Hey folks-
I know it's been quiet over here for a good while- as we transitioned from a tiny 2 person consultation firm into a fully fledged financial publisher with employees in multiple states, things have gotten a little busy!
The Berkano Initiative emails had to get put on the back burner so we could do one thing with excellence instead of many things with a lack of true focus.
This industry offers incredibly high financial rewards, but those come like a devil's bargain, with an equally high demand on time, dedication, and discipline.
I still do consulting regarding brand, but now, more often than not, it's done for partners or people close to us in the industry wondering how they can use this information to maximize their success across the board.
I've included below a "how to understand branding" crash course email, written to a friend of mine who is at the helm of a publishing company that is on course to make 60 million dollars this year, yet still understands how important the concepts of brand and branding are to the future of his business.
I thought many of you might find it valuable- we will be once again sending some emails to this list occasionally with good, valuable content and the occasional offer if we have something we think is worth it, like:
I've knocked down the price of our Brand Builder's Bible, which includes an e-book and an hour's worth of video, from its list price of $97, to just $47 for a short time.
Get it HERE while it's still on sale.
"If anyone is on the fence, just get it. It's exceptional, and delivers as promised." - Niko
"The book and videos have completely changed what I thought running a business should or would look like. Great content." - Rod
"Highly valuable information that is worth much more than the cost. Clear, concise and actionable." - Emery
WHAT IS BRANDING?
"Hey XXX, I wanted to take a minute to try to break down a bit more of what we discussed and possibly give you a few things to think about and fill in.
Let’s start by identifying the overall strategy/what branding your business encompasses:
BRAND EXPRESSION
This is how you will "get things across."
Essentially this is what makes up both the Physical and Emotional aspects of your company (or the various imprints you are working on), and how they attract, influence and create connection from both a visual and "feel" perspective for those interfacing.
Here you need to answer questions like:
What is the brand’s persona?
If your brand was a character in a movie, say, what would they act and sound like? What is their archetype?
What voice will you use to communicate your brand and ideas with those interacting?
Will you be austere, commanding, funny, flirtatious, instructive, or some functional combination?
Next, what is your brand’s overarching message? (In the terms of financial publishing, is it bullish? Excited about energy prospects? Ideological investing? This message can evolve over time, but there needs to be an underlying narrative to the brand in order for it to feel directed.)
Which leads to story or narrative: how will your brand tell its unique story, and what does that arc look like?
You already have names for your holding company and various imprints, but it can be helpful to come up with slogans, hooks, taglines and so on.
These things just give people more sticky stuff that reminds them and keeps them mentally and emotionally connected to what you’re doing.
For visuals, we are obviously talking logo and so on, but much more than that.
This is where we look to establish presence.
Your presence covers multiple logos (almost like magic sigils, you can have a full "master sigil"- your main logo, and multiple smaller, "key sigils" that are like a shorthand connection to the larger concept).
It also reaches into the realm of fonts, colours, graphic style (flashy or grown-up, edgy or conservative etc), the image types you use (playful or serious, Wolf of Wall Street shit or more sober approach), and even if it might sound goofy, think about all five senses.
It can be kind of absurd to say "what does this brand smell like" I realize, haha, but can still be a worthwhile exercise!
BRAND STRATEGY
Your brand strategy is obviously how you deploy these aforementioned aspects. If all of what we mentioned are armaments, this is where we decide where and how to strike.
What is our brand’s purpose?
What is its vision? (that is, what is its ideal vision of the future, where and how it sees itself)
What is its mission? (variant from purpose- there is a set purpose or function- the mission is how it goes about that function)
What are its core values?
Answering these questions can give some good weight to the brand structure.
As for positioning, it really comes down to knowing your audience.
Knowing your competitors...and knowing what’s the tangible difference between them and you.
At the end of the day, the two faced Janus of brand on the surface is creating the physical and emotional triggers you want.
Your main goals with branding are to create:
Customer recognition (if you know your own shit, you know exactly who you’re marketing to)
Customer loyalty (of a fanatic type, preferably)
To establish credibility
To create confidence in your customer that you are what they want- now and forever, amen
To be able to display a CONSISTENT message, feel, and interaction across the board
To create brand equity (fucking obviously!)
But also, internally, to attract talent-
(powerful brands make people go, "oh fuck, I want to work for Stratton Oakmont!") and to foster an intense pride and work ethic in the people you’ve got soldiering for you.I hope some of this helps you or helps you express to your team what you’re trying to do.
Good luck, and see you in the blessed halls of Mother Pendry sooner rather than later I pray to our dark gods!"