The problem with most branding talk, as we see it, is that it’s far too solipsistic.

No organization that interacts with people in the world can claim to control its brand. It’s snake oil to claim otherwise. Brands exist only in concert with other minds.

We aren’t going to promise you that we can help you totally control your brand. We can help you shape it, influence it, give it life and legs, but it’s a lot smarter to think of your brand as a two-way street. Brand is not what you say it is—brand is what your customers, prospects, families, donors say it is based on their experience with you and what they hear about you from trusted sources.

The best way to start building a successful brand strategy is to stop looking in the mirror. Instead, sit down at the table and talk to people—employees, customers, friends, supporters. Listen. Your brand reveals itself in conversation. Where does your market think you are now? What’s your story and how’s that different from the story or stories your customers, students, staff or prospects are telling? How would you like to be perceived—how do you need to be perceived?

And what’s it going to take to get there?

Have you ever done a brand audit? It’s always a good idea before you launch a campaign or major initiative. Let us help!