Sq1 BrandcubeTM Process
Brand Strategy
Creativity is the most powerful force in business. Period.
Because we see ourselves as creative problem solvers, we view everything as a creative challenge. We also believe that any great solution requires strategy, creative and media to work in harmony. That is why we feel it is imperative that our clients and account service, creative, digital production, and media all work together when developing any kind of advertising or marketing plan.
With our proprietary Brandcube™ tool, we create engaging experiences that span multi-channel platforms to enhance the relationship between the brand and the consumer.
Brandcube™
Our proprietary strategic tool called Brandcube guides our approach to brand strategy. Once complete, the Brandcube™ helps us clearly define brand
positioning, brand core promise and marketing strategy. Brandcube™ helps bring
business decisions and creative decisions in line with one another so the consumer
experience is consistent at all points of contact – including the most important
group -- internal stakeholders, All brands begin from within the organization.
Once we know what the brand stands for, we develop guidelines so that every
element that brings the brand to life is created in a consistent manner.
We have studied the approach of multiple agencies and consultants for the best practices. We have studied academia and published works for the same. Out of this has come what we call our BrandcubeTM Brand Acceleration Process.
BrandcubeTM is Multi-dimensional
There are six inter-related dimensions to the BrandcubeTM brand strategy:
- Brand Noble Cause - The need you fulfill
- Brand Promise - The rational benefit
- Brand Charisma - The emotional promise
- Brand Advocates - The ego promise
- Brand Target - The most relevant audience
- Brand Competition - The strongest rivals
These components add up to the intrinsic value of a brand — and the higher the value, the higher the profit margin.
1. Noble Cause
This is the core of your brand. It is the starting point for any strategy development, because it governs the direction of your firm and lays the groundwork for your strategy. The Noble Cause is the basic need your product or service is filling.
2. Promise
A brand’s positioning strategy is the rational promise of a brand, the most meaningful benefit your brand offers. It defines the way we want the consumer to think about a product, retailer, or service.
3. Charisma
The emotional commitment of a brand is the brand charisma. In many categories, a brand’s charisma may be the one and only factor that can consistently separate it from its competitors. A strong brand Charisma that resonates with your target is required to establish an emotional connection between the brand and its customers – and is the very first step toward creating a meaningful dialogue.
4. Advocates
The Brand Advocate strategy development is the ego commitment of a brand. We all know that “birds of a feather flock together.” People affiliate with people like themselves; people they admire, or people they aspire to be. Consequently, all strong brands must actively create and manage an imagery of their users that invoke and capitalize upon this basic human behavior. Great brands attract brand advocates that become your brand disciples and create brand value. We believe that people don’t just buy powerful brands; they join them.
5. Target
We must clearly define our target in terms of psychographic as well as demographic terms. It is only through an understanding of the psychographic profile of your target that we will be able to reach them emotionally.
6. Competition
Competition refers to all entities and activities that vie for your customer’s loyalty and dollars. Competition does not need to provide the same goods or service as you, they only need to meet the same emotional and rational need.
Orchestrating Every Point of Contact for Consistency
The result of the Brandcube process is a consistent brand message in the marketplace. This is accomplished by identifying each and every point of contact your constituents have with your brand. Once identified, we will assist you in determining the role each of point of contact should have in reinforcing your brand.
Most brands have more than 200 points of contact, each with an opportunity to express the brand strategy.
Brandcube in a nutshell
To summarize our approach, Brandcube is a proprietary strategic planning process that overcomes the many reasons for brand inconsistency. It clarifies your Noble Cause and defines your brand’s Positioning, your brand’s Charisma and the affinity appeal for your brand. These steps build conviction. Conviction leads to Consistency. Consistency builds a cumulative brand value.
People don't just buy powerful brands they join them.
A brand’s Positioning, Character, and Affinity strategies form the basis upon which consistent execution builds a formidable brand. But a correct strategy without excellent execution will still fail. Next is how we avoid that outcome.
The Four Phases of the Brandcube™ Process
1. People Inquiry
First, we interview members of top management plus others in position to inspire internal conviction. The culture of a company has a significant impact upon the feasibility, development and creation of brand strategies. We are able to help companies better know themselves.
2. Data Inquiry
We then explore and analyze the secondary research available from industry data, company sources, and your people's experience. Any gaps in required knowledge and facts are illuminated. If required by the circumstances at that point, we next custom design, conduct and evaluate primary research to identify the:
- Most lucrative customers
- Correct competitive frame of reference
- Most meaningful benefit of your brand
- Character traits that will make your brand resonate with your target
- Club characteristics that will enlist people to join your brand
3. Pulling it all together
With all the facts complete, we identify all the alternatives with merit and prepare to lead the final Workshop. Our mission is not to make the final determination for you. Rather, our role is making certain that all possible strategic options are fully explored in order to arrive at conviction in your final decisions. Frankly, it is the acceptability of our "intelligent naiveté" that enables us to raise critical questions that you may no longer even ask.
4. Making Decisions
Our Brandcube process culminates with a multi-day workshop wherein the final strategic alternatives are debated rigorously and a final decision is reached with deep conviction from all. Before the workshop, each participant receives a full briefing workbook. The participants must include the CEO, their direct reports and everyone else who has responsibility for marketing communications. The workshop output is reduced to a single page of strategy that is then "engraved in stone."
BrandscapesTM
This is where the fun begins. Our teams will create a number of creative executions designed to bring your brand to life using our Brandscape process. Brandscapes are simply creative representations of ideas discovered in the Brandcube process noted above. Brandscapes can take the form of video, concept boards, web templates, music, colors and even smells. Yes, smells. Anything that can communicate the brand personality is game. Once the overall brand fit is selected, we will then create the brand’s look and feel. This look and feel will form the basis for all brand communication.
A brand is alive. A brand grows. To be relevant, the brand must create a strong bond with all constituent groups. We treat the brand with the utmost respect, because, we believe in the end that is the most important element in creating enterprise value.
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