Working with Communications Colleagues and the Brand

Even some very experienced communications professionals still don't understand the brand and the critical role it plays in everything they do in their work. That makes it an ongoing challenge to work with them. Ultimately, what brand professionals need to do is convert them from those who see the brand as only "logos, typefaces and colors" to raging evangelists who know the brand is inherent in every piece of communication, every point of visibility, and every customer experience.

These are the people who understand the power of the brand and what it can do for a company. And these are the people who can create the most value for their companies.

Cassandra, "a veteran internal communicator" who posts on MyRagan - and many of those who've commented on her post, "Going to War with the Brand Department," are missing an important point by a painfully wide margin.

Cassandra - who evidently doesn't like to be corrected - uses put-downs and "can you believe that?!" stories to demonstrate how far out of line her brand department is. Other posters weigh in with their agreement that brand managers have gone over the edge into "insanity" by influencing things like interior design decisions and job titles.

If her story is accurate, Cassandra's brand department indeed seems to have taken their responsibility to a place where it stopped adding value and started to be a hindrance. By not doing their jobs right, they created a negative experience for her and inhibited her ability to be productive. And the way she describes it, it was pretty boneheaded.

But for Cassandra and her supporters, that unfortunate incompetence clouded the real point about brand: EVERY experience one has with a company is a brand experience. Companies like Target, Starbucks, Ben & Jerrys and many more are savvy enough to understand the remarkable extent to which this is true, both inside and outside the company. Employees and customers alike are influenced by each experience - no matter how small - sometimes at a subconscious level. Those experiences either add to the brand bank account or withdraw from it. If we're lucky, they're net neutral.

Would the world have come to an end if Cassandra's internal communication copy had not followed the brand department's precise style specifications? Of course not! And realistically, the brand wouldn't have been damaged as a result. No one would have batted an eye.

But there may have been a few pennies withdrawn from the consistency account. And those add up over time. Which is why it's the brand department's responsibility to set and enforce those standards as consistently (but realistically) as possible. And to get everyone on board with a common vision and understanding so everyone can do their jobs effectively while still supporting that brand experience.

I hope that one day Cassandra will get over her umbrage at being corrected by less experienced and perhaps less competent colleagues, and expand her vision of what brand can be to help enhance the true effectiveness of her internal communications. When she and the brand department can work together in this way, they'll be a truly unstoppable force for success within their organization!