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| Branding Information |
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Are You Brand Worthy?
Branding is one hot topic, although it is wildly misunderstood. To make things even more confusing, branding is often tossed in the same basket as marketing which makes its application to an entrepreneur or sole-practioner even more unclear. While out speaking on branding, the question that I hear most is "How do I know if my business or service is brand material?" With businesses opening left and right, and more and more closing each year, I'm glad there are smart business owners open to understanding the issue. If you've found yourself asking the same thing, don't worry you're not alone. Perhaps, this can shed some light. At a recent luncheon, the same question came up again in a different way. I was seated next to an attorney whose sole practice focuses on elder abuse cases, he asked me in rapid succession (a manner that showed me he'd be great in court): "Isn't branding for businesses that make a lot of stuff?"
Smiling, I fired back, "yes, yes, and... no". Yes, branding is most often associated with businesses that make a lot of stuff. Yes, branding is advantageous if you want to sell a lot of stuff. No, branding is not pointless because every business makes something (or offers a service) and wants to sell it. Branding is about making your product or service known to as many potential customers as possible, consistently, with the most effective use of your time and money. Branding is about repeat business. Branding is about effortless referrals. Wouldn't that be a benefit to ANY business, especially yours? To help you gain more brand-worthy clarity, ask yourself the following questions: If your answers to these questions are yes, then you have the makings to develop your business as a brand. You just need the knowledge and practice to do so. If you're shaky on some of the questions, find out why. Even if you never develop your business as a brand, solid yeses to these simple questions will only make your business more successful and more enjoyable. After all, isn't that we all want? Kim A. Castle, Co-founder BrandU?, Co-Author of Why Brand: Big Business Success No Matter Your Size, and BrandU? Bible, the only step-by-step workbook for developing your business as a brand. © 2004 Castle Montone, Limited Reprinted with Permission. About The Author Kim A. Castle has worked at several top-advertising agencies in New York and Los Angeles; including Grey Advertising, DMB&B, DB Needham, Kovel Kresser & Partners and Omnicom's Direct Partners. Wanting more creative hands-on with her clients, she started her own design firm Castle Graphics in 1991, which merged with Eagle Communications in 1999 to form the Los Angeles-based marketing and multimedia company Why Communications where she currently serves as Vice President and Creative Director. She has worked for such clients as; Digital Domain, DirecTV, IBM, M&M Mars, Gramercy Pictures, Kwontify Films, O'Hara Klein Productions, Entertainment Business Group, ,General Motors, Screen Actors Guild, Chase Manhattan Bank, Dominos Pizza, Pedigree/Sheba, Higher Octave Music, Disney Interactive, Baskin Robins and Blue Cross to name a few. She created the redesign and retail launch packaging of the million dollar-selling Hollywood Celebrity Diet, was the creative voice behind the award-winning website Concept:Cure for General Motors, created the marketing and packaging campaign for the Emmy winning short film The Question, Her exceptional feel for layout and concept, her outstanding ability to tell a story with words and visuals, and her innate ability to communicate the heart & soul of a project allows her to excel in brand identity, packaging, direct mail and marketing communications. Kim A. Castle, Co-founder BrandU?, Co-Author of Why Brand: Big Business Success No Matter Your Size, and BrandU? Bible, the only step-by-step workbook for developing your business as a brand. © 2004 Castle Montone, Limited Reprinted with Permission.
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