The Value of a Brand

There I was sitting at the presentation room observing the discussions between two "big" companies. The one, a very well known FMCG brand. The other, an eager service provider hungry to sign a new contract.

Everything was going well, the client liked the proposal but then started discussing a point that was missed on purpose during the presentation. The buyer (big FMCG brand) was asking for a sign-on bonus from the supplier. The reason behind it? Their brand is so big and so valuable that just mentioning the supplier's name in the press release would have an impact on their reputation and share price.

That's how valuable a brand name can be. It can affect not only your future but also the future of the people you work with. Investing on your brand is a wise choice and something that lately even affects the financial value of a company.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

Support Your Decision - Revisited

Around a month ago, I wrote about how you need to support your decisions, especially when they have to do with your brand.

Similarly to how Gap reacted to everyone's reaction when they tried to change their logo, HP has now stepped back and won't be changing their logo. To be fair, they never made an official announcement about the change. With everything moving so fast though, just an indication from the brand agency they we working with was enough to set everything on fire.

This supports what I talked about a month ago. When you want to make an important change to your brand, take your time and when you decide what the change will be support it. Your brand is not just your logo, it's a sum of all the parts and everyone that is involved with it brings it to life.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

Support Your Decision

To much upheaval this week HP announced its new brand image. I won't repost anything about it here since a quick search will yield hundreds of results. Here's just one of them.

I won't also comment on if the design of the logo is appropriate or not. What I will comment on is HP's undecisiveness when it comes to using their new logo. I'm sure it took months to create the new image and according to roumors HP is not sure whether the new logo will be used on all its products.

If you make such an important change then have the courage and power to support it no matter what. Decisions need to be made and if you believe they add value to your brand then you need to support it no matter what.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

Make Your Mind Up

There's nothing worse than inconsistent communication, identity and image. And usually these three go together. At the point that your customer is starting to take a liking at you, the worst thing to do is change the way you "talk" to them.

Yet this happens all the time and by big brands as well. By "talk" I don't mean only the language that you use. We are aware of brands by describing their image and identity to ourselves, even if that "talking" happens at a subconscious level.

So why use two different logos? Two different stories? A different experience at different entry points or locations? You need to adapt to your market while keeping the core of you brand unique and consistent.

Focus, be consistent and eliminate confusion and the fluff. And because this post was inspired by the mis-doings of a fashion brand, if you have two/three logos please pick one!

Posted by Helen Amygdalaki // Lelou 

A Brand is A Brand No Matter the Location

A couple of days ago I was talking to a group I mentor about their brand strategy when it comes to different regions. One very good question came up that was "Should we keep the same brand image and 'translate' everything else when we go into different geographical regions? Even the name?".

The short answer is, No. You have a company and you've built a brand. That brand has a specific position, identity and image. It should be the same no matter where you interact with it. So how do you deal with different cultures and locales? There are two ways:

1. Build a different brand. I know you've spent all this time building your brand and you don't want to go through the same process again, but this is an effective option. If you need to talk to a specific region and different culture, then you are probably better off building a new brand.
2. That's why we have marketing. Marketing is the way you communicate and sell to people. So your marketing strategy will define how you speak to the people but what you say will be defined by your brand, not the other way round.

This doesn't apply just to culture and geographies, it also applies to introducing new products. Instead of expanding your existing product line, create new brands. That's how Coca Cola is doing, so why shouldn't you?

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

The Chosen One

Starting up is a tough time. You are so eager to start working that you will work for anyone. The same happens when your business is in a slump. Whatever comes your way, you’ll probably say yes to it. After all, you need the money to pay the bills and live.

I’ve said it over and over that to build a strong brand you need to stand for something and you can’t please everyone. This has a direct effect on who you work with and more specifically who you DON’T work with. If you say yes to every business opportunity just to pay the bills, that’s the reputation you will build. You need to decide what you want to be known for and stand by it. If a new client approaches you and asks for something that you don’t feel happy doing, then politely decline the work. Better yet, find someone in your network that would like to do that job and get them working together. The latter is a win-win for you. Not only did you stand for something, you also helped someone.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you’re forbidden to slip and work on a project you don’t love when times are tough. We’ve all done it. The important thing is to not turn that single occurrence into a habit and an easy way to pay the bills. Stick to your values and try to always work on what you love. It will eventually lead to your success.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

A Simple Name

I've talked before about how important your brand's name is. One thing that you also need to do, is make your name simple.

Here are some points to help you with that:

1. Keep it short. The shorter it is, the easier it will be for your customers to remember it.
2. Make it easy to spell. Avoid difficult spelling and make sure it's spelled the same way it's pronounced. People will find out about you from friends and colleagues and a lot of the times by saying the name instead of writing or spelling it.
3. Repeat letters. The less letters you use, the easier it will be to remember it. For minimoko for example we use only 5 letters in an 8 letter word.
4. Don't mix letters and numbers. Stick to one or the other, as a combination is difficult to remember.
5. Make it unique. It's the easiest way to stand out and be remembered.
6. Avoid generics. Generic names are lame and belong in the Dot-com bubble. Come up with something that is different.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

The Only Way is With Publicity

If your brand is to succeed and become popular, you need to attract publicity. Advertising no longer works. Years ago, your popularity depended on your advertising budget. The only thing advertising can do now, is maintain a popular brand.

So what can you do? Create a product, brand and story that is worth talking about. Your aim is for people to tell the people they know about you, and for the media to want to be the first to write an article about you. For this to happen, you can't deliver just what's expected from you. You need to go a step further and be remarkable. Have something that makes you stand out.

Don't forget that a good story is essential here. Give a lot of attention to it and a good twist. No one wants to hear about the graduates that secured funding and started a company that develops software. They want to hear about the college drop-outs that bootstrapped and launched their first product with no backing and with everyone telling them that they'll fail.

Create something worth talking about and people will follow.

Posted by Helen Amygdalaki // Lelou 

minimoko - Our Manifesto

Brand?

In the age of plenty, standing out is more important than ever! Building a brand is your only way to get there. It’s the only way to be associated with something in people’s minds. To get there you need to be focused and unique. 

Keep it simple and never try to please everyone. You won’t! Do something that you love and inspires you. Tell the story of why you are doing it and people will follow. Everyone loves a good story. Just showing up won’t get you any fans. Standing out for something unique and going the extra mile will. Find a word that represents you. A single word. When people think of you, they need to think of that word. If they don’t, you will have failed. Try again! Don’t make your brand bland, give it a personality. Be a leader. If you are starting in a crowded market, then make your own market and lead that. Pick a strong name. It’s not just a name. It will make or break your brand. Carve out your niche or die. No-one follows a generalist. They want you to be a specialist. Find an enemy. Stand against someone or something. Some people will hate you for it but the rest will love you. Don’t focus on what everyone else is doing. We want to see what you will do differently.

Love it or hate it, branding is the only way. Without it you’re doomed.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis 

If You Build It, Will They Come?

I've seen this so many times. People believe that if they build something (an amazing web service, website, tool etc.) then people will come and use it. Unfortunately that's rarely the case.

The amazing product/service/_________ (fill in the blank) is just part of the equasion. You need to work on a lot more things than just the quality or the unique idea. One of the very important things are the brand and the story.

Using the brand and the story, you will have a chance to engage people even before they try your product. Once you've developed a certain mindset for them, it will be easier for them to understand what you are doing it, why you are doing it and eventually buy into it.

So stop waiting, build it and don't wait for magic to happen. Build a brand, craft a story and then start telling it. That's the only way people will find out about you.

Posted by Harry Mylonadis