Whatever the message, make sure it is as simple and concise as possible.
For Americans, the Star-Spangled Banner represents freedom, democracy, and a land of opportunity. At the same time, it sets us apart. It tells a story and paints a picture of our core beliefs. It is supported with The Declaration of Independence, our laws, and the Constitution. These are the very foundations of the American brand and its logo.
Being relevant is more about paying attention to what is happening in your world, staying on top of market trends, and showing your customers how you are moving forward with the market.
We identify ourselves with certain brands and, like magnets, we are attracted to winners. I grew up in Montreal and as a Canadian, I, like all other kids, watched hockey on Saturday nights. During the 1970s, the Montreal Canadians had become a dynasty, winning six out of 10 Stanley Cups. These were heady times. When we played street hockey, we took on the names of our heroes such as Guy Lafleur and Jean Beliveau. In the 1980s, I moved to Edmonton and my boss had season tickets for the Oilers. This expansion team blew up the record book with Wayne Gretzky and Mark
Peter Janis is former CEO of Radial Engineering and owner of consulting firm Exit Plan.
Messier proceeding to become the next National Hockey League dynasty. It was the most exciting hockey you could watch. In the 1990s I moved to Vancouver. No matter how much money the Vancouver Canucks spent on players, they could not put together a winning team. I stopped watching hockey. These days, I watch Patrick Mahomes with the Kansas City Chiefs. It is great entertainment—and the Chiefs win games. Everyone wants to be part of a winning team.
Brand-building, from personal experience
There are many aspects to building a brand. At Radial, we placed tremendous value on associating our brand with winners. Ideally, the winners were famous artists. If we could not get a famous artist we would pursue the engineer that recorded a famous band or was their long-time sound engineer. We designed each print ad with enough space for seven artist photos, and we would lay them down the left banner with a quote and their credits. Because I did not want to pigeonhole the company in any way, we tried to present a cross section of white, black, and Hispanic artists that represented rock, country, blues, funk, rap, and jazz. I wish there were more women in the engineering community, as they were less well represented than I would have liked. I wanted our brand to connect with everyone. To refresh the ads, we regularly changed up the artists in the banner. By adding new faces, we felt we could be more relevant with the music of the day.
Take a deep breath and realize that redefining your brand takes patience. You do not want to alienate your old customers.
Radial originally started out as Cabletek, a manufacturer of cable assemblies. Before joining Cabletek, I spent 10 years in distribution, and with this experience I knew that we could grow the company much more quickly by adding other types of products. So, along with Mogami cable, we were importing Audix microphones, Jensen transformers, and Sonex acoustical panels, supplying these to the Canadian market. One day, while visiting a prospective client in Montreal, I pulled out my samples and laid them out on a table. He looked at the samples and said: “Cabletek? You are supposed to be selling cables not mics?” Right then and there it hit me; we had to change our corporate brand. As soon as I got home, I changed the name to C-Tec. I figured that those that knew us, would connect C-Tec to the Cabletek brand, and for new clients, C-Tec would be more progressive and more encompassing.
Ford, Coke, and Fender have been using the same logo for decades.
Refreshing your logo may be good, but it is not necessarily critical. Ford, Coke, and Fender have been using the same logo for decades. Being relevant is more about paying attention to what is happening in your world, staying on top of market trends, and showing your customers how you are moving forward with the market. A business is either growing or it is dying. This is where you have to try to zoom out and look at your company with your customers’ eyes to see if the message you are putting out is relevant—and at the same time comforting. People buy from folks that they trust. You can build trust with your success stories; how other clients have benefited from your leadership and being part of your winning team.
A strong corporate culture is absolutely critical
If you think about it, a brand is really about corporate culture. Today, consumers have very high expectations. We order from Amazon and they deliver overnight. We shop at Costco and if we are not happy, we return the product no-questions-asked. The other day, I sent an email to Century 21—the real estate broker—letting them know that I am interested in looking at a few properties. Guess what … here we are five days later and still not a word. This tells me that they are not paying attention and that their customer service is probably second-rate. There are plenty of other brokers to choose from. You have no idea how many times my wife has threatened to cancel our cell phone provider to find another due to crappy customer service. Clearly, customer service is front-line branding.
The other day, I sent an email to [a company]. Guess what … here we are five days later and still not a word. Clearly, customer service is front-line branding.
The first place to start is with your people. Are they responsive when customers call? Are they respectful? Are they trained to do the right thing even if it costs the company money? Do they shy away from responsibility by hiding problems on the bottom of the pile?
Messaging, refined
Before you decide to change or update your brand, it is essential that you put together a plan with solid reasoning. Branding is often an understated yet determined exercise. Now’s the time to visit your clients and ask a ton of questions. Don’t assume that things are as they always have been. Subtle changes in the market will help you redefine your message. For example, the shift to Zoom meetings has had a dramatic impact the world over. Will your clients shift to home-based work? Will they require setups for boardroom meetings? Will they shift purchases from live entertainment to online events? Do you have the tools to adapt to these changes? Ask yourself: “How can my company help them along the way?” so that when they are ready to spend money, you will be front and center.
Branding is and will always be about building trust. This is done by proving that you care about your clients’ success.
At the same time, take a deep breath and realize that redefining your brand takes patience. You do not want to alienate your old customers. Instead, you want to invigorate them by introducing new possibilities and ideas that will help them succeed. Whatever the message, make sure it is as simple and concise as possible. How many times have you driven by a road-side billboard and could not decipher the message?
Branding is and will always be about building trust. This is done by proving that you care about your clients’ success. Make them winners and let them tell the world they are on your team!
[Editor's note: This piece was originally published in 2021.]
