When is it time to tear down your brand foundation and build a new one? Maybe the question should be: Is it time to build a new brand foundation? With this challenging and opportunistic economy, the changes and turnover within a brand’s marketing team are increasingly in flux. Gone are days when brand owners would be around to nurse and cajole their brands for 5 years or more. This is a key shift in brand marketing.
Brand foundation is at the cornerstone of brand building.
It’s important to realize that just because there’s something new and exciting out there, or that you’re what’s new and exciting to the brand, it doesn’t mean that you need to make a clean sweep and tear down everything that was previously built.
Like a house, brand needs a good solid foundation to build upon. And, it doesn’t mean that once the concrete is poured, the work is done. All of us have seen good additions and facelifts to existing homes. And, all of us have also seen poor executions of the same. The difference is in the planning and the respect given to the original structure when upgrading.
Here is a list of what should be considered when assessing the need to change the brand foundation:
Change for the sake of “new” is generally costly for a brand.
Be sure that the change implemented is one that can carry the brand for more than a promotion, a cycle or a year.
Changing the playing field, but not the expectation is unfair to a brand.
Too often programs are set in place and then changed or cancelled, while the objectives originally set don’t get revisited. The result is an unfair assessment and evaluation of the current brand foundation and what it represents.
Timing is everything.
When building a brand foundation all the key elements must come together exactly when they need to come together. Brand advertising must be met with the brand product on shelf.
Allowing short term tactics to dictate your brand position is risky.
It’s a very competitive world out there. The need to get instant results shouldn’t override the need to build for the future. Price is never a brand builder on its own.
The building and growth of any brand foundation must be handled with care and due diligence. So be sure to take care of it!