Integrating Your Brand

Name: Integrating Your Brand
Author: KnowledgeCity

Learn to keep your marketing on-brand, relevant, and effective.

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 4 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

(soft instrumental music) Welcome to integrating your brand. In the following lessons, we'll discuss how to keep your message on brand, develop your brand over time, and measure your brand's effectiveness. Having all aspects of marketing communication work together to promote a consistent message is the desired goal of most marketing teams. Integrating the brand into this long term goal from the very beginning and then controlling it throughout the process to ensure solidarity with your company's image is the foundation for success. The key messages and goals of your company's branding strategies should be based on a well-developed plan created by a marketing team leadership. The leadership team should consist of individuals with a background in marketing research and analytics. This is the first step in planning the branding, and it should drive the direction for all marketing tasks going forward. Your company's key messages can vary depending on the goals of an event or campaign. For example, if the event brings purchasers and vendors together the key messages and goals should focus on creating an environment that allows for collaborative networking sessions that enable the vendors to display their products and services. Be sure to identify your goals and to explain the vision to key partners and vendors. It's imperative that they understand the driving force and strategy intended for the conference or event, as if they were stewards of the brand. Additionally, it's critical that the key messages and goals are identified to support the brand. This will not only lay the groundwork for the integration, but it serves as the foundation for how customers and stakeholders perceive your company's value and offerings. Another way to integrate your brand with your message is your logo. Your company's logo defines your business and the way it operates. Place your logo everywhere you can. Integrated marketing communication considers all points of contact your brand has online and offline. Your company's logo should exist on every piece of paper you print, from brochures to letterheads. The same is true for every digital screen that represents your company, such as your website, blog, and all social media profiles. If a prospective customer were to search for your company online, you don't want them to be wondering if that Facebook page is yours or not because your logo isn't present. Make sure that each employee is aware of the connections between your logo, your company's attributes, and the company's mission you want to convey to your existing and prospective customers. Work to maintain consistency within your company. If you work in a retail environment where all employees wear red, don't come to work wearing royal blue because you decided one day to change colors. Once you have created a logo, keep it. Brand recognition is built by repetition. Be sure to provide a primary location for all brand content that is easily accessible for employees. This location should include images, graphics, logos, and documents. Make sure the brand content is current, and if content isn't available, employees are made aware. For example, if you are preparing to run an annual sale and you developed new logos, send out an email with suggestions for how to use the new logos in the campaign promotions. Make sure to brand integrate everything, from the way employees answer the telephone, the look of your website, your email signature, and even what sales people say and wear on sales calls. Make sure your company's product packaging represents the look and feel of your company logo. Pay attention to all aspects of branding for consistency of corporate identity. Keep in mind integrating brand communication goes beyond the logo and colors of the company. It also involves a custom-built website, signage, properties, videos, and custom branded collateral, and marketing pieces with your company's name and logo. You can incorporate your logo onto furniture, such as chairs, tables, and refreshment bars, as well as lighting fixtures and the walls and floors of your office or showroom by using decals and customized elements. There is no limit where your company can place their logo. The best way to achieve successful integration of the theme and brand is to create guidelines that can be used throughout the process. The guidelines should be reviewed and shared with all partners and vendors to ensure that everyone understands the company's objectives and expectations. When everyone is made aware of the company's goals and objectives, they can work together towards a common goal and create a successful brand identity.

Beginner Provider : KnowledgeCity 4 Lessons · 13m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Urdu, Chinese

Course Description

What does it mean for a brand to be integrated? As a marketing professional, you can’t just develop your brand once and be done with it. Having an integrated brand informs all aspects of long-term marketing communication. When your brand is integrated, it will be the common thread of your organization’s image, messaging, and goals.

In these lessons, you’ll learn the importance of integrating your brand throughout your organization. You’ll learn how to create marketing messages, goals, and mission statements that all conform to your brand image. You’ll discover the importance of being able to evolve your brand over time, and how to prevent your brand from becoming stagnant and irrelevant. You’ll also learn some strategies of measuring the effectiveness of your brand and how to compare it to your competitors to help it grow and improve. By the end of this course, you’ll be able to create a cohesive brand strategy that complements and improves your marketing goals.

What You'll Learn

Understand what it means for a brand to be integrated across an organization
Create marketing messages, goals, and mission statements that conform to your brand image
Evolve your brand over time to keep it relevant and prevent it from becoming stagnant
Measure the effectiveness of your brand and compare it to competitors
Build a cohesive brand strategy that complements and improves your marketing goals

Key Takeaways

An integrated brand becomes the common thread of an organization's image, messaging, and goals.
A brand cannot be developed once and left alone; it must inform all aspects of long-term marketing communication.
Marketing messages, goals, and mission statements should all conform to the brand image.
Evolving a brand over time helps prevent it from becoming stagnant and irrelevant.
Measuring brand effectiveness and comparing it to competitors helps the brand grow and improve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is this course for?

This course is for marketing professionals who want to integrate their brand throughout their organization and build a cohesive brand strategy.

What will I be able to do after completing this course?

By the end of the course, you'll be able to create a cohesive brand strategy that complements and improves your marketing goals.

What topics does this course cover?

The course covers integrating your message, evolving your brand, and how to measure the effectiveness of your brand, and includes a Test Your Knowledge section.

How does the course help with staying competitive?

It teaches strategies for measuring the effectiveness of your brand and comparing it to your competitors to help it grow and improve.