This post is an excerpt of our Branding Rules eBook.
Branding means so many things to different people that it has become nebulous. It’s called the “secret sauce” of marketing, but what does that mean?
“Secret sauce” might mean sriracha to some, Tabasco to others, or the intangible and often unidentifiable ingredient that we all seek and/or covet.
We cleared the confusion by gathering 14 branding experts and asked them a question: “If you could impart only one piece of advice about branding, what would it be?”
We compiled the results, added illustrations by Gapingvoid’s Hugh MacLeod, and created the 2014 Branding Rules eBook to provide a resource filled with timeless advice to guide your business’s branding efforts.
Here is advice from Selma Bouhl and Seth Spiro of The American Red Cross. Selma is the vice president of marketing strategy and creative. Seth is the director of brand marketing and advertising.
Selma Bouhl and Seth Spiro say that branding is something that starts internally but is expressed externally:
The brand has to be rooted in your values and your corporate ‘reason for being.’ It is not your product, service or logo (though those are important components); it is the need that the product serves coupled with the values you stand for.
Applying Bouhl and Spiro’s principle, word of mouth begins when people have their needs met. When results are mixed with character values, a brand stands out.
People begin to have an emotional reaction when they see and hear about the brand. That’s how strong brands are built, and why people feel compelled to talk about them.
Want more branding advice? Get your free copy of the Branding Rules eBook now!
