Benefits of a Strong Brand, Part 4 – Better Representation from Employees and Those Who Support You

Here’s one more recent client story in this blog series that demonstrates why committing to a strong brand with clearly defined brand values yields a great return on your investment:

Benefits of a Strong Brand - Strong Links in the Chain - Brand Specialist Blog ImageI attended a recent meeting at one of our branding clients where I happily observed firsthand some great on-brand decision making by their staff.  This client—a fast-growing and highly respected consulting firm—had gathered its consultants to participate in a round of debriefing and brainstorming about ways to handle difficult situations that arose with their clientele. A team member brought up a situation that had arisen with their customer Costco, in which someone on the Costco team had proposed an exception to my client’s proven consulting process by introducing a second level of variables and decision making for the sake of “flexibility.” The team member of my client was asking the group at the meeting how to handle this and similar situations in the future…. Learn More…

Benefits of a Strong Brand, Part 3 – Create Stronger, More Cost-Effective Marketing

Continuing with our blog series, here is another client story that shows a third valuable benefit of having a clear and relevant brand:

Benefits of a Strong Brand- Franciscan Media - Brand Specialist Blog imageTwo years ago I helped a 120-year-old Catholic media company rebrand itself. This company had a hand in many areas: they published the leading national Catholic magazine in the U.S. as well as two separate book imprints, ran one of the top five Catholic websites in the world, produced a nationally syndicated radio program, had a large audio/video line, ran an educational resources division, maintained a popular e-card business, and was beginning to produce apps and digital products. Each was a separate business unit. Many had been acquired over the decades and carried a unique brand or identity. I used HeLT’s corporate branding approach with this client, including our C.O.R.E.E. Brand Positioning Process and supporting marketing research…. Learn More…

Benefits of a Strong Brand, Part 2 – Greater Collaborative & Strategic Partnership Opportunities

Do you know what a great sign of a really strong brand is? When others in the marketplace tell the story of your brand for you. Here’s another fun client anecdote that illustrates a second important advantage of having a powerful, clear brand:

Benefits of a Strong Brand - The Steve Trauman Co. -Brand Specialist Blog ImageI recently was asked to attend a company meeting of one my rock star clients, The Steve Trautman Co. (STC). This Seattle-based consulting firm is today’s leading expert in knowledge transfer and serves a blue-chip client list—such as Boeing, Nike, Microsoft, Goodyear, U.S. Steel, Aetna and more—with global solutions in knowledge transfer. HeLT had led STC through a rebranding just over three years ago and has since served as their brand manager. The gathering I attended included the company’s employees and contractors, plus a new strategic partner whom I hadn’t met. This new partner—Kathy Hagen of K L Hagen Intellectual Capital Strategies—would soon begin helping STC with some account management and sales. The interesting thing is that Kathy is, by all extents, a Steve Trautman competitor. … Learn More…

Benefits of a Strong Brand, Part 1 – Increase Your Value to Your Target Clients/Customers

Here’s a quick client anecdote that illustrates an important benefit gained from a well-defined and strong brand:

Benefits of a Strong Brand - ProfessorsChoice.com - Brand Specialist Blog imageA few years back, HeLT worked with a publishing industry client who had started a new business unit that used state-of-the-art technology to produce custom textbooks for university professors.  Professors who could not find the course book they wanted could use the client’s service to design their own custom, hardcover, professional-looking textbook.  The client felt they had a pretty good idea of what their brand values would be before using our C.O.R.E.E. Brand Positioning Process: they knew choice and cost-savings were important values to their target customer.

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Branded Coffee Mugs & More — a HeLT Client Puts Their Branding to Use, with Results

Putting Branding to Use - The Steve Trautman Co. Branded Coffee MugA few weeks ago I was fortunate to attend the all-company 2013 kick off meeting of a client, The Steve Trautman Co. This Seattle-based client runs a consulting company that has been setting the gold standard in knowledge transfer solutions for the past decade and serves a blue chip client list, such as Boeing, Microsoft, Costco, Nike, Goodyear, Cadbury, Electronic Arts, and others. HeLT began working with The Steve Trautman Co. in 2010 and led the company through a rebranding, using our C.O.R.E.E Brand Positioning process.  We repositioned the company’s brand to focus on their leadership in knowledge transfer, changed the company name, streamlined their product offerings, and devised a simple way to present what they do to the marketplace (e.g. introduce their knowledge transfer tools as a simple, 3-step process).  We have continued to work with this client to provide on-brand marketing services…. Learn More…