BRAND THE UNBREAKABLE FRAME

SECTION III
DEFINE YOUR DIRECTION
You may have come to the conclusion that your brand could use a bit of a
facelift. As you begin considering how to tackle your brand strategy, you
might find these suggestions helpful to refresh your brand and strengthen the
framework that exists there. Included in this section are also some examples
of B2B organizations who have done an impressive job demonstrating great
brand work.
The value in creating engaging and
consistent guidelines for your brand
cannot be understated. Having a
resource for internal and external
audiences that explains how your
brand should be represented
cross-channel can create a
heightened level of consistency
and, therefore, have a lasting impact
on your audiences. Clearly defined
and documented brand guidelines
can also help solve an internal
lack of clarity around your brand’s
purpose, positioning and persona.
Defining your organizational
character for the world, as well
as your colleague sitting across
from your office, can go a long
way in terms of brand recognition
and protecting the framework of
your brand.
HOW IBM DID IT
It’s nearly impossible to talk about
great B2B brands without talking
about IBM. Here’s a firm that has
evolved many times over the
years, from selling cheese cutters,
to punch card machines, to
computer mainframes and servers,
to finally, today, selling the ability to
deal with data. All the while, the firm
has maintained its brand, sometimes
with an iron fist. You can’t help but
be impressed by the organization’s
discipline. IBM has almost 400,000
employees in 170 countries. Its
marketing department is global
and involves people from different
cultures with great distances
between them. And yet, go to
any one of the firm’s social channels,
and you will see a great amount
of discipline in everything from the
use of the logo and photography,
to the voice and tone of the
writing and the subjects covered.
It’s impressive.
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