” in their definition of a brand has never run a brand before. To me, a product is a basic commodity you sell. A brand creates a bond that leads to a power and profit beyond what the product alone can achieve.
If you want to succeed in brand management, you have to understand brand finance. After all, you are running a business. If you only like the activity of marketing, then you should become a subject matter expert, because if you cannot work the finances of your brand, you will not get promoted beyond brand manager.
There are eight ways you can drive brand profits
1️⃣ Premium pricing
2️⃣ Trade loyal consumers up to a higher price
3️⃣ Lower cost of goods
4️⃣ Lower marketing and selling costs
5️⃣ Steal competitive users
6️⃣ Get loyal users to use more
7️⃣ Enter into new markets
8️⃣ Find new uses for the brand
This type of thinking is in my Beloved Brands book, which I wrote as the playbook to help brand leaders build a brand that consumers love. You will learn how to think, define, plan, execute and analyze. We have a specific chapter on a Finance 101 for Marketers. To order Beloved Brands on Amazon https://lnkd.in/eF-mYPe or on Apple Books: https://lnkd.in/ekQ-n9X or on Kobo: https://lnkd.in/g7SzEh4
Here is the ideal Brand plan format that includes the vision, purpose, goals, analysis, key issues, strategies, execution plans and measurements. We use both a 20 page PPT slide deck and a plan on a page format
We outline the 20 core skills and 20 behaviors that are needed for successful Marketing team.
As the leader of a marketing team, you have to realize you are only as good as your people on the team. The only way your team will get better is if you identify the gaps on your team, then give your people the feedback on the gaps they need to close, and then build personal development plans for how to close those gaps. We look at people development in three different ways: skills, behaviors and experiences. We will showcase five major skill areas that includes the ability to: 1) analyze brand performance 2) think strategically 3) define the brand positioning 4) create brand plans and 5) how to inspire, challenge and make decisions on creative brand execution. We will then outline five major leader behaviors that includes: 1) accountable to results 2) team leadership 3) broad influence 4) authentic style and 5) inspiring leadership on execution. To help with the development of your people, you can use the Skills and Leadership Assessment tools to determine where your team sits today.
Anyone who does not include “profit” in their definition of brand likely has never run a brand before. To me, a product is the basic commodity you sell but a brand creates a bond, with the intention of achieving a power and profit beyond what the product alone could achieve. The only reason you would ever add more investment to create a brand is because you believe you can get more back from that investment than just selling the product. If you wish to succeed in Brand Management, you have to understand brand finance. After all, you are running a business. If you started your brand to fulfill a personal passion or promise, I will tell you that a profitable brand will allow you to fulfill a lot more promises. If you just like the activity of Marketing, then you should become a subject matter expert, not in charge of a branded business.
We have mapped out the 7 elements of smart strategic thinking, as a way to guide and challenge you to think strategically. Challenge yourself to take your brand strategy and see how it lines up to our 7 elements of smart strategic thinking. Do you have a vision, are you focused enough, are you taking advantage of some opportunity? You can have this on the brand overall, or any project that you are working on. We will show you how the model works, then provide examples drawn out using Apple, Starbucks and Special K.
How to use brand analytics to lead a business review on your Brand
You owe your brand a deep-dive business review at least once a year. It should be the start of your brand planning process. Otherwise, you are being negligent to your brand and will operate on the surface level, missing what’s going on beneath the surface. To go deep, you need to look at everything–including the category, consumers, channels, competitors and then your own brand.
We will look at four levels of Marketing which are Assistant Brand Manager, Brand Manager, Marketing Director and VP/CMO. While we present in a linear way, I think learning is rather random. We gain confidence through our success but we learn from our failures. You must boldly look to make an impact and take chances. Put all your passion into your work. At every level you have to adjust to the new role. Brand Managers fail when they keep acting like ABMs who are looking for a to-do list. Directors fail when they keep acting like Brand Managers by micro-managing and making every decision. And, VPs fail when they don’t know what to do. We all say we want to advance, but don’t think of it as just a title: think of it as a challenge to step back.
Workshop to help brand leaders write brand plans that everyone in the organization can follow. Case Study, using fictional “Gray’s Cookies” brand to complete a Brand Plan, which is the final stage of our overall Beloved Brands planning process.
Case Study, using fictional “Gray’s Cookies” brand to complete a business review, which is the first stage of our overall Beloved Brands planning process.
Workshop for Brand Leaders to provide an overall planning process including business review, key issues, positioning and creating the annual Brand Plan
The What, Why & How of 3D and AR in Digital CommercePushON Ltd
Vladimir Mulhem has over 20 years of experience in commercialising cutting edge creative technology across construction, marketing and retail.
Previously the founder and Tech and Innovation Director of Creative Content Works working with the likes of Next, John Lewis and JD Sport, he now helps retailers, brands and agencies solve challenges of applying the emerging technologies 3D, AR, VR and Gen AI to real-world problems.
In this webinar, Vladimir will be covering the following topics:
Applications of 3D and AR in Digital Commerce,
Benefits of 3D and AR,
Tools to create, manage and publish 3D and AR in Digital Commerce.
When most people in the industry talk about online or digital reputation management, what they're really saying is Google search and PPC. And it's usually reactive, left dealing with the aftermath of negative information published somewhere online. That's outdated. It leaves executives, organizations and other high-profile individuals at a high risk of a digital reputation attack that spans channels and tactics. But the tools needed to safeguard against an attack are more cybersecurity-oriented than most marketing and communications professionals can manage. Business leaders Leaders grasp the importance; 83% of executives place reputation in their top five areas of risk, yet only 23% are confident in their ability to address it. To succeed in 2024 and beyond, you need to turn online reputation on its axis and think like an attacker.
Key Takeaways:
- New framework for examining and safeguarding an online reputation
- Tools and techniques to keep you a step ahead
- Practical examples that demonstrate when to act, how to act and how to recover
Come learn how YOU can Animate and Illuminate the World with Generative AI's Explosive Power. Come sit in the driver's seat and learn to harness this great technology.
Short video marketing has sweeped the nation and is the fastest way to build an online brand on social media in 2024. In this session you will learn:- What is short video marketing- Which platforms work best for your business- Content strategies that are on brand for your business- How to sell organically without paying for ads.
Videos are more engaging, more memorable, and more popular than any other type of content out there. That’s why it’s estimated that 82% of consumer traffic will come from videos by 2025.
And with videos evolving from landscape to portrait and experts promoting shorter clips, one thing remains constant – our brains LOVE videos.
So is there science behind what makes people absolutely irresistible on camera?
The answer: definitely yes.
In this jam-packed session with Stephanie Garcia, you’ll get your hands on a steal-worthy guide that uncovers the art and science to being irresistible on camera. From body language to words that convert, she’ll show you how to captivate on command so that viewers are excited and ready to take action.
Mastering Local SEO for Service Businesses in the AI Era is tailored specifically for local service providers like plumbers, dentists, and others seeking to dominate their local search landscape. This session delves into leveraging AI advancements to enhance your online visibility and search rankings through the Content Factory model, designed for creating high-impact, SEO-driven content. Discover the Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy, a cost-effective approach to boost your local SEO efforts and attract more customers with minimal investment. Gain practical insights on optimizing your online presence to meet the specific needs of local service seekers, ensuring your business not only appears but stands out in local searches. This concise, action-oriented workshop is your roadmap to navigating the complexities of digital marketing in the AI age, driving more leads, conversions, and ultimately, success for your local service business.
Key Takeaways:
Embrace AI for Local SEO: Learn to harness the power of AI technologies to optimize your website and content for local search. Understand the pivotal role AI plays in analyzing search trends and consumer behavior, enabling you to tailor your SEO strategies to meet the specific demands of your target local audience. Leverage the Content Factory Model: Discover the step-by-step process of creating SEO-optimized content at scale. This approach ensures a steady stream of high-quality content that engages local customers and boosts your search rankings. Get an action guide on implementing this model, complete with templates and scheduling strategies to maintain a consistent online presence. Maximize ROI with Dollar-a-Day Advertising: Dive into the cost-effective Dollar-a-Day advertising strategy that amplifies your visibility in local searches without breaking the bank. Learn how to strategically allocate your budget across platforms to target potential local customers effectively. The session includes an action guide on setting up, monitoring, and optimizing your ad campaigns to ensure maximum impact with minimal investment.
For too many years marketing and sales have operated in silos...while in some forward thinking companies, the two organizations work together to drive new opportunity development and revenue. This session will explore the lessons learned in that beautiful dance that can occur when marketing and sales work together...to drive new opportunity development, account expansion and customer satisfaction.
No, this is not a conversation about MQLs and SQLs. Instead we will focus on a framework that allows the two organizations to drive company success together.
It's another new era of digital and marketers are faced with making big bets on their digital strategy. If you are looking at modernizing your tech stack to support your digital evolution, there are a few can't miss (often overlooked) areas that should be part of every conversation. We'll cover setting your vision, avoiding siloes, adding a democratized approach to data strategy, localization, creating critical governance requirements and more. Attendees will walk away with actions they can take into initiatives they are running today and consider for the future.
Most small businesses struggle to see marketing results. In this session, we will eliminate any confusion about what to do next, solving your marketing problems so your business can thrive. You’ll learn how to create a foundational marketing OS (operating system) based on neuroscience and backed by real-world results. You’ll be taught how to develop deep customer connections, and how to have your CRM dynamically segment and sell at any stage in the customer’s journey. By the end of the session, you’ll remove confusion and chaos and replace it with clarity and confidence for long-term marketing success.
Key Takeaways:
• Uncover the power of a foundational marketing system that dynamically communicates with prospects and customers on autopilot.
• Harness neuroscience and Tribal Alignment to transform your communication strategies, turning potential clients into fans and those fans into loyal customers.
• Discover the art of automated segmentation, pinpointing your most lucrative customers and identifying the optimal moments for successful conversions.
• Streamline your business with a content production plan that eliminates guesswork, wasted time, and money.
Top 3 Ways to Align Sales and Marketing Teams for Rapid GrowthDemandbase
In this session, Demandbase’s Stephanie Quinn, Sr. Director of Integrated and Digital Marketing, Devin Rosenberg, Director of Sales, and Kevin Rooney, Senior Director of Sales Development will share how sales and marketing shapes their day-to-day and what key areas are needed for true alignment.
In this presentation, Danny Leibrandt explains the impact of AI on SEO and what Google has been doing about it. Learn how to take your SEO game to the next level and win over Google with his new strategy anyone can use. Get actionable steps to rank your name, your business, and your clients on Google - the right way.
Key Takeaways:
1. Real content is king
2. Find ways to show EEAT
3. Repurpose across all platforms
Unleash the power of UK SEO with Brand Highlighters! Our guide delves into the unique search landscape of Britain, equipping you with targeted strategies to dominate UK search engine results. Discover local SEO tactics, keyword magic for UK audiences, and mobile optimization secrets. Get your website seen by the right people and propel your brand to the top of UK searches.
To learn more: https://brandhighlighters.co.uk/blog/top-seo-agencies-uk/
Digital marketing is the art and science of promoting products or services using digital channels to reach and engage with potential customers. It encompasses a wide range of online tactics and strategies aimed at increasing brand visibility, driving website traffic, generating leads, and ultimately, converting those leads into customers.
https://nidmindia.com/
Digital Commerce Lecture for Advanced Digital & Social Media Strategy at UCLA...Valters Lauzums
E-commerce in 2024 is characterized by a dynamic blend of opportunities and significant challenges. Supply chain disruptions and inventory shortages are critical issues, leading to increased shipping delays and rising costs, which impact timely delivery and squeeze profit margins. Efficient logistics management is essential, yet it is often hampered by these external factors. Payment processing, while needing to ensure security and user convenience, grapples with preventing fraud and integrating diverse payment methods, adding another layer of complexity. Furthermore, fulfillment operations require a streamlined approach to handle volume spikes and maintain accuracy in order picking, packing, and shipping, all while meeting customers' heightened expectations for faster delivery times.
Amid these operational challenges, customer data has emerged as an important strategy. By focusing on personalization and enhancing customer experience from historical behavior, businesses can deliver improved website and brand experienced, better product recommendations, optimal promotions, and content to meet individual preferences. Better data analytics can also help in effectively creating marketing campaigns, improving customer retention, and driving product development and inventory management.
Innovative formats such as social commerce and live shopping are beginning to impact the digital commerce landscape, offering new ways to engage with customers and drive sales, and may provide opportunity for brands that have been priced out or seen a downturn with post-pandemic shopping behavior. Social commerce integrates shopping experiences directly into social media platforms, tapping into the massive user bases of these networks to increase reach and engagement. Live shopping, on the other hand, combines entertainment and real-time interaction, providing a dynamic platform for showcasing products and encouraging immediate purchases. These innovations not only enhance customer engagement but also provide valuable data for businesses to refine their strategies and deliver superior shopping experiences.
The e-commerce sector is evolving rapidly, and businesses that effectively manage operational challenges and implement innovative strategies are best positioned for long-term success.
The session includes a brief history of the evolution of search before diving into the roles technology, content, and links play in developing a powerful SEO strategy in a world of Generative AI and social search. Discover how to optimize for TikTok searches, Google's Gemini, and Search Generative Experience while developing a powerful arsenal of tools and templates to help maximize the effectiveness of your SEO initiatives.
Key Takeaways:
Understand how search engines work
Be able to find out where your users search
Know what is required for each discipline of SEO
Feel confident creating an SEO Plan
Confidently measure SEO performance
SEO Master Class - Steve Wiideman, Wiideman Consulting Group
How to define your brand positioning
1. Your brand positioning statement defines the target market, consumer
benefits, both functional and emotional, as well as support points.
How to define your
brand positioning
Beloved Brands Training Files
4. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Brand positioning statement motivates consumers to buy,
and gives you a competitive advantage to drive future growth.
Stay in
control
Feel
myself
Use our
Benefits
Ladder to
move from
features to
rational and
emotional
benefits
2
5
1 Use our cheat sheets to understand the
Functional and Emotional benefits
3Benefits Ladder
4
Consumer Target
Product features
Functional benefits
Emotional benefits
Works
better
Functional
Benefits
Simplify
Life
Make
Smarter
Make
Healthy
Saves
money
Helps
family
Sensory
Appeal
Connect Experience
Emotional
Benefits
Comfort
Optimism
Feel
free
Get
noticed
Feel
liked
Seek to
know
What
consumers
want
What your
competitor
does best
What
your brand
does best
Losing
Risky
Dumb
Winning
Define a focused consumer
target profile with insights,
enemies and buying patterns.
Use our Venn
diagrams to
determine your
winning zone,
where your brand
is motivating to
consumers and
ownable to drive
long-term growth.
Summarize your
winning
positioning
statement in a
space that is
unique, ownable
motivating to
consumers
5. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
To win, brands have to find the winning zone, that is
motivating to the consumer and ownable for the brand
What
consumers
want
What your
competitor
does best
What
your brand
does best
Losing
Zone
Risky
Zone
Dumb
Zone
Winning
Zone
6. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Four elements of a Brand Positioning Statement
To
(Target)
• Who is in the consumer target? What slice of the
population is the most motivated to buy what you do?
Your brand is the
(Category)
• Where do you play? What is the frame of reference
that helps to define the space in the marketplace that
you compete in?
That is the
(Benefit)
• Where do you win? What promise will you make to
the consumer target, thinking about main benefit
(rational/emotional)
That’s because
(Support Points)
• Why should they believe us? What support points
help to back up the main benefit?
1
2
4
3
7. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Building a winning brand positioning statement
To
(Target)
• Highly connected, fast-paced people who
are frustrated by the annoying
complexities of technology
Apple is the
(Category)
• Consumer electronics brand
That
(Benefit)
• Simplifies technology to help you feel
smarter, so you can do more with every
device.
That’s
because
(Support Points)
• We start with ideal consumer experience
and work back to the technology,
eliminating every possible frustration.
• We push for surprising technology that
will change the world, with intuitive,
simple, and easy-to-use products.
1
2
3
4
8. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Consumer Benefits Ladder
Target and insights
Product features
Functional benefits
Emotional benefits
Consumers
Define target, need
states, enemies
and insights.
Functional
“So, what do I get?”
Features
Product-focused
strengths, claims,
differences
Emotional
“So how does that
make me feel?”
12
3
4
9. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Consumer Benefits Ladder
Target and insights
Product features
Functional benefits
Emotional benefits With Gray’s, you can feel optimistic
nothing will get in your way today.
Gray’s helps you can get on with
your day.
Gray’s is the fastest working
headache medication.
Target the headache fighter with the
insight of: “I wake up with headaches,
but I don't want to come across like a
complainer, so i keep it secret.”
Gray’s
Pain Relief
10. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Seven questions to define your consumer
1. What is the description of the consumer target?
2. What are the consumer’s main needs?
3. Who is the consumer’s enemy who torments them every day?
4. What are the insights we know about the consumer?
5. What does the consumer think now?
6. How does the consumer buy?
7. What do we want consumers to see, think, do, feel or whisper
to their friends?
11. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Who wants your brand the most? Divide up market to
identify most motivated audience.
If you use segmentation to find the most motivated consumer, make the choice to
focus, not mistakenly use the opportunity to try to uniquely capture each segment
Consumer
Consumer Segmentation
Consumer Profiling
Demographics
Socio-Economic
Geographic/Channels
Consumer Behavior
Lifestyle
Personality
Values
Consumer Psychographics
AttitudesCurrent or New customers
Benefit need states
Purchase occasion
Purchase behavior
Perceptions and beliefs
The
Brand
12. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Understand functional and emotional need states
Functional
Need States
Emotional
Need States
Makes you
smarterWorks Better
Helps
your
family
Helps you be
healthier
Sensory
Appeal
Simplifies
your life
Saves you
money
Experience
Curious for
knowledgeSense of
optimism
Stay in
control
Feel
comfortable
Feel
myself
Feel liked
Feel
free
Get
noticed
Stay Connected
13. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Moment of your life,
where your brand
fits as a natural
solution
Directly
sets up a
consumer
benefit only
you can
deliver
Creative
expressions
allows consumers
to accept as a truth
Consumer
Insights Engages
emotions,
inspirations,
frustrations.
values,
beliefs
What makes a good
Consumer Insight
✓ Ability to creatively express,
to engage consumers and allow
them to accept as true.
✓ Matches up to the consumer’s
life moments when they
naturally engage brand.
✓ Secret knowledge that directly
sets up a consumer benefit
that only you can deliver.
✓ Goes beneath data, to engage
emotions, inspirations,
frustrations, values, beliefs.
14. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Example of a consumer insight using quitting smoking
“I feel ______________________ whenever I ___________________”
A tool for helping with writing a consumer insight
A human truth based on one of:
• underlying behaviors
• motivations/inspirations
• values or beliefs
• pain points
• emotions
A starting point for your thinking
“I feel ______________________ whenever I ___________________”
A moment in the consumer’s life
• Part of the day, week, year
• Celebration moment (xmas)
• A monumental moment in their life
• Moment of strength or weakness
I become a monster
and the worst
version of myself
Try to quit smoking.
I don’t want to be
that person again.
15. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
The 360-degree mining for consumer insights
Explanations of data
breaks, drivers,
inhibitors, trends with
consumers, channels,
competitors
Observe consumer reactions in
focus groups, product tests, ad
testing, direct consumer
engagements to add to insights.
Listen to Voice of
Consumer (VOC)
with comments on
social media, brand
reviews, market
research. Look for
word choices.
What we see
(observations)
2
What we read
(Facts/Data)
What we sense
(Consumer Voice)
31
Life Moments
(Day in the life)
5
Matches up to a
day in the life
7am
Noon
6pm
8pm
11pm
What we feel
(Emotional Needs)
4
Map out your
consumer’s life,
understanding the
underlying behaviors,
motivations, pain points
and emotions on the
path to purchase.
Use our emotional
need state cheat sheet
to understand potential
emotional insights.
16. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Good consumer insights should get in the shoes of your
consumer and use the consumer’s voice
We recommend that consumer insights should start with “I” to get you into the
consumer’s shoes and then use quotes to ensure you are using their voice.
For a Bank: “I am so busy driving my kids around, I can
never get to the bank during banking hours. I wish there
was a bank that worked around my life, rather than me
working around the banks’ life”.
Computers for Seniors: “I find computers frustrating
and intimidating. Once someone shows me how to do
something, I feel so much smarter. I love being able to
connect with friends or look up things on Google”
For a Bank: Financial tracking research
shows customers would use a bank 3.4
times more a month, spend $56 more each
month if our Bank were open till 8pm.
Computers for Seniors: The biggest
growth in computer laptops comes from
55+ segment. They are willing to pay a
premium if it comes with free lessons.
Boring insights end up flat Good insights inspire creativity
Quit Smoking: “I know I should quit. I’ve tried to quit so
many times, it’s ridiculous. I’m not myself, I’m grouchy,
irritable and feel out of control. Quitting smoking sucks!”
Quit Smoking: Studies show that people
try to quit 7x before reaching for a smoking
aid to help them quit.
17. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Summarize all the great thinking into a Consumer Target
Profile that can be used in everything you do
Target Name Pro-Active Preventers
Target
Description
• Suburban working women, 35-40, who are willing to do whatever it takes to stay healthy.
They run, workout and eat right. For many, food can be a bit of a stress-reliever and escape.
Their needs • Great tasting food, satisfy craving, healthy choices, maintain weight.
Their enemy • Guilt, failure, out of control diet, temptation.
Insights that tell
their story
• “I have tremendous will-power. I work out 3x a week, watch what I eat to maintain my figure.
But we all have weaknesses and cookies are mine. I just wish they were less bad for you”
• “I read labels of everything I eat. I stick to 1500 calories per day, and will find my own ways
to achieve that balance.”
What do they
think now?
• I have only recently heard of Gray’s Cookies. I’ve tried them a few times and did like them. I
wouldn’t say I use them all the time.
How are they
buying?
• Most have been influenced by friends who have tried. Those who are buying, still do so less
frequently than their normal favorite cookies. The household has yet to adopt the product.
The mom uses it when she’s trying to diet.
We want them
to think/feel/do
• See: Get noticed so consumers are aware of Gray’s, see it on shelf, see actual product.
• Think: Gray’s might be a healthy alternative to my favorite cookies.
• Do: Try Grays to see if they like the great taste.
• Feel: Feel more in control with Gray’s as part of their routine, and feel less guilt.
• Whisper: Tell their friends they love Gray’s, and share the success they are having.
18. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Functional benefit cheat sheet
Makes
you
smarter
Works
Better
for you
Helps
your
family
Helps
you be
healthier
Faster
Powerful
Safer
Lasts
Longer Keeps you
organized
Saves
time
Social Fashions
Latest technology SoundsTaste Smell
Sights
Education
Comfort
Life
Stages
Mental
HealthBetter
Home
Prevents
Weight/Exercise
Lower
Risk
Track
Success
Resale
Invest for future
Advice Solutions
Teaching Helping
hand
Sensory
Appeal
Simplifies
your life
Stay
Connected
Hassle
Free
Easier to
use
Touch/Feel
Value
Quality
Reduces
Soothes
Cultural
How it is
made
Saves
you
money
Experience Variety
Service
In touch
Moments
Responsiveness
Memorable
Occasion
Rituals
Updates
Luxurious
Performance
IntegratedEfficient
Subconscious
Style
9 functional zones with 50 total functional benefits
19. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Emotional benefit cheat sheet
8 emotional zones with 40 total emotional benefits
Curious for
knowledge
Sense of
optimism
Feel
comfortable
Feel
myself
Motivated
Special
Successful
Inspired
Interesting
Alive
Cool Playful
Popular Trendy
Like-able
Friendly Intimate
Happy
Easy-going Nurtured
Compassion
Down-to-earth
Relaxed
Honest
Family
Trust
SafeRespect
Reliable
Informed
Wisdom Smarter
Competent
Feel
liked
Feel
free
Get
noticed
Excited
Consumer
Emotions Values
Exhilarating
@Hotspex
Stay in
control
20. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Build your brand around unique benefit clusters
Functional
Emotional
Feel
optimistic
Motivated
Special Inspired
Interesting
Alive
Feel free
Excited
Curious for
knowledge
Stay in
controlTrust Respect
Reliable
Informed
Wisdom
Smarter
Simplifies
your life
Hassle
Free
Easier
to use
Integrated
Efficient
Sights
Sensory
Appeal
Touch/Feel
Experience
Personal Service
Responsiveness
Memorable
Subconscious
Makes you
smarter
Keeps you
organized
Saves time
Latest
technology
Solutions
Teaching
Helping
hand
Simplifies
your life
Stay
Connected
Easier
to use
In
touch
Integrated
Efficient
Style
• Start by looking at the
two cheat sheets and
narrow down to potential
clusters of the functional
and emotional benefits.
• Match what consumers
want and what your
brand does best.
• Take three of the zones
from each cheat sheet
and add 2-3 support
words per zone to create
a cluster.
21. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Build your brand around unique benefit clusters
Helps your
family
Keeps you
organized
Life
Stages
Better Home
Resale value
Simplifies
your life
Saves you
money
Moments
Efficient
Feel
comfortable
Feel
myself
Easy-going
Nurtured
Down-
to--earth
Relaxed
Honest Family
Functional
Emotional Curious for
knowledge
Stay in
control
Trust
Safe
Reliable
Informed
SmarterWisdom
Makes you
smarter
Works
Better
Safer
Life Stages
Better
Home
Solutions
Helping
hand
Quality
Helps your
family
How it
is made
Works
Better
Faster
Sights Sensory
Appeal
Touch/Feel
Quality
Experience
Responsiveness
Subconscious
Luxurious
Performance
Alive
Cool
Playful
Popular
Feel
free
Get
noticed
Excited
Comfort
Comfort
Memorable
Sounds
Good value
22. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Use the benefit clusters to guide benefit statements
Safe
• I feel in control of my weight and health
• I feel safer in snacking on this cookie
• I feel less guilt about an indulgence
• I like to know how many calories I eat each day
• I feel more confident in my diet and myself
• I feel more knowledgeable about what I am putting in my body.
• I will feel more motivated to be successful with this cookie
• I feel comfortable that I get more choices
• I will feel inspired to lose weight
• I get a low calorie low fat treat.
• I get a cookie made of all natural ingredients.
• I get a great tasting cookie, as good as my current cookie
• I can replace my current favorite cookie with this one
• I get a low calorie snack to make my diet easier
• Whenever I get hungry, this is the one I will reach for
• I can eat this when I’m hungry
• I will be healthier and lose weight
• I will prevent falling off my diet
• I can use 5 pounds in 2 weeks.
• I will be able to reduce my daily calorie intake
• I will get the same great taste, just lower calories and fat
• I can get the same sensation I get from eating a cookie
Functional
Clusters
Emotional
Clusters
Helps you be
healthier
Taste
Prevents
Weight / Exercise
Sensory
Appeal
Easier to use
Touch/Feel
Reduces
Experience
Memorable
OccasionRituals
Curious for
knowledge
Sense of
optimism
Stay in
control
Motivated
Successful
Inspired
Trust Respect
Reliable
Informed Smarter
Benefit statement brainstorm for Gray’s Cookies
23. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Use the benefit clusters to brainstorm benefit statements
• I feel in control when I quit
• I feel safer in quitting
• I like to know how the product works and what i will experience
• I feel more confident I will be successful
• I feel more knowledgeable about what I am putting in my body.
• I will feel more motivated to be successful in quitting
• I will feel inspired I will not gain weight
• I want to quit, I just want to make sure I’m successful.
• I am motivated by having something to help me beat the cravings
• I want to quit. I just need help to control my urges.
• It will help me quit and I know I will be healthier
• I won’t have any urges to smoke
• It will make quitting a little bit easier
• It will keep me strong and help me break my smoking rituals
• It prevents me from falling off the wagon
• Whenever I want a cigarette, I know I can beat the craving
• I will be healthier and not gain weight
• It works for 24 hours so I will have no late night urges
• I like the responsiveness from the first moment of the day
Helps you be
healthierPrevents Weight/Exercise
Easier to use
Reduces
Experience
Occasion
Rituals
Curious for
knowledge
Sense of
optimism
Stay in
control
Motivated
Successful
Inspired
Trust
Safe
Respect
Reliable
Informed
Smarter
Use the clusters to begin the brainstorm,
using specific category or brand words.
Works Better
for you
Faster
Lasts
Longer
Performance
Responsiveness
Graytine
24. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
A great tool to use when you own two competing brands
Functional
Emotional
Works
better FasterMore
powerful
Lasts
Longer
How it is made
Performance
Keeps you
organized Simplifies
your lifeHassle
Free
Easier
to use
Efficient
Helps your
family
Comfort
Life Stages
Moments
Helps you be
healthier Peace of
mind
Reduces
Soothes
Works
Better
More powerful
SaferLasts
Longer
Prevents
Peace of
mind
Helps you be
healthier
Sense of
optimism
Stay in
control
Motivated
Successful
Inspired
Trust
Reliable
Feel myself
Down-to--earth Honest
Family Values
Feel
comfortable
Nurtured
Compassion
Relaxed
25. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Listen to your consumers and use a word clustering
technique to chart the consumer’s key words
Reduce weight
Irritable
Failure
Longtime
Wish I could lose ten pounds
Love cookies
Habit
Pressure
angry
Out of control
Goals
Can’t
do it
Weak
Nextyear
Optimism
Depressed
Feel good
Feel guilty when I cheat
Keep failing
Can’t stop
Getfat
Want to so badly
Clothes are tight
Scared
Hatemyself
Goesgreatatwork
Perfect
snack for
after dinner
Anxiety
Stay in control
Crying
First
day
Possible
I wish I could
eat better
Motivated to
lose weight
Hate
myself
I want to make smart healthy choices
Ingredients
matter to me
Feel like a loser
Success
Need help
Want to
feel sexy
26. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Sort through possible benefits to find benefits most
motivating to consumers and ownable for your brand.
Motivated
consumers
High
HighLow
Ownable
Losing
Zone
Winning
Zone
Dumb
Zone
Risky
Zone
What
consumers
want
What your
competitor
does best
What
your brand
does best
Losing
Zone
Risky
Zone
Dumb
Zone
Winning
Zone
27. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Sort through possible benefits to find benefits most
motivating to consumers and ownable for your brand.
How motivated
are consumers by
your benefit
High
High
Low
Low How ownable is this benefit
for your brand
Losing Zone Winning Zone
Dumb Zone Risky Zone
Guilt Free
Alternative
Low
Calorie
Less Fat
All Natural
Ingredients
Lose 5
pound in 2
weeks
Feel
Smarter
about food
Feel in
control of
your
weight
Feel
more
confident
More
comfort in
choices
New
Favorite
Cookie
28. Sell the benefit,
not the features.
People don’t really want a
quarter-inch drill. They just want
a quarter-inch hole to hang up
beautiful memories of their life.
29. The power of bringing emotions into what you are selling
Who do you think will get the ride?
30. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
The support points or claims for your ‘reason to believe’
Process
• Detail how your product works differently
• Showcase your point of difference in the production process.
• What do you do differently within the production process
• What added service/details do you provide in the value chain
Product
• Usage of an ingredient that makes you better
• Process or ingredient that makes you safer
Third person
• Experts in the field who can speak on the brand’s behalf.
• Past users/clients with proof support of their stories.
Behavioral
• Clinical tests
• In market usage study
• Before and after studies
31. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Laying out your product or service offering should link
back to the functional/emotional benefits space
Curious for
knowledge
Sense of
optimism
Stay in
control
Motivated
Successful
Inspired
Trust
Safe
Respect
Reliable
Informed
Smarter
Makes you
smarter
Works Better
for you
Faster
Keeps you
organized
Advice
Solutions Teaching
Helping hand
Simplifies
your life
Easier
to use
How it is
made
Performance
Integrated
What you do
(features)
What they get
(Benefits)
1. Our 360-degree
assessment looks at the
market, consumers,
channels, competitors
and the brand.
2. We help find a simple,
unique, motivating and
own-able brand
positioning statement.
3. We help build a
strategic brand plan
everyone who works
behind the scenes of
the brand can follow.
1. Our deep-dive assessment will give
you the knowledge of the issues
facing your brand, so you can build
a smart plan to unleash future
growth.
2. We will find a winning brand
positioning statement that motivates
consumers to buy, and gives you a
competitive advantage to drive
future growth.
3. We build a brand plan to help you
make smart focused decisions, so
you can organize, steer, and inspire
your team towards higher growth
32. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Learn to communicate with benefits not features
We do a 360-degree assessment
looks at the market, consumers,
channels, competitors and the brand.
Our deep-dive assessment will give
you the knowledge of the issues facing
your brand, so you can build a smart
plan to unleash future growth.
Starting point is to
explain what they get
And then explain
what you do
Tell them what they get before you tell them what they do
33. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Populate the Consumer Benefits Ladder
Target: “Proactive Preventers”. Suburban working women, 35-40,
who are willing to do whatever it takes to stay healthy. They run,
workout and eat right. For many, food can be a bit of a stress-
reliever and an escape.
Needs: Great taste, satisfy craving, healthy, maintain weight.
Consumer Enemy: Guilt, failure, out of control diet, temptation.
Insights: 1) “I have tremendous will-power. I work out 3x a week,
watch what I eat and maintain my figure. But we all have
weaknesses and cookies are mine. I just wish they were less bad
for you” 2) “I read labels of everything I eat. I stick to 1500 calories
per day, and will find my own ways to achieve that balance.”
Emotional Benefits: 1) I feel in control of my health. 2) I feel
more confident in my diet. 3) I feel more knowledgeable about
what I am putting in my body.
Functional Benefits: 1) I get a great tasting cookie, as good as
my current cookie 2) I get a low calorie snack to make my diet
easier. 3) I can eat this when I’m hungry.
Features: 1) In blind taste tests, Grays matched the market
leaders on taste, but only has 100 calories and 2g of fat. 2) In a
12 week study, consumers using Grays once a night as a desert
were able to lose 5 pounds. 3) All natural ingredients.
34. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Bringing all the work together to create a winning brand
positioning statement
To
(Target)
• Healthy proactive preventers who want
to do more for their health, working
moms, who are 35-40 years old.
Gray’s is the
(Category)
• Tasty healthy cookie option
That is the
(Benefit)
• Guilt free cookie that tastes so good
that you can stay in control of your health
That’s
because
(Support Points)
• In blind taste tests, Gray’s matched the
leaders on taste, but has only 100
calories and 3g of net carbs.
• In a 12-week study, consumers using
Gray’s once a night as a dessert were
able to lose 5-10 pounds.
1
2
3
4
35. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
This works equally well for a B2B type brand
GRAYS
Stage Lighting
To
(Target)
• Discerning stage directors of Broadway theatre
companies
Gray’s is the
(Category)
• Theatre stage lighting
That is the
(Benefit)
• Inspiring lighting that brings the actors
faces to life for theatre patrons
That’s
because
(Support Points)
• A 4 week test, using Grays, has shown that
theatre patrons can notice every facial detail
from the 40th row of the theatre.
• We have testimonials from 20 leading
Broadway theatre directors. Steven Jones said,
“With Gray’s Lighting, our actors say they now
hear every giggle and gasp in the audience,
inspiring their best performance every night.”
1
2
3
4
36. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
The process works for healthcare brands
To
(Target)
• Veteran smokers, 40-55, who are
willing to do whatever it takes to quit.
Graytine is the
(Category)
• Quit smoking aid
That
(Benefit)
• Helps you stay in control, while
you quit smoking, so that you are
more successful
That’s because
(Support Points)
• In clinical tests, patients were 38%
more successful in quitting versus
cold turkey.
• Patients felt more in control. Fewer
mood swings, urges to smoke and
potential cheating moments.
1
2
3
4
Graytine
37. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Positioning statement works for technology brands
To
(Target)
• Business leaders who want to leverage technology
to improve their competitive advantage, but lack
the expertise to make it a reality in their company.
GrayTech is the
(Category)
Technology solutions team
That
(Benefit)
• Turns complicated business problems into
technology solutions, to make your business
more valuable.
That’s because
(Support Points)
GrayTech’s people make the difference.
• Our experts bring creative solutions that make
technology simpler and an asset for your
business to build upon. We design, build and
manage everything linked to the technology
foundation of your company.
• Our people bring a level of care, commitment to
quality and pride to our customers. We never give
up and do whatever it takes.
1
2
3
4
GrayTech
38. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
And finally, to show it works on service/retail brands
To
(Target)
• Concerned family members (35-55) who are
looking for their parent 65+, hoping to make the
right medical decisions
Gray’s Medical
Equipment is the
(Category)
Medical Equipment Service Provider
That
(Benefit)
• Is the helping hand to make it easier to find
the right medical equipment solution
That’s because
(Support Points)
• At Gray’s, it’s more about our people than just
our products. We take the time to listen to your
needs and we’ll provide you with knowledgeable
advice at eery state of the process,so you can
make an informed decision on getting the right
equipment.
• We’ll take care of the paperwork and help you
navigate the available funding processes and
even work directly with insurance companies to
make your purchase easier.
1
2
3
4
Gray’s Medical
Equipment
39. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Summary on brand positioning
• A brand positioning statement is essential to ensure your brand stands out from the pack.
Brands have to be better, different, cheaper … or else your brand will not be around for very
long.
• Match what consumers want to what your brand does best. Avoid taking on competitors
where they are stronger and avoid entering zones consumers don’t care about.
• Start by defining the consumer target, focused on those consumers most motivated by what
you do best. Look at demographics, psychographics, need states, consumer insights, and the
consumer’s enemy to help tell the story of the consumer.
• Use the consumer benefits ladder to take the brand features and turn them into functional
benefits expressing what the consumer gets, and emotional benefits expressing how they
make the consumer feel.
Use our benefit sort process to help find the winner, which is highly motivating to consumers
and highly ownable for the brand.
• Add two support points to help fill in the logic behind the main benefit. Support points can
relate to process, product, third person, or behavioral factors.
• Bring the homework together into a brand positioning statement that has a focused target,
market reference, main benefit, and two reasons to believe.
40. We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Our brand management
training program
1. Why being a beloved brand matters
2. How to think strategically
3. Defining your brand positioning
4. Aligning everything around your brand idea
5. Building a brand plan everyone can follow
6. How to write a smart Creative brief
7. How to run the advertising process
8. How to make creative advertising decisions
9. How to make media decisions
10. Deep-dive analysis of your brand
11. Brand Finance
12. Managing your brand career
Brand Positioning
beloved
brands
41. Our new book: Beloved Brands
We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
The playbook for how to build a
brand your consumers will love.
• How to think strategically
• Write a brand positioning statement
• Come up with a brand idea
• Write a brand plan everyone can follow
• Write an inspiring creative brief
• Make decisions on marketing execution
• Conduct a deep-dive business review
• Finance 101 for marketers
“Beloved Brands is the book every CMO or would-be CMO should read.”
Al Ries
42. Graham Robertson of Beloved Brands
We help brands find growth.
We make brand leaders smarter.beloved
brands
Graham Robertson is one of the voices of today's brand leaders. As the
founder of Beloved Brands, he has been a brand advisor to the NFL Players
Association, Shell, Reebok, Acura, Jack Links and Pfizer. He's helped train
some of the best marketing teams on strategy, brand positioning, brand plans
and advertising. Graham's purpose is to use is marketing experience and
provocative style to get marketers to think differently about their brands, and
to explore new ways to grow.
Graham spent 20 years leading some of the world's most beloved brands at
Johnson and Johnson, Coke, General Mills and Pfizer, rising up to VP
Marketing. Graham played a significant role in helping win Marketing
Magazine's "Marketer of the Year" award. He has won numerous advertising
and innovation awards including Businessweek’s best new product award.
As a keynote speaker, Graham shares his passion for brands to challenge and inspire marketing minds
around the world, whether speaking at Advertising Week, or at the NBA Summer League, or to a room full
of marketers in Bangkok Thailand or an agency in New York. He's been a guest writer for Ad Age, and his
weekly blog stories have reached millions of marketers, who are trying to improve their skills.
His new book, Beloved Brands, has launched with rave reviews. Many brand leaders are using this book
as a playbook to help build the brand they work on. And, it serves as a brand management textbook for
business schools in the US, Canada and UK.
Graham’s personal promise is to help you solve your brand building challenges, to give you new thinking,
so you can unlock future growth for your brand.