Brand Power

Over the weekend, my daughter Ashley (3 1/2 yrs old) and I went to the neighborhood Starbucks to get muffins, and as she likes to say, "a dee-caff" for daddy.

In the parking lot was a Lay's delivery truck.  She saw the logo on the back of the truck and said, "Potato chips."

This was an 'ah-ha' experience for me because I've always struggled with how powerful branding can be.  Ashley helped drill the point home.  If a 3-year old can make the connection that a Lay's logo = potato chips, it's a damn powerful brand campaign.

I think the most important part of branding is maintaining consistency.  Here are a few examples:

• We use the IDES logo consistently throughout all of our websites.  An easy way to do this is to have one logo available in your website's directory. For example: http://www.ides.com/images/logo.gif
• Our logo is always on a white background. Always!
• We use the same fonts everywhere: website, email, letterhead...
• Right now we're working hard on a new look for all of our sites, products and services to bring consistency into everything we do.  Here's a preview: http://www.ides.com/plasticsweb
• Someday we'd like to have a powerful enough brand where just our icon represents plastic materials information (www.ides.com/images/icon.gif).

I've been listening for the power of the IDES brand.  When talking to customers, words like 'professional, best, trust' come through in stories where our services or staff have helped people solve problems.  To strengthen our brand, we have the benefit of talking to our customers every day to learn their wants, needs, fears, and anxieties.  Part of our brand image is that we get things done.  Whether it's helping someone with their problem right then and there, or listening to their needs and developing products that address those needs.

Yes, brand power is big and etheral if you want it to be. But it can be simple - it just takes hard work!

- Nathan pottern@ides.com