Having a unique branding message and being able to deliver it affectively, it key to having a successful business branding plan. To help business owners understand the importance of an effective business branding plan, I recently interviewed Ayesha Mathews-Wadhwa who is the owner of PixInk.info.

Below is the interview that I conducted with her via TwitInterviews.com recently. Once you have read over the interview, please feel free to leave your feedback and also contact Ayesha for more details on how she can help you develop a business branding plan.

Question 1: Welcome to your #TwitInterview. Please introduce yourself and the key areas of your expertise? How long have you been involved in this area?

Hi Kim! Thanks so much for having me here - this is such a great format  I’m Ayesha Mathews~Wadhwa, Principal & Creative Director at PixInk - A boutique design practice with expertise is Branding and Design - something I’ve loved doing for the last 10 years

Question 2: What are the top 3 tips on branding that a business owner should know and how should they implement them?

That’s a great question Kim. First, very simply I want to explain - What is Brand/Branding?

A brand is an idea about your product or service that lives in the heart & mind of your customer. All of you entrepreneurs I know have the start of a strong brand..but what do you do to differentiate/ make it truly yours? What you want to be is a charismatic brand… that’s one that people believe have NO substitute.

What’s Branding? Branding is the art and science of bringing a brand into the world and helping it thrive..its the sum total of your offering, your visual identity, your communication & packaging and your customer relationships. eg: Brands that gets branding right? Virgin. Apple. Oprah. Madonna and I’m going to add Savor the Success to this list 
So Top 3 things to remember while branding your company?

1. Have an AWESOME product that delivers high value.
2. Build on your CORE VALUES
3. Create and engaging branded EXPERIENCE for your customer

Question 3: When should a business start to think about “branding” their business services or products? Why is it important to “brand” your business?

It important to cultivate and nurture your brand as it grows and that’s why I say branding your business is like raising your kids.. you cannot start paying attention to them suddenly when they turn 20! Why is this important..because in today’s hyper saturated marketplace only those business who clearly identity their product offering and value and communicate this to the consumer in a consistent engaging way (brand language) will thrive - again the point is to be a charismatic brand - one that people believe has NO substitute.

Question 4: You are sharing great branding information. Please share specific examples of effective brands/brand strategies?

I love and follow brands that speak to the customer at every touch point - Engage them - right from the time you hand over your biz card or welcome someone at your website or on a shelf at retail: Virgin & Apple are great examples of this. In fact, I’ve never paid attn to the InFlight Safety Procedure Video till Virgin America came out with its version! And I want to make it clear that great branding campaigns don’t necessarliy have to come from Fortune 500 companies with Fortune 500 budgets. In today’s economy Small Biz and Start-Ups are poised to capitalize on the opportunity to grab market share - CD Baby and Savor the Success are both young companies in the midst of developing compelling brand language and value!

Question 5: How does Branding play a part in the social media landscape?

That’s a great topic .. one of the reasons the social media landscape is so powerful is because it the first time in history when brands are now shaped by the customer versus the “marketing department”..I love this because it forces brands to stay authentic and provide value. And ultimately a Brand is not what you (the marketing department) says it is…its what they (the customers) believe it is and what better way than social media to gauge the pulse of a brand? directly interacting with customers..getting reviews, feedback and testimonials from people you know and trust is an incredibly powerful ingredient in the brand spectrum..this landscape forces brands to be true to what they should really focus on - giving the customer/client great value.

Question 6: One final question. Please share how you work through your company, PixInk, to help company’s brand their services and products?

PixInk is passionate about nurturing brands and creating rich, insightful and emotionally resonant visual communication.

Our strategy and creative work has led to successful interactive and marketing implementations for clients ranging from Fortune 500s to start ups, including Apple, Oracle, Cat Footwear, Harley Davidson, Skin by Alison Raffaele, MTV Style (India) and Picaboo to name a few.

I’m especially committed to the next evolution in the branding spectrum - Rich Branding i.e the ability to get under the skin of a brand and extract all of the most evocative, engaging elements — and present those in a visually compelling manner, while speaking in an authentic brand voice consistently. I truly believe a great brand is like a great person - evolving elegantly through time and culture.

Question 7: Thank you for allowing me to interview you. Please share how you can be contacted.

Kim - thank you for having me and allowing PixInk to share some insights with your community here on Twitinterviews  I can be reached at: ayesha@pixink.info. Look forward to hearing from you!
To your continued success.
Ayesha

What does an innovative business brand look like? How can you tell that you have an innovative business brand? What are the key components of an innovative business brand? All of these are good questions that I plan to answer in this article.

An innovative business brand should include cutting edge components that help your increase your marketshare for your industry. Some of the components that you can include would be:

• Incorporation of Web 2.0 into your website
• Integrating social media marketing into your business strategy
• Invigorating sales planning that include creative marketing strategies
• Investing in unique marketing tools such as mobile marketing

To create an innovative business brand, let’s review the video below to get your brain going on ways that you can bring innovation to your business brand.

Have you ever dreamed about having your name next to a star as part of the Hollywood Walk of Fame? What would it be like to have your name up in lights and draw attention to to your brand? I think we all want our brand to be easily recognizable by others like McDonald’s or Nike.

Wouldn’t it be great if there were a formula that one could follow to create “star power” for a brand? It would mean that a business owner would be able to build brand recognition that would help them attract new customers and retain current customers.

To help you identify ways that you can brand your business as you plan on creating “star power” appeal, I’ve included a starter list below of things you can do.

• Positioning yourself as a leader in your industry.
• Share business tips that would help others grow their business.
• Create an attractive packaging for your brand which includes appealing colors, graphics and USP.
• Be open to challenges to change as your grow your brand. Adapt to the need to change as your brand grows.
• Monitor your success factor as you grow your brand. Online reputation is an important factor in growing your brand.

Beginning with this list is a great way to get started as you build “star power” into your brand. I’ve included a video below that shares additional details to help you build your brand awareness and recognition.

Business branding is important to business owners if they want to grow the circle of influence for their business. Brand awareness is the process of making sure that consumers of your services or products knows about your business and what you provide.

In developing your brand awareness strategy, there are a few things that you should keep in mind. Below is a starter list to help you develop it:

• Determine your vision: as a business owner, you must first try truly understand your business direction and goals. You would do this by defining your brand positioning or the nuts-and-bolts plan which is the foundation of your brand strategy.
• Make it memorable: your brand should include graphics and wording that helps to keep your business brand in the mind of your consumer. For instance, when you hear “Just Do It” you know this refers to Nike. Or you see the following image and you know it refers to a soft drink. Even if the name of the company wasn’t on the graphic, it could easily be recognized.
  
• Define branding tools: determine what tools you will use to brand your business. You can use graphics, audio, video, website, newsletter and many many more. Create a living list that you can work from to develop your brand awareness.
• Incorporate feedback. poll your current customers and business associates to receive feedback from them about your current brand.

So how are you building your brand awareness? Please feel free to share your ideas and results regarding your brand awareness.

The newest campaign for Dunkin Donuts (DD) include the message that they have a new “Wake-up Breakfast” with the promo message that “it’s breakfast not brokefast”. DD has decided to go with this message because they feel it’s their way of helping their customers who are financially challenged.

In branding the “Wake-up Breakfast” as the breakfast that you want to buy, they have decided to use video, TV commercials, print ads and press releases. This type of branding can help a business to singularly bring brand awareness to a particular product.

Another promotion that they are using to brand their business is DD Smart which has the as it’s center goal to communicate that “Better for you choices that keep you running’”. In running this campaign, DD hopes to educate their customers on the “smart choices” of buying the Smart breakfast items and how they can participate in a 5K running training program. To help encourage participation, DD shares the following message on their website:

Making smart choices about what you eat is one way to stay on track. Another is keeping active. Check out the DDSMART Zero to 5K Training Program for information on running your first 5K or tips on training for your next. It’s easier than you think . Just search for a race in your area,
then download our training program. Run for fun, your health, with friends or for charity.

Even though both of these branding campaigns are about breakfast items, they are unique with different emphasis. As a business owner, you can learn from their branding efforts how to successfully brand different products.

Last week, I wondered about the infiltration of brands into my every day life. Looking back, I tried to recall all the different brands I had encountered that morning and afternoon. The list was pathetic with only 13 brands making their appearances. Clearly all of the brands that I use in one day were not making enough of an impact on my routine.

Last night I fell asleep reminding myself, “Branding Day tomorrow, Branding Day tomorrow” and miraculously remembered my task the next morning. So today, I’ve made certain to write down every brand I’ve encountered from the moment I wake to when my head hits the pillow.

Meanwhile, I had stumbled upon Jane’s Brand-timeline Portrait from a blog called Dear Jane Sample and decided to follow her lead and visually present my brand portrait the same way.

First, I can’t believe I missed 47 brands the first time I guessed at this! Second, I’m definitely not as cool as Ms Jane. Then again… it is a rainy Monday night.

Our first Name that Brand game was admittedly easy. I’m still impressed that most of you knew the obvious brands, and only few were stumped by the more obscure bits of the logos.

The trickiest ones were:
6. FedEx
9. Puma
11. H&M
13. Winamp
17. Virgin
18. Nintendo

Check out the hacked-up logos from the original post here.

What happen when a company relies heavily on public culture as its stock and trade? What happens when a company appropriates folk tales and tradition then copyrights and claims as private property? There’s nothing easier than cashing in on a tried, trued and beloved story, but what happens when you cross the line into stealing the people’s own culture?

David Bollier’s Brand Name Bullies, published in 2005 by Wiley, shows how Disney had built an empire by poaching and repurposing public domain material.

Bollier calls it the “substitution effect” - where public domain material is available to all, including companies, but then private companies expropriate folk culture and claim exclusive ownership. Then, any derivative creations must obtain permissions from those private companies, like Disney.

A famous case of defending copyrights happened when a Florida daycare center put Disney characters on its walls without authorization. When you capitalize on the brand awareness of already established folk traditions, why not also allow that newly positioned branding to be spoon fed to young consumers on the walls they stare at every single day? And yet Disney fought.

Disney’s “open plunder” of popular folktales includes:
Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Hercules, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Robin Hood, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty

American folk legends:
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Pocahontas, Song of the South, Davy Crockett

Classic children’s literature:
The Jungle Book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Oliver Twist, Treasure Island, The Wind in the Willows, The Three Musketeers, Pinocchio

Stories whose rights Disney has paid for:
Peter Pan, Bambi, Winnie-the-Pooh

“[Disney] has appropriated dozens of folk stories and literary classics, scrubbed them up with the perky Disney touch, and then claimed the entire franchise as its own,” claims Bollier. It’s not necessarily about Disney using public domain material, since it is entitled to do so. It’s about having the market power to substitute its proprietary version of the story for the folk version, wiping the memory of the original clean of the public’ mind and branding every unique story as a Disney story.

Yet the Disney brand is stronger than ever and these precious stories are fondly held in the public’s mind. How do other companies capitalize on awareness of certain products, slap their own branding on it, and reap the benefits?

images: flickr: Tony the Misfit and jonathan mcintosh.

It’s always fun to look at reports that show top brands. Is it what you were expecting? Do you recognize all of the brands listed? Can you recall the most recent ad campaign of each of the top brands?

According to Millward Brown, the top 5 brands of 2008 are:

1. Google
2. GE (General Electric)
3. Microsoft
4. Coca-cola
5. China Mobile

No big surprise there, except for China Mobile, which I’m shamed to say I had never heard of. China Mobile Limited was incorporated in 1997 in Hong Kong. According to their website “As the leading mobile services provider in China, the Group boasts the world’s largest mobile network and the world’s largest mobile subscriber base.” IntangibleBusiness.com placed China Mobile at a brand value of USD 30.8 billion, with 440 million users.

And just for fun, here are the top brands per category:

• Apparel: Nike
• Beer: Budweiser
• Cars: Toyota
• Coffee: Nescafe
• Fast Food: McDonald’s

Are you surprised by any of these results?

We all know how expensive sporting events can be, if not just the ticket sale price, but the nachos, fountain drinks and ICE, COLD, BEER. And yet, owners work tirelessly to expand their team’s branding beyond the field – and your hearts – and into your living room, your ring tones and your wardrobe.

This year, the Buffalo Bills celebrate 50 years as an NFL franchise team by inviting the fans to take part in recruiting an all-time Bills team. Social media seeping into sports? I think so!

Of course there are the typical anniversary hype buys, like commemorative paraphernalia, an exclusive Season Ticket Holder Draft Day Party and chances to win Tops – the sponsor of this 50th anniversary voting – shopping sprees with a Bills player. However, the element of voting to build a fan-created team goes beyond the regular marketing tools.

Businesses across the board are learning to listen to their customers; so while the fan-voted team is not intended for real NFL league play, it’s still an excellent tactic to bring fans and viewers into the action, making them feel a greater sense of pride and , in a way, ownership, over their beloved team.

This 50th season will also see a new logo, the Bills official site describes the logo:

“The logo incorporates the number “50″ in a dark navy blue with the red, standing Buffalo logo, the charging Buffalo logo, the years 1960 and 2009 and the Tops logo - all outlined in gold.”

The Bills have celebrated previous anniversaries with new logo treatments, have a look:

Images courtesy of sportslogos.net, where you can also find Buffalo Bills primary and alternate logos, script treatment and uniforms over time.

What do you think? Money grab or are the Buffalo Bills really delivering more to the “customer.”