Key aspects to a re-brand

The trend of corporate-level brand building is here to stay. Companies are now forced to act more like groups of people and less like faceless institutions. They must open up about their goals and intentions to engage more directly across constituencies in real dialogue and to tell their stories.  Products no longer are enough; consumers want to know about the people behind them.

In this new world, the following questions merit real consideration:

• How strong is your parent brand today? Is it perceived as real, authentic, and trustworthy?  Does it lend strength to the products and services it sells and vice versa?

• How recently have you proactively thought about investing in it?

• Does your parent brand have the right story for the next chapter of your growth? Can it serve to unite diverse businesses under a common umbrella, and explain how the whole is greater than the sum of the parts?

• Does your company’s story truly capture the hearts and minds of your team? Are your employees able to articulate and understand the actions they need to make to deliver? Are they proud to say they work for the company?

• What strategy should you take to better use your parent brand as a competitive weapon?  Should you stop at telling the story, go further as an endorser, or even rethink the architecture and naming structure? 

The answers to these questions will vary by company.  But the imperative is clear:  it’s time, again, to proactively manage your corporate brand, or run the risk of others doing it for you.