Princeton Partners Branding Process
Defining your brand is critical for business success. Your brand tells you who you are and—as importantly—who you aren’t. It helps you define your business goals, build strategies, and allocate resources. Strong branding leads to communications that deliver the right message to the right customers at the right time—which drives better ROI.
The phases of our branding process – Discovery, UBI Development, Definition, Expression, and Delivery – strengthen your brand, making it a powerful business asset. The first two phases provide a strategic foundation for the brand. The second two bring the brand to life.
Phase 1: Discovery
Gather information to provide the factual foundation for branding efforts.
PROCESS
- Examine client-provided strategic documents (business plan, vision, VOC, etc.);
- Perform a web-based audit of your competitors and create a competitive positioning analysis;
- Administer a questionnaire to be completed by identified team members;
- Interview five key leaders from across your organization to gain further insight;
- Optional: Conduct qualitative and/or quantitative research with customers, lost customers, prospects and lost prospects, exploring attitudes toward your brand;
- Lead a Discovery Session with your leadership team to review the information gathered and conduct exercises that will provide additional knowledge and insight.
Phase 2: Definition
Create the strategic foundation for the brand.
PROCESS
- Develop three UBI options.
A Unifying Brand Idea℠ (UBI) is a one-, two- or three-word platform that simply and clearly differentiates an organization from its competitors. Internally, it serves as a rallying cry that focuses the organization on achieving one overriding deliverable every day. It influences product and service development, acquisition strategy, customer experience, and more.
- Externally, a UBI is the positive spark that engages your target rationally and emotionally with your brand, resulting in new levels of success.
- Develop a 6 P’s strategy for each UBI, which will inspire organizational performance and market appeal:
- Positioning answers what a brand is in relation to its competitors. It must be relevant, credible, and differentiated;
- Promise sets expectations internally and externally;
- Propositions connect brands rationally with decision-makers and end-users. Propositions support the brand promise and make it credible;
- Personality is what connects the brand emotionally with target audiences. The personality is expressed in the tone, “voice,” and style of communications;
- Presentation is the look and feel of the brand, which will be delivered consistently in all media and touch points. This will be developed during Brand Expression;
- Pipeline is your communications delivery system. We develop media-neutral plans to ensure that your delivery system – at every touch point – expresses your brand effectively. This will be developed during Brand Delivery.
Phase 3: Expression
PROCESS
Craft, with your collaboration and approval, a comprehensive Creative Brief that will encapsulate the creative direction, target audience, needs and insights, supporting rationale, and desired communications outputs;
Perform a Creative Exploratory that will result in three concepts that express the brand. Based on your needs, these concepts may include:
VISUAL ELEMENTS
- Logo concepts and/or refinements
- Color schemes
- Brand look and feel
MESSAGING ELEMENTS
- Headlines
- Taglines
Present these concepts at a Creative Exploratory meeting where you will provide input or approval of the brand’s creative direction.
DELIVERABLE
A Brand Expression Report that will summarize the key visual and messaging elements of your brand.
Phase 4: Delivery
Create the strategic foundation for the brand.
PROCESS
- Work with Client to develop strategies and tactics which may include:
- Digital strategy/media
- Data-driven marketing
- Traditional strategy/media
- Adwords (see attached Process/SOW)
- Collateral strategy
- Social media strategy
- Content strategy
- Metrics to define and measure success
DELIVERABLE
An Integrated Marketing Plan that will include budgets, responsibilities, and timelines.