Approach

Business Case for Brand Differentiation

What stops most investments in brand transformation is the fact that you cannot calculate a business case with full precision.

There is a significant time gap between starting the work of developing a new brand strategy and actually building the brand differentiation that can serve as a strong foundation for accelerating company growth.

“Fame Before Fortune” is the expression I use daily when I need business leaders to understand the business case for brand transformation.

You need to make the brand famous before you can reap the business rewards.
And that can take some time.

If, as a business leader, you could get a guarantee of double-digit growth by investing 50% of your bottom line over the next two fiscal years in building a unique and strong brand, then investing in brand transformation would be a no-brainer.
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.

Building a strong and profitable brand is a demanding process with many pitfalls.
If the people you put in charge of the brand transformation are not creative, bold, and integrative thinkers, you could easily end up with a brand that’s only polished on the surface — but not magical and convincing in depth, and without the power to attract new customers.

If you do it right, however, strong and convincing brand differentiation can help accelerate your company’s growth.

Investment

Strategy process leading to the development of a new brand strategy and unique brand identity.
Internal implementation of the new brand identity.
Product, culture, and organizational development that supports the brand’s differentiation and promise to customers.
Mission-driven and creative activation of the brand in the market.

time gap

Brand Differentiation

Increased brand awareness.
Attractive brand associations/symbolism.
Top-of-mind / preference.
Brand ambassadors.

time gap

Capitalization

Increased sales of existing products.
Stronger and improved pricing/margins.
Increased effectiveness of sales-activating marketing.
Stronger foundation for successful launches of new brands, products, and markets.

On-track Dashboard

A simple way to manage the time gap between investing in brand differentiation and harvesting the financial return is to notice whether the brand is actually becoming stronger.

You don’t always need data to measure this — it can also be evaluated in a focused and qualitative way.

It’s about actively seeking answers to the following questions through observations and conversations.

If you’re making progress in building brand differentiation, you’re also making progress toward capitalizing on the investment.

Are employees finding it easier to explain our role, relevance, and uniqueness?
Are people speaking about our brand and marketing in a more positive way?
Do we feel increased recognition of our brand from customers and employees?
Do we feel that we are becoming a brand that is trending?
Are we gaining more followers and seeing more engagement on social media?
Are we receiving more media coverage and public recognition than before?
Are we seeing more unsolicited inquiries from other brands or companies looking to collaborate with us?
Are we seeing increased participation in our events?
Are we experiencing a stronger impact from our sales-activating marketing?