tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53797000212840937762024-03-13T08:01:00.294-07:00Verve Brand - Consultancy, Training and Brand CoachingCONSULTANCY: Strategic Brand Management • TRAINING: Brand Workshops and Courses • INSIGHTS: Speaking, News Media, Opinions • CONTACT: +44 (0) 1932 352353
Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-1272717758090507082016-12-13T05:47:00.002-08:002016-12-13T05:47:52.047-08:00Do the right thing with greater purpose<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-33YCzErRKXQ/WE_7Vmch4jI/AAAAAAAAAZs/8G2Chzq-iVcRv-qGaoDIzeHeRSlYVE_NgCLcB/s1600/IMG_6238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-33YCzErRKXQ/WE_7Vmch4jI/AAAAAAAAAZs/8G2Chzq-iVcRv-qGaoDIzeHeRSlYVE_NgCLcB/s320/IMG_6238.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Paul Hitchens, Creative Director of Verve: Author of 'Do the right thing with greater purpose' in Brand & Reputation Management special supplement for 'The Times', Raconteur on 13-12-16. For full article - <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0px;"><a href="http://raconteur.net/business/do-the-right-thing-with-greater-purpose">http://raconteur.net/business/do-the-right-thing-with-greater-purpose</a></span><br />
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<br />Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-53163960620818139492016-04-18T02:20:00.003-07:002016-04-18T02:20:58.855-07:00The seven essential management skills for employer brand strategists<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
The seven essential skills that an employer brand manager should master or acquire if their brand is to flourish and bloom:</div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><strong>Ambassador – </strong>Employer brand managers must aim to be exemplary Ambassadors for their brand and practice the organisation’s values. They must be ‘on-brand’ at all times, lead by example and be mindful of contradictory behaviours. Success is achieved by guiding and nurturing a positive ideal and not by aggressive policing and enforcement.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><strong>Collaborator – </strong>The effective management of the employer brand strategy requires the full commitment of everyone in an organization and depends upon the collaboration of all departments from HR to marketing, finance to research & development. Employer brand managers must be collaborators building bridges with all stakeholders.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><strong>Innovator – </strong>Successful employer brand managers have an innate curiosity about their brand, its marketplace and relevance to the world. They embrace new ideas and are not afraid of change. Those who aim to have a long career need to be innovative or champion innovation through their employee culture. A brand that does not innovate is stagnant and in jeopardy of its future.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><strong>Emotionally intelligent – </strong>The ability to sense the mood of the brand and its relationships between colleagues, suppliers and key stakeholders with empathy and confidence is essential. Employer Brand Managers must be aware of the brand’s impact on the world and its effect on its market environment.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><strong>Communicator – </strong>Employer brand managers must be excellent communicators able to evangelise the brands message across a multitude of different media and situations. A consistent tone of voice and articulation of the brand narrative, are required online, across social media and in person one to one. If the choice of words, attitude or point of view vary from medium to situation the audience will sense a discord.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><strong>Curator – </strong>The employer brand manager is a curator of brand meaning. They must possess an aesthetic sensibility that is in tune with the brand’s essence. Every expression of the brand is an opportunity to bring its intrinsic nature to life. Offices, retail environment, online presence, whatever the circumstance, these disparate touchpoints represent employee experience opportunities. The effective curator will see the bigger picture and align these touchpoints into a seamless brand experience.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><strong>Futurologist – </strong>You won’t need a crystal ball, but a keen interest in new developments and an open mind as to what may be possible can pay dividends. Don’t leave new technology to the youngest member of the team or ignore new opportunities. Your brand needs to be where your audience expects it to be.</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: left;">
In a competitive market, employees will take great care in how they invest their time and career. Is your brand making its presence felt through ethos, culture and values? Are you offering something more than just a salary?</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
If you are interested in building a compelling employer brand please join me for the next Employer Branding Course with Symposium Training.</div>
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<a href="http://www.symposium.co.uk/author/verve-brand-consultancy/">http://www.symposium.co.uk/author/verve-brand-consultancy/</a>Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-82908609247074368442016-04-18T02:10:00.004-07:002016-04-18T02:10:42.896-07:00Presenteeism and leaveism at the Workplace - Wellbeing & StressWhen cracks appear in the façade of a brand it’s usually the people that work there that pay the price. If a brand is only skin deep it’s only a matter of time before the truth will break the surface. In the wake of some spectacular global brands and institutions taking a big fall it’s their values that get questioned; the values they were built on or the values that crept in. High standards and excellence cannot be sustained by long hours and fear of job security.<br />
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Julia Hitchens, Founder of Verve, examines the signs and implications for Employer Brands. -<br />
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<a href="http://www.symposium.co.uk/all-work-and-no-play/">http://www.symposium.co.uk/all-work-and-no-play/</a>Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-65498633932051561882016-04-17T02:57:00.001-07:002016-04-17T02:58:34.126-07:00How to manage your brand’s reputation<br />
The media loves a brand disaster story. From politics to sport, banking to automotive engineering, journalists are regularly inundated with stories of once respected brands that have been exposed for malpractice.<br />
<br />
<b>What indicators reveal how vulnerable a brand’s reputation is?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Read Paul Hitchen's new blog on 'Brand Reputation 'at the Chartered Institute of Marketing's Exchange Website -<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://exchange.cim.co.uk/blog/how-to-manage-your-brand-s-reputation/">http://exchange.cim.co.uk/blog/how-to-manage-your-brand-s-reputation/</a>Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-13687036411280254392015-04-14T07:31:00.002-07:002015-04-14T07:31:28.811-07:00Does KFC have a secret recipe for employee engagement?
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JZ3t1xjxsL0/VS0kM7kA36I/AAAAAAAAAXI/KQYKaW5T42w/s1600/KFCENGAGE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JZ3t1xjxsL0/VS0kM7kA36I/AAAAAAAAAXI/KQYKaW5T42w/s1600/KFCENGAGE.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The
BBC’s ‘Billion Dollar Chicken Shop’ is the latest fly on the wall documentary
to take cameras behind the counter and into the lives of KFC’s staff. What
stood out immediately from this television programme was the positive, happy
attitude of their staff that, despite generally receiving minimum wage salaries,
were motivated by the praise of their colleagues and a vibrant culture of
recognition. The KFC culture appeared as valuable as its mysterious ‘Blend S’
and a winner’s medallion awarded for employee excellence, is coveted like an
Olympic Gold medal.<span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
</span>Today’s KFC brand started in the great
depression of the 1930’s and was the dream of one man, Harland Sanders, who saw
the potential to franchise his fried chicken concept and the first franchised
Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant opened in Utah in 1952. In 2014, KFC sold
over 700 million pieces of fried chicken in the UK and enjoys a global turnover
of 23 billion dollars. The success of the concept is truly global and its
single largest market is China where it pioneered the western style of fast
food. Great brands are built on emotional engagement and to succeed for so long
and continue to grow requires more than just a trade secret blend of 11 herbs
and spices. <span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 150%;"><br />
<br />
</span>KFC must be smiling as it brings home
buckets of awards for its employment practices. The fast food restaurant has
drummed up accolade after accolade celebrating three consecutive annual wins at
Britain’s Top Employer Awards by 2014 and the brand has appeared in the Top 25
UK Best Workplaces list for five years in a row. It is these successes that
must have prompted the BBC to investigate further and film its serialized
documentary examining its success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><strong>James Watts, Chief People
Officer at Yum Brands (KFC’s Parent Company) said: </strong>"We
believe that as each year goes by we move closer to our ambition of becoming
the best company in the UK for training and development, and to being famous as
THE great place to work."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">KFC’s
HR strategy of positive praise celebrates a job well done and reaps benefits through
employee performance and sense of wellbeing. The ‘all hands to the deck’
approach means that managers are not averse to rolling up their sleeves when
the going gets tough which proves to be a great leveler and improves staff
morale. Employee recognition pays huge dividends when individuals feel valued
and themed incentives like ‘winners medals’ are a physical confirmation of
their personal efforts n the context of a team dynamic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sense of group mentality in each
restaurant is palpable and each franchise competes nationally to prove itself
by achieving performance targets and the honour of recognition at the annual
General Manager Conference Awards. Can positive praise, performance recognition
and good line management be the secret ingredients to a culture of engagement?
As one KFC employee said. “It’s not rocket science, it’s Chicken and Chips,
that’s all it is!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The
government backed movement ‘Engage for Success’ identifies four themes "Strategic
narrative, engaging managers, employee voice and organisational integrity"
that collectively contribute to successful employee engagement. These themes
emerged from extensive research conducted by David Macleod and Nita Clarke
published in 2009 as ‘Engaging for success’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">‘Engage
for Success’ summarises these themes on their helpful website - <a href="http://www.engageforsuccess.org/">http://www.engageforsuccess.org</a> in
the following bullet points -</span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Visible,
empowering leadership providing a <strong>strong
strategic narrative</strong> about the organisation, where it’s
come from and where it’s going.”</i></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><strong><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Engaging
managers</i></strong><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> who focus their people and give them scope,
treat their people as individuals and coach and stretch their people.”</i></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“There
is <strong>employee voice</strong>
throughout the organisations, for reinforcing and challenging views,
between functions and externally, employees are seen as central to the
solution.”</i></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .1pt;">
<br /></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“There
is organisational <strong>integrity</strong>
– the values on the wall are reflected in day to day behaviours. There is
no ‘say –do’ gap”.</i></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><strong>These four enablers of engagement were clearly observable in BBC’s ‘The
Billion Dollar Chicken Shop’. What ever your feelings are towards the fast food
industry its impact on the nations economy and the number of people it employs
and supports is phenomenal. KFC employs </strong>24000 people in UK and Ireland, has over 870 restaurants (all equipped
as learning zones) and promotes 1500 people each year and the fast food brand has
created an advanced apprentice scheme with City & Guilds. KFC fosters a strong
family bond where personal development and recognition prove more motivational
than salary. Not a bad legacy for a brand that started as a road side café in Corbin,
Kentucky back in 1935. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">©VerveInteractiveLtd2015</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Author: Paul Hitchens Creative Director - Verve Brand Consultancy</span></span></div>
Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-34344556793548383922014-12-12T04:39:00.000-08:002014-12-12T04:39:40.574-08:00Countdown to zero engagement<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VDjLUptwxyE/VIrhfRoKw-I/AAAAAAAAAWo/jv_EdhtN0TQ/s1600/clock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VDjLUptwxyE/VIrhfRoKw-I/AAAAAAAAAWo/jv_EdhtN0TQ/s1600/clock.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zero Hours Contract - Zero Employee Engagement?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">How long can an employee hope to feel engaged with a brand that has only
the most tenuous of commitments to their relationship and potentially
leaves the employee at the beck and call of the employer? The recent
political debate over zero hour employment contracts has drawn comment
from across the political divide. Exact statistics as to how many people
are affected appear to be spurious and the definition of the contract
itself can be vague. The Office of National Statistics states “In
general terms, a zero-hours contract is an employment contract in which
an employer does not guarantee the individual any work and the
individual is not obliged to accept any work offered”. The zero hours
contract appears to require zero commitment from both parties and here
rests the crux of the matter concerning the employer brand because
brands are built on trust.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">As the political debate has ensued, household brand names and
familiar icons of the high street have been identified and vilified for
their use of such flexible employment contracts. There is no doubt that
zero hours contracts can work both ways to the advantage of employer and
employee in certain circumstances. Students and people approaching
retirement age may find the flexible nature of these contracts is suited
to their lifestyle, but for individuals who depend on these jobs for
their living, such terms may prove insecure and unsatisfactory. If a
brand relies on an elastic work force it is essential that the employees
are happy with their working arrangement and find that it benefits
their lifestyle. Unhappy or compromised employees are more likely to
become disaffected and have a negative impact on the morale of their
colleagues. Strong brands are consistent but if the employer brand
experience is sporadic it continuity will suffer and engagement levels
will be compromised.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">When a familiar brand name is associated with unfair conduct it will
influence the public’s perception and affect their reputation. Strong
brands have values that drive the behaviour of the employees and build a
culture of performance. If you build a brand on a peripatetic workforce
there will be reduced opportunity to create a cohesive and engaged
culture. Any attempt to build a values based culture will be
significantly harder when the workforce ebbs and flows according to
demand. It stands to reason that a transient workforce will be less
inclined to feel like a brand ambassador. Strong brands acquire meaning
because they stand for something in the collective consciousness. A
brands reputation is built on the consistent delivery of the brands
promise and any question mark over its ability to deliver on that
promise can erode confidence in the organisation and the integrity of
the brand.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Since the global credit crunch the world’s brandscape has changed
dramatically and this has been very visible on the UK’s high street. The
disappearance from the highstreet of household retail names including;
Comet, JJB Sports, Phones 4U, Habitat, Focus DIY, Principles, MFI, and
Zavvi/Virgin Megastore stand testament to the challenging times. Levels
of trust in the banks and institutions are at an all time low and the
media spotlight on corruption and unfair practice demands a new era of
transparency and openness. The latest political debacle about zero hours
contracts is another example of how brands may potentially be guilty of
contradicting the ethics and values they espouse in the treatment of
their employees and suppliers.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Vince Cable, UK Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills,
has introduced legislation that will free workers bound by strict zero
hours contracts that have previously prevented them from working for
other employers. This move has been criticised by some pressure groups
who accuse the government of not going far enough to protect people on
the outside edge of the mainstream workforce who depend on these types
of jobs. It’s part of a change in the jobs market that was identified in
2000 by the author and social activist Naomi Klein in her seminal book
‘No Logo’. She described ‘a sense of impermanence blowing through the
labour force’. This change has affected everyone from office temps,
retail, restaurant and technology contractors. Fourteen years ago Klein
stated that every labour battle of the decade had focused on enforced
casualisation. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Today critics cry that a part-time, zero-hours workforce
that receives minimal training and investment, contributes little tax
and won’t help to pay off the nations deficit.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The challenge for the employer brand, if it is to continue
attracting, retaining and engaging the best talent, is to demonstrate
commitment and a degree of certainty within the flexible terms of the
zero hours contract. If this is not achievable it will be a case of zero
hours and zero commitment, which will impact on the brand experience
and hit the bottom line. The fundamental building block of any brand is
trust.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;">Blog Author: Paul Hitchens</span></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BkrRM_9o-8k/VIrd1A0-5HI/AAAAAAAAAWc/OwtaL6tgdDo/s1600/SBMworkshop2015blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BkrRM_9o-8k/VIrd1A0-5HI/AAAAAAAAAWc/OwtaL6tgdDo/s1600/SBMworkshop2015blog.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Paul Hitchens, the author of this blog, delivers a number of Brand Workshops.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Find
out more about how branding can bring out the best in your business.
You are invited to join Verve for our new workshop in London on the 11th of February and Manchester on the 12th of February:</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.verve.co.uk/book_events.htm" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">http://www.verve.co.uk/book_events.htm</span></a></span></div>
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Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-68257572197337422252014-11-08T09:14:00.002-08:002014-11-08T09:57:42.759-08:00Employer Branding: Does your brand have candidate curbside appeal? <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9JvUJ1A-zHQ/VF5Ov3OHtMI/AAAAAAAAAV0/E0f7nlb9US8/s1600/MBWorld.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9JvUJ1A-zHQ/VF5Ov3OHtMI/AAAAAAAAAV0/E0f7nlb9US8/s1600/MBWorld.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; line-height: 24px;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Mercedes-Benz World is a brand centre par excellence as befits a world-class automotive brand. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>SME’s may not have the same resources but can benefit from the same virtues of hospitality, attention-to-detail and experience by gaining a better understanding of their brand.</span></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You can't judge an apple by looking
at a tree. You can't judge honey by looking at the bee, sings Bo Didley in the
opening lines of his 1962 hit, ‘You can’t judge a book by looking at the cover’.
Potential candidates for a new job may make their mind up about your organisation
before you get a chance to meet them. Pre-judgment is something we are all guilty
of and our first experience of a potential employer may prove hard to change.
As the saying goes ‘you don’t get a second chance to make a first
impression’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">According to the government, Small
and medium sized enterprises (SME’s) employed 14,424,000 people in the UK in
2013. The trading estates of Britain are the heartland of the UK’s SME’s and my
experience as a Brand Consultant is that these estates are often uninspiring
locations. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They can be dull,
unimaginative places, but millions of people work in them. These businesses can
have a great product or service but their presentation and hospitality lets
them down. If these organisation’s were hotels, they would turn guests away in
their droves, an issue that the Hotelier and TV documentary presenter Alex
Polizzi understands in her business programme ‘The Fixer’.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A significant number of SME’s in
the UK do not pay enough attention to their brand and the experience it
provides. They may have a great offering, but this is not always reflected in
how they engage with the outside world. I have frequently met business owners
and senior management teams whose eyes glaze over when you mention branding.
They are proud that they have had success through their networks and personal
contacts, and they maintain that customers buy from them personally and that
the business brand is not an issue or priority. Their own personal branding is
typically good, but they do not follow this through to their corporate identity
and employee experience. They may drive a prestigious car and take care of their
appearance but they pay little attention to their brand. The brand ethos should
be reflected in every aspect of the business and its employees.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If a potential employee has no previous
knowledge of a business their strongest feeling will come from their first
experience and as the saying goes, ‘you don’t get a second chance to make a
first impression’. That ‘gut feeling’ has an important part to play in
positioning a brand and if the experience is found lacking then the perception
of the brand will flounder. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">How good are we at judging
character? The rise of the talent show as a popular entertainment format has
been a phenomenon throughout the first decade of the millennium. Shows like Pop
Idol, The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent have been compelling viewing for
many people and have catapulted unknowns into familiar household names. In
April 2009 the ITV talent show Britain ’ s Got Talent clearly illustrated how
first impressions can be so spectacularly wrong. When Susan Boyle took to the
stage, many people in the audience were cruelly mocking her. Susan Boyle did
not match the stereotype of a successful female singer. She wasn’t young and
glamorous. As Susan Boyle began to sing ‘ I dreamed a dream ’ from the musical
Les Miserables the smirking expressions present in the audience changed to
open-mouthed shock and awe. The panelists Piers Morgan, Amanda Holden and Simon
Cowell were clearly impressed. History was made and Susan Boyle’s remarkable
singing voice attracted international attention and was one of the most viewed
clips on YouTube and a successful recording career beckoned. The media at the
time described the moment as a modern parable, teaching us not to judge by
appearances. Are we not all guilty of judging a book by its cover? Is your
business a Susan Boyle brand? There are many businesses that have a fantastic
product or service but their branding lets them down. A business may not get
the opportunity to prove itself like Susan Boyle did and its image becomes a
stumbling block to success. The audience was obliged to listen to the
contestant but if the singer had been a business brand, would the potential
customer or job applicant have given the organisation a chance? Estate Agents
speak of curbside appeal, but would a prospect have opened the door or would
they have taken one look at the exterior and moved on? </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Potential employees need to ‘get ’
the brand or how can you expect new customers to understand its premise. You need
to make sure that everything you believe in and stand for is communicated
clearly. It is not easy to do this, as branding is so much more than a logo – people,
hospitality, environment, design, colour, imagery etc. all play a part. Your
brand connects with the senses and should be mirrored in every aspect of your organisation,
from the product or service to the environment, people and culture.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Everything that a potential employer
does to attract a prospective employee should be part of a consistent brand
experience from an applicant’s initial awareness of the employer, through their
application process, interview, selection and induction. The whole procedure
should be viewed as a critical experience that tests the mettle of the brand at
every touchpoint. An unsuccessful or disappointed job applicant will carry away
an insight of the brand that could prove to be harmful to the brands reputation.
</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ask yourself:</span></div>
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<br />
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Is the recruitment process from awareness to on
boarding, consistent with the brand and does it enhance the brand experience?</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Is the recruitment procedure simple and easy to
understand and information freely accessible?</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Are your candidate facing employees ambassadors
for the brand?</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Are recruiters properly trained and aware of the
recruitment procedure?</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Will candidates be kept up to date with their
application process?</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Are all communications in keeping with the
brand?</span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Touchpoints are the myriad of
interactions between a brand and its audience that tests the brand’s integrity.
Collectively these touchpoints form the brand experience from which the
audience appraises the brand. The audience includes employees, suppliers and
customers. Brands are only as strong as their weakest link. Find out more about
how a deeper understanding of the brand can create richer experiences. You are invited
to join me for my new Brand Experience workshop designed to help you get to the
heart of your brand:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.symposium-events.co.uk/event/brand-experience-and-human-resources-how-a-healthy-brand-culture-delivers-the-strongest-touchpoints-3/" target="_blank">Brand Experience</a></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.symposium-events.co.uk/event/brand-strategy-and-human-resources-building-the-employer-brand-3/" target="_blank">Employer Branding</a></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.symposium-events.co.uk/events/category/training/core-values-and-human-resources/" target="_blank">Core Values</a></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;">Blog Author: Paul Hitchens</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Find out more about how branding can bring out the best in your business. You are invited to join me for my new workshop in London on the 11th of December and Manchester on the 12th of December:</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LyTR9dILzh4/VEd61py2MII/AAAAAAAAAUw/Idxl6_vCMQI/s1600/SBMworkshop2014blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: blue; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: underline;"><img alt="Successful Brand Management In A Day - The Brand Workshop London and Manchester" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LyTR9dILzh4/VEd61py2MII/AAAAAAAAAUw/Idxl6_vCMQI/s1600/SBMworkshop2014blog.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0976562) 1px 1px 5px; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0976562) 1px 1px 5px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 5px; position: relative;" title="Successful Brand Management In A Day - The Brand Workshop London and Manchester" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="style109">SUCCESSFUL BRAND MANAGEMENT IN A DAY<br />Book Tour - Brand Workshop</span></span></span></h4>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /><b>A special one day workshop presented by the author, Paul Hitchens. This fast paced workshop will follow the book with interactive exercises and real world examples. Each delegate will receive a complimentary copy of 'Successful Brand Management - In A Week'.</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><span class="style121"><a href="http://www.eventbrite.com/e/successful-brand-management-in-a-day-book-tour-brand-workshop-london-tickets-13726705947?aff=eorg" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">BOOK HERE 11<span class="style145">TH</span> December 2014 London</a></span></span></span></span></span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><span class="style121"><a href="http://www.eventbrite.com/e/successful-brand-management-in-a-day-book-tour-brand-workshop-manchester-tickets-13730437107?aff=eorg" style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">BOOK HERE 12<span class="style145">TH</span> December 2014 Manchester</a></span></span></span></span></span></span></h4>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="style173"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><br /><span class="style152">One day workshop >> £395.00</span></span></span></span><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><span class="style121"><span class="style152"><span class="style145"> + VAT</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<!--EndFragment-->Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-50553308077184164622014-11-05T08:35:00.000-08:002014-11-05T11:06:43.538-08:00Growing through Values - Brands that really stand for something - Jamie Oliver <style>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 200%;">Growing through
Values - <span style="font-size: x-large;">Ethical Branding</span></span></b></span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ogYzef6ntNQ/VFpOa6e53bI/AAAAAAAAAU8/gFR2mdLC5QE/s1600/freshvalues.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ogYzef6ntNQ/VFpOa6e53bI/AAAAAAAAAU8/gFR2mdLC5QE/s1600/freshvalues.png" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">There is nothing fishy about these brand values</span></i></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">The ‘Jamie Oliver’ and ‘Body Shop’ brands demonstrate that clearly
defined core values can be firmly placed at the centre of a healthy business.
Strong values provide an ethical code of behaviour that influences staff,
suppliers and customers. When employees share a brand’s core values they are
more likely to feel content, empowered and fulfilled. Shared values can shape a
behavioural framework that enables an organisation to realise its brands vision
and achieve its true purpose. Values may originally derive from an
organisation’s founders and evolve over time as a business flourishes. If you
do not clarify and communicate these values, they may become diluted and
compromise the qualities that made the organisation successful in the first
place.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Jamie Oliver</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">The</span><span style="line-height: 200%;">
</span><span style="line-height: 200%;">success of Jamie
Oliver and his many enterprises may be traced to a confident sense of ‘</span>Real Purpose’. The Kitchen Crusaders website and careers
section clearly states ‘there’s a real purpose to working here compared to
slaving away to make massive profits for some faceless corporation!’ And who
would doubt that? Oliver’s Values are so authentic you can hear his voice loud
and clear when you read them - http://www.jamieoliver.com/careers</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Keep it simple</span></b></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Give it your all</span></b></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Enjoy yourself</span></b></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Think fresh</span></b></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Spread the love</span></b></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-top: .1pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Grow with us</span></b></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
This is a brand that undoubtedly benefits from a very visible and passionate
brand Champion - and Oliver wears his heart on his sleeve. </span><span style="line-height: 200%;">When
the Chef visited North America back in 2010 for his</span><span style="line-height: 200%;"> ‘Food Revolution’ campaign</span><span style="line-height: 200%;"> he was reduced to tears<i> </i>at a US school, ‘They don’t
understand me because they don’t know why I’m here.’ The caring chef was in the
</span><span style="line-height: 200%;">West Virginia town of Huntington to
address the obesity epidemic</span><span style="line-height: 200%;">
</span><span style="line-height: 200%;">that accounted for two out of every three
people in the US being</span><span style="line-height: 200%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 200%;">overweight. At the time Oliver placed a statement on his website: ‘I
believe that every child in America has the right to fresh, nutritious school meals,
and that every family deserves real, honest, wholesome food.’ To back up his
manifesto he opened a walk-in advice centre called ‘Jamie’s Kitchen ’ on Huntington’s Third Avenue.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Jamie Oliver first came to the wider public’s attention in 1999 with
his popular TV series ‘<i>The Naked Chef’ </i>and the accompanying book. His
energy and enthusiasm seemed endless. In 2000 he started appearing in Sainsbury’s
supermarket commercials and in 2002 he launched the Fifteen Foundation. The
foundation gave 15 young people, from disadvantaged backgrounds, the
opportunity of a career in the restaurant business. In 2005 he campaigned
against the use of processed foods in school kitchens with the TV series ‘<i>Jamie’s</i>
<i>School Dinners’</i>. With his focus firmly kept on caring for the nation’s</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">diet, he followed with ‘<i>Jamie’s Ministry of Food’. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>The success of ‘Jamie’s School
Dinners’ campaign improved not just the health of school children but their
exam results, with a consequent rise of 4.5 per cent in English SAT’s results.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">The Fifteen Foundation has been renamed as the Jamie Oliver Foundation.
It was set up to train young people from deprived backgrounds to be chefs and
many have persevered and found careers in this industry. The Fifteen London restaurant was followed by similar projects in Amsterdam, Cornwall
and Melbourne. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">His enthusiasm for life is contagious and he is always inspiring or
helping people – whether it is a new recipe, YouTube channel or his successful
food festival ‘Feastival’. He is extremely constructive, using his talent to
help others, offering jobs to unemployed youths and helping to change people’s
perceptions about food. He has the confidence and courage to make a change for
the good of all. You can tell that he really wants to help people and he ranks in
the ‘Giving List of Charitable Donors ’ published by <i>The Sunday Times </i>‘
Rich List’. The Jamie Oliver brand is focused on caring and like the late Dame Anita
Roddick, The Body Shop founder, Jamie Oliver is a passionate campaigner. He
cares deeply about people and food and is often referred to in the media as ‘
The Kitchen Crusader ’.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Social responsibility</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Brands are interconnected with their employees, suppliers and customers.
They are a part of society and can affect both the environment and our physical
health. Commerce has global implications and with that comes responsibility.
Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are the two ‘ must
have ’ policies for global businesses. But is CSR a charity bandwagon or really
heart-felt?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Either way, a lot of good causes benefit t from these policies,
but there is a difference between believing in a cause and just doing the right
thing. A hollow CSR policy will come up for scrutiny but passionate heartfelt causes
could be the focus that drives a brand. Dame Anita Roddick founded the ethical
beauty brand ‘The Body Shop ’ and placed ‘ Against Animal Testing ’ on the
political agenda. The brand was the first global cosmetics brand to be
recognized under the Humane Cosmetics Standard for their ‘ Against Animal
Testing ’ policy.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">"The
business of business should not just be about money,</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">it should
be about responsibility. It should be about public</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">good, not
private greed."</span></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Dame Anita Roddick, The Body Shop founder</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Core Values are the foundations on which strong brands may be
built. These values should be clear and relevant to each employee at every
stage of their relationship with the organisation. The more work you put into
defining what your organisation stands for and how you expect your staff to
behave, the more your brand will grow in stature and performance.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Blog Author: Paul Hitchens </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Find out more about how Values can help
your brand culture. You are invited to join me for my new workshop
designed to help you get to the the best from your brand:</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.verve.co.uk/book_events.htm"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">http://www.verve.co.uk/book_events.htm</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LyTR9dILzh4/VEd61py2MII/AAAAAAAAAUw/Idxl6_vCMQI/s1600/SBMworkshop2014blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Successful Brand Management In A Day - The Brand Workshop London and Manchester" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LyTR9dILzh4/VEd61py2MII/AAAAAAAAAUw/Idxl6_vCMQI/s1600/SBMworkshop2014blog.jpg" height="114" title="Successful Brand Management In A Day - The Brand Workshop London and Manchester" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style109">SUCCESSFUL BRAND MANAGEMENT IN A DAY<br />
Book Tour - Brand Workshop </span></span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /><b>A special one day workshop presented by the author, Paul
Hitchens. This fast paced workshop will follow the book with
interactive exercises and real world examples. Each delegate will
receive a complimentary copy of 'Successful Brand Management - In A
Week'.</b></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><span class="style121"><a href="http://www.eventbrite.com/e/successful-brand-management-in-a-day-book-tour-brand-workshop-london-tickets-13726705947?aff=eorg" target="_blank">BOOK HERE 11<span class="style145">TH</span> December 2014 London </a></span></span></span></span></span></h4>
<div class="style68">
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><span class="style121"><a href="http://www.eventbrite.com/e/successful-brand-management-in-a-day-book-tour-brand-workshop-manchester-tickets-13730437107?aff=eorg" target="_blank">BOOK HERE 12<span class="style145">TH</span> December 2014 Manchester</a></span></span></span></span></span></h4>
</div>
<div class="style68">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style173"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><br />
<span class="style152">One day workshop >> £395.00</span></span></span></span><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><span class="style121"><span class="style152"><span class="style145"> + VAT</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><span class="style121"><span class="style152"><span class="style145"><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><span class="style121"><span class="style152"><span class="style145"><b>Telephone: </b>+44 (0) 1932 352353</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><span class="style121"><span class="style152"><span class="style145"><b>Website:</b> <a href="http://www.verve.co.uk/book_events.htm">http://www.verve.co.uk/book_events.htm</a> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><span class="style121"><span class="style152"><span class="style145"><b>Email:</b> <a href="mailto:info@verve.co.uk">info@verve.co.uk</a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Copyright © Verve Interactive Ltd 2014</span></div>
Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-6731485319361559072014-10-22T02:21:00.000-07:002014-10-22T04:35:57.805-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LyTR9dILzh4/VEd61py2MII/AAAAAAAAAUs/wTHMhdN9274/s1600/SBMworkshop2014blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LyTR9dILzh4/VEd61py2MII/AAAAAAAAAUs/wTHMhdN9274/s1600/SBMworkshop2014blog.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 32px;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 32px;">Revolutionise your brand</span></span><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-size: 32px;"><b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-size: 32px;"><b><span style="color: #ed1c24; font-size: 24px;"><b><span style="color: #ed1c24;"><b><span style="color: #c1102f; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></b></span></b></span></b></span></b></span><span style="font-size: 16px;"></span></span><span style="font-size: 13px;"></span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 13px;"></span><br /></b></span><br />
<h2>
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The ability to manage your brand successfully is crucial to business success. This special one day workshop is presented by the
branding author, Paul Hitchens. This fast paced workshop will follow the book, 'Successful Brand Management - In A
Week', with interactive exercises and real world examples. Each delegate will
receive a complimentary copy of this best selling book. </span></b></h2>
<h2>
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span></b></h2>
<b>
</b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><br />
<span class="style121"><a href="http://www.eventbrite.com/e/successful-brand-management-in-a-day-book-tour-brand-workshop-london-tickets-13726705947?aff=eorg" target="_blank">BOOK HERE 11<span class="style145">TH</span> December 2014 London </a></span></span></span></span></span>
<br />
<div class="style68">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><span class="style121"><a href="http://www.eventbrite.com/e/successful-brand-management-in-a-day-book-tour-brand-workshop-manchester-tickets-13730437107?aff=eorg" target="_blank">BOOK HERE 12<span class="style145">TH</span> December 2014 Manchester</a></span></span></span></span><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><span class="style121"><br />
<span class="style110"><br />
</span></span></span></span></span><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><span class="style121"><span class="style152">One day workshop >> £395.00<span class="style145"> + VAT</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="style68">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style110"><b>Schedule: </b></span><br /><br /><span class="style111"><span class="style158">08.30 - 09.00: </span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style162"><span class="style152">Arrival and coffee</span></span><span class="style111"><i><b><br />
</b></i></span><span class="style155">09.00 - 09.15: </span><i><b><span class="style118">Introduction</span><br />
</b></i><span class="style111"><span class="style158">09.15 - 09.45:</span> <span class="style118">Determine your brand focus</span><br />
</span><i><span class="style155">09.45 - 10.30:</span> <span class="style118"><b>Define your brand strategy</b></span><br />
<span class="style155">10.30 - 10.45:</span> <span class="style152">Morning refreshments</span></i> <br /><i><span class="style155">10.45 - 11.15:</span> <span class="style164">Define your brand strategy</span><br />
<span class="style155">11.15 - 12.00:</span> <span class="style118"><b>Express your brand identity</b></span><br />
</i><i><span class="style155">12.00 - 12.30: </span><span class="style164">Evolve your brand culture</span><span class="style164"> </span><br />
<span class="style155">12.30 - 13.15:</span> Working Lunch included<b> </b></i></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /><i><span class="style155">13.15 - 14.15: </span><span class="style164">Evolve your brand culture</span><b><br />
</b><span class="style155">14.15 - 15.00:</span> <span class="style164">Build your employer brand</span></i></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /><i><span class="style155">15.00 - 15.15:</span> Afternoon refreshments <br />
<span class="style155">15.15 - 16.00:</span> <span class="style118"><b>The importance of design</b></span><br />
</i><span class="style111"><span class="style158"><i>16.00 - 16.45: </i></span><span class="style118">Sustaining the brand</span> <br />
<span class="style158"><i>16.45 - 17.00: </i></span><span class="style118">Questions and Answers</span> </span></span>
</div>
<div class="style68">
<br /></div>
<div class="style68">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style110"><b>Programme: </b></span>The
aim of this one day workshop is to provide you with a logical and
structured approach to developing a compelling brand strategy. The
programme examines the Key Brand Criteria necessary for building a
coherent brand, explained with contemporary examples and useful
exercises. Discover how your brand can create meaning that transcends
the limitations of the product or service category and establish a
rewarding emotional connection with your audience. Each delegate will
receive a complementary copy of the new book and refreshments and a
working lunch will be served. </span></div>
<div class="style68">
<br /></div>
<div class="style68">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style110"><b>Who Should Attend:</b></span>
This course is designed for you if you are interested in brands, have
responsibility for branding or are considering creating a new brand. It
is suitable for Brand Managers, Designers, Directors, Entrepreneurs and
Ambitious Executives. </span></div>
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<div class="style68">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style110"><b>Workshop Presenter : </b></span>
With over 25 years experience in the Creative Industries, Paul Hitchens
has worked in Advertising, Branding, Design and Marketing.
Paul is a founding partner of Verve Brand Consultancy. He has
helped hundreds of businesses to realise their brand's potential through
Strategic Consultancy, Creative Services, Seminars and Training
Workshops.
A regular commentator for television, radio, national and
trade press, Paul has appeared on BBC, ITV and Channel 5 News. <br /><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><br />
<span class="style121"><a href="http://www.eventbrite.com/e/successful-brand-management-in-a-day-book-tour-brand-workshop-london-tickets-13726705947?aff=eorg" target="_blank">BOOK HERE 11<span class="style145">TH</span> December 2014 London </a></span></span></span></span></span>
</div>
<div class="style68">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><span class="style121"><a href="http://www.eventbrite.com/e/successful-brand-management-in-a-day-book-tour-brand-workshop-manchester-tickets-13730437107?aff=eorg" target="_blank">BOOK HERE 12<span class="style145">TH</span> December 2014 Manchester</a></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="style68">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style173"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><br />
<span class="style152">One day workshop >> £395.00</span></span></span></span><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><span class="style121"><span class="style152"><span class="style145"> + VAT</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><span class="style121"><span class="style152"><span class="style145"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><span class="style121"><span class="style152"><span class="style145"><b>Telephone: </b>+44 (0) 1932 352353</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><span class="style121"><span class="style152"><span class="style145"><b>Website:</b> <a href="http://www.verve.co.uk/book_events.htm">http://www.verve.co.uk/book_events.htm</a> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><span class="style121"><span class="style152"><span class="style145"><b>Email:</b> <a href="mailto:info@verve.co.uk">info@verve.co.uk</a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span class="style109"><span class="style118"><span class="style110"><span class="style121"><span class="style152"><span class="style145"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-49063405796609071312014-04-16T09:58:00.000-07:002014-04-16T09:58:41.735-07:00Health, Wealth and Happiness<div class="post-top">
<div class="post-title entry-title">
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">How employee engagement is certainly no fantasy
but very much alive and real in some of the UK’s most thriving
businesses.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.symposium-events.com/wp-content/uploads/paul-hitchens-blog-photo-3.png"><img alt="paul-hitchens-blog-photo (3)" class=" wp-image-29527 alignright" height="280" src="http://www.symposium-events.com/wp-content/uploads/paul-hitchens-blog-photo-3.png" width="280" /></a> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Blog: Paul Hitchens is
Author of ‘Create the Perfect Brand’ and ‘Successful Brand Management – in a
week’ published by Hodder Education. He is the Course Director for ‘Brand
Strategy & HR’ hosted by Symposium Training. </span></i><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div align="center">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>The
Elfin Oak can be found in Kensington Gardens close to the venue for the
Symposium Employee Engagement Summit. The Oak was carved in 1911 by the
illustrator Ivor Innes and depicts the ‘Little People’ working together
ascending the tree with Wookey and her three jars of Health, Wealth and
Happiness. These three treasures are highly prized indicators of a
thriving enterprise. Employee happiness and wellbeing are significant
factors in the prosperity of a flourishing organisation.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My first three blogs prior to Symposium’s ‘Employee Engagement Summit
2014’ borrowed from the fantasy worlds of Disneyland, Legoland and Oz
to examine the issue of employee engagement and its effect on the bottom
line. The summit was held in Kensington, an area of London long
associated with another fantasy, that of JM Barrie’s Peter Pan. However,
at the conference I witnessed many compelling case studies and
first-hand accounts of how employee engagement is certainly no fantasy
but very much alive and real in some of the UK’s most thriving
businesses.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The event was chaired by Amy Armstrong, a research fellow at the
Ashridge Business School. Before introducing a line-up of distinguished
speakers, she began by setting the tone for the day with the eye-opening
insight that, according to a recent Ashridge report, ‘CEO’s still
struggle to define employee engagement.’ Whilst much of the morning was
to focus on measurement and action to increase engagement, it is
important to remember that there is still a lack of understanding
undermining the employee engagement ‘cause’.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.ashridge.org.uk/Website/Content.nsf/wFARALC/Engagement+through+CEO+Eyes?opendocument">(For more info on the report click here).</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Doug McIldowie, Group HR Director at engineering giant GKN,
proclaimed their barometer for engagement to be the modern ‘Positive
Climate Index Score’, whilst ValUENTiS CEO Nicholas J. Higgins reminded
us that, in spite of the ongoing struggles with the concept, employee
engagement surveys were actually pioneered in the 1930s by US retail
giant Sears, before disclosing the findings of his latest report on
employee engagement in organisations entitled 'The State of the Notion'. <a href="http://www.valuentis.com/pdfs/VaLUENTiS_EmpEngInOrgs_MetaReport310314.pdf"></a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Then came some fascinating insights on initiative to improve levels
of engagement. Beverley Rowney, Head of International Communications and
Cultural Transformation at British Gas, explained how their engineers
have been equipped with smart phone technology, including the ‘Yammer’
app, that allows them to stay in contact and share information, claiming
that the freedom of choice and power of information at their fingertips
has led to a significant increase in productivity and engagement. She
asserted the importance of these front-line ambassadors by stating that
‘Our engineers are our brand’, meaning that initiatives to ensure their
engagement were key to the success of British Gas.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Emma Sutton, Head of Credit and Fraud Risk Operations and Joanna
Jepson, Culture and Engagement Workstream Lead, revealed the mettle
behind the Explore Engagement Programme at their organization, MBNA, by
claiming that their employee culture compass has been re-calibrated to
‘true north’. Inspirational keynotes by speakers including Sir Ranulph
Fiennes have helped to build a psychological contract between employee
and employer at MBNA, a contract on which their efforts to increase
productivity have been based.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Lucy Wilson, the UK Leadership Development and Employee Engagement
Lead at BAE Systems, recognised the power of storytelling for
engagement. Her colleagues across departments were encouraged to share
their story by video, which became a short film titled ‘Hall of fame’
celebrating the defence, security and aerospace brand.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Alexandra Buck former HR Manager at CISCO explained the peaks and
troughs of the engagement curve and recommended Stephen Covey’s ‘Seven
Habits of Highly Effective People’, before Mairi Probin, Internal
Communications & Engagement Manager at Iceland Foods confirmed the
relationship between HR and the bottom line by stating that ‘happy teams
serve happy customers who want to come back’. Mairi referred to herself
as ‘Head of Happiness’ and her colleagues would surely agree as the
high street frozen food retailer was awarded the 2014 Sunday Times ‘Best
Big Company to Work For’. The award is based purely on what colleagues
think of their employers. Iceland has a stable career ladder with over
seventy percent of vacancies filled by internal progression. Mairi
underlined the importance of leadership and insisted that the fortunes
of the brand have been closely linked to CEO Malcolm Walker, who let the
cameras in from BBC2 to make a fly-on-the-wall documentary called <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01j17rn/episodes/guide"> ‘Iceland Foods: Life in the freezer cabinet’.</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Principal Research Fellow for the Institute for Employment Studies
(IES), Dilys Robinson, concluded the day by reminding us that engagement
is neither new or different and referred to the critical perspective of
Professor Rob Briner at Bath School of Management. Engagement as a
discipline is open to criticism: there are too many definitions as to
what engagement actually is, measures are not reliable, evidence is poor
and anecdotal, the benefits are often overstated or misrepresented.
Dilys pointed to the future of engagement research and outlined key
questions that need to be addressed over the next decade.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The IES defines Employee Engagement as:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">belief in the organisation</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">desire to work to make things better</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">understanding of business context and ‘bigger picture’</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">respectful of, and helpful to, colleagues</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">willingness to ‘go the extra mile’</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">keeping up‐to‐date with developments in the field.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Dilys brought the conference to a close by asking the delegates if
engagement was a fad that’s getting tired? We all answered with a
resounding ‘No!’, but we must now ensure that decision makers in
organizations agree. The case studies and evidence suggests that
employee engagement significantly improves an organisations ability to
share health, wealth and happiness and grow productivity and profit too.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Thank you</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Paul Hitchens</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Brand Consultant</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.verve.co.uk/">http://www.verve.co.uk</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Paul presents the following one-day courses with Symposium Training -</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>Brand Strategy and Human Resources – Building the Employer Brand</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">21 May 2014 – London<br />
2 July 2014 – Birmingham</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>Your brand needs you! The power of employer branding.</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.symposium-training.co.uk/brand-strategy-and-human-resources/#more-1682">http://www.symposium-training.co.uk/brand-strategy-and-human-resources/#more-1682</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-19069418889050954412014-04-16T09:47:00.001-07:002014-04-16T09:50:57.048-07:00Wicked Values<style>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qLuC42t4l6E/U06zylCCnvI/AAAAAAAAAOo/nIQcxhscX1A/s1600/engage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qLuC42t4l6E/U06zylCCnvI/AAAAAAAAAOo/nIQcxhscX1A/s1600/engage.jpg" /></a></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The yellow brick
road to employee engagement</b></span></span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0cm; mso-para-margin-right: 0cm; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Blog: Paul Hitchens is Author of
‘Create the Perfect Brand’ and ‘Successful Brand Management – In a Week’
published by Hodder Education. He is the Course Director for ‘Brand Strategy
& HR’ hosted by Symposium Training. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">The Wizard of Oz is an evergreen favourite and the stage show
'Wicked' is set to run and run. At the heart of L. Frank Baum's fantasy are
some very down-to-earth values. I recently watched the London West End
production with my family and was struck by its underlying foundation of core
values and the parallels with employee engagement, corporate culture and
motivation. </span></span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Employee Engagement is the spirit of the Employer Brand. Engaged
employees that love their role and understand the part they play in fulfilling
the organisations vision are the lifeblood of a healthy culture. Conscientious,
engaged employees bring brands to life and deliver the best brand experiences.</span></span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">The period of time in which the first Oz books were published
coincides with the boom in the ‘American Dream’. A belief in the ‘Land of
Opportunity’ motivated many people to leave the old world of Europe behind and
pursue prosperity and personal improvement. From 1900 L. Frank Baum published
14 books on the Land of Oz and I am sure we are all familiar with the Technicolor
1939 MGM version. The themes and values of Baum’s work would have struck a
chord with anyone considering starting a business and building a brand. </span></span><br />
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Values</b></span><span style="color: black;"> that resonate with entrepreneurs:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">COURAGE</span></b><span style="color: black;"> to realise your dreams. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">LOVE</span></b><span style="color: black;"> and passion in your work and the products of your labours</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">WISDOM</span></b><span style="color: black;"> to sustain the success and grow a long-term business.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Themes that apply to building strong motivated teams and esprit de
corps: </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">TEAM WORK</span></b><span style="color: black;"> Solve problems by working together.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">CONFIDENCE</span></b><span style="color: black;"> Follow your gut instincts. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">HONESTY</span></b><span style="color: black;"> Be true to yourself and don’t hide behind a façade </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">MORALITY</span></b><span style="color: black;"> Don’t give up on your principles, </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">TRUST</span></b><span style="color: black;"> Believe in good and good things will happen.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 150%; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">THE BRAND</span></b><span style="color: black;"> There’s no place like home.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></b><span style="color: #660000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Back in the real world</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Values can often become a
list of clichés that are poorly defined and generic. Annual Reports, Corporate
Brochures and Induction Packs are bolstered with pages dedicated to corporate
values. But how were these values arrived at originally and are they still
relevant today?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">For example: Trust is a
commonly held value that should be implicit in every brand. What exactly does
‘trust’ mean and how is it defined inside and outside of the organisation? Can
employees trust senior management to keep their word? </span>Can the customer trust in the product or service?<span style="color: #ffc000;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">In order to succeed and have
relevance, values require the complete endorsement of the boardroom supported
by clear evidence that the management team is practicing what it preaches.
These values will need to be interpreted and understood at an individual level
so that employees can integrate them into their job description.</span></span></div>
<div class="ColorfulList-Accent11CxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="ColorfulList-Accent11CxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black;">If you are part of an established
organisation with a legacy of values, it could be time to re-evaluate their
effectiveness. </span><span style="color: black;">Choose a ‘Values
Focus Group’ from across the organisation including; Senior Management,
Marketing, Human Resources and Line Managers. Ask the group if these existing
values are capable of delivering a unique customer experience or a generic one?
If the legacy values are of the generic ‘me to’ variety they will add nothing
to the personality of the brand. Too many values can be as ineffective as no
values at all. If your employees have trouble recalling your values, it is
better to keep them short and succinct and limited to a core number of
five.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></span></div>
<div class="ColorfulList-Accent11CxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Considerations for choosing Brand Values:</b></span></span></div>
<div class="ColorfulList-Accent11CxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Are
the values sincere and memorable?</span></span></div>
<div class="ColorfulList-Accent11CxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black;">Do these values help to differentiate the
brand?</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div>
<div class="ColorfulList-Accent11CxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Are
the<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>values relevant to the brand
experience? </span></span></div>
<div class="ColorfulList-Accent11CxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Can
employees realistically live up to these values?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="ColorfulList-Accent11CxSpLast" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><span style="color: black;">Do
the values provoke measurable behaviours that will enhance or transform the
brands performance?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">It may take several days to
arrive at your new values system, but they will have a long lasting and
positive effect, so it is worth every effort to get it right. The publication
of the new values will directly influence decisions for hiring employees,
measuring their performance and awarding rewards.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Appoint Values Ambassadors
from all levels of the organisation to disseminate the values across the
workforce. Ensure that every employee is within reach of these Values
Ambassadors, from Senior Management to temporary staff. Values are best shared
and practiced ‘face to face’, you cannot expect them to thrive if they are
buried away in a document.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Thank
you</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Paul
Hitchens </span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.verve.co.uk/">http://www.verve.co.uk</a></span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I
help people and companies to build strong brands inside and outside their organisation.
I often ask delegates at my workshops to describe their favourite brands and I
expect them to reveal the stand out qualities and the stories they associate
with those cherished products and services. This is because strong brands have
meaning and stand for something that’s relevant to us. </span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Paul
presents the following one-day courses with Symposium Training -</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .1pt; mso-outline-level: 1; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0cm; mso-para-margin-right: 0cm; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Brand Strategy and
Human Resources – Building the Employer Brand</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0cm; mso-para-margin-right: 0cm; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">21 May 2014 – London<br />
2 July 2014 – Birmingham</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0cm; mso-para-margin-right: 0cm; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 150%;">Your brand needs you! The power of employer branding.</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0cm; mso-para-margin-right: 0cm; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.symposium-training.co.uk/brand-strategy-and-human-resources/#more-1682">http://www.symposium-training.co.uk/brand-strategy-and-human-resources/#more-1682</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Copyright
© Verve Interactive Ltd 2014</span></div>
Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-86228366744270408952014-04-16T09:42:00.000-07:002014-04-16T09:50:11.470-07:00Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you’re part of a team!<style>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_dmapLcCDzE/U06yt-ylXoI/AAAAAAAAAOc/rBm3fzuMq_s/s1600/engagement.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_dmapLcCDzE/U06yt-ylXoI/AAAAAAAAAOc/rBm3fzuMq_s/s1600/engagement.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .1pt; mso-outline-level: 1; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0cm; mso-para-margin-right: 0cm; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
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lessons Lego can teach us about Employee Engagement.</span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0cm; mso-para-margin-right: 0cm; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0cm; mso-para-margin-right: 0cm; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Blog: Paul Hitchens is
Author of ‘Create the Perfect Brand’ and ‘Successful Brand Management – in a
week’ published by Hodder Education. He is the Course Director for ‘Brand
Strategy & HR’ hosted by Symposium Training. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0cm; mso-para-margin-right: 0cm; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Lego
is one of the world’s most enduringly popular brands despite repeated reference
to its pain inducing qualities when stepped on while barefoot at 4 o’clock in
the morning. I recently had the good fortune to take my son and a group of his
friends to see the new Lego Movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I now have the films theme song ‘Everything is awesome!!!’ by Tegan and
Sara stuck on repeat play in my subconscious. It’s a high-energy celebration of
the power of working together for a common goal and it struck me that this
could be an anthem for Employee Engagement. The Lego Movie is a self-fulfilling
prophecy following the life of Emmet, an ordinary LEGO mini-figure with no
exceptional qualities, who stumbles upon an object that propels him into the
role of the "special" one as foretold by prophecy. Emmet reveals that
sometimes guidelines and a framework for behavior can pay dividends and that
every employee has the potential to be a Brand Ambassador. All work and no play
had made Emmet a dull boy, but given an opportunity to shine he demonstrates
the Lego ethos to ‘Play well’.</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Employee
engagement is the balance between emotional attachment to the organisation and
individual job satisfaction. There is a frequently told story that John F
Kennedy allegedly made an unannounced visit to the Cape Canaveral Space Centre
during the Apollo Space Program. He approached three men in overalls and asked
each in turn what they were doing. The first replied that he was ‘earning a
living’, the second replied that he ‘cleaned away all the rubbish’ and the
third replied with a smile that he was ‘helping to put a man on the moon’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The third man displays some of the
attributes of the Lego Movie’s character Emmet, he is an engaged employee,
someone who feels a direct link between the job they do and the achievement of
the organisation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AMDRuPzxEuQ/U06yTnI1_CI/AAAAAAAAAOU/fLzn6kdYY5M/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AMDRuPzxEuQ/U06yTnI1_CI/AAAAAAAAAOU/fLzn6kdYY5M/s1600/Picture+1.png" height="264" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Satisfaction (I love my Job) + Contribution
(I help my business achieve its goals) = Engagement</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-no-proof: yes;"></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
reasons for a lack of engagement include poor leadership, weak communication
and a lack of understanding about the brand. The combination of long working
hours, frozen pay scales, lunch breaks at desks and the intrusive access of
digital communication can create a resentful workforce. Health, prospects and a
sincere interest in the welfare of the employee are critical. People are
engaged when they like their work, they understand its value and they enjoy
working with their colleagues. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Effective
employee engagement enables employees to realise their full potential at work.
To enable this they must feel respected, included, listened to and valued by
their colleagues and Line Managers. Engaged employees find a sense of belonging
in their organisation and are inspired to put their best efforts into making it
a success. High levels of employee engagement are linked with increased
operational efficiency and reduced loss from theft and errors. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="color: #660000;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br />The benefits of Employee
Engagement:</span></b></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A shared feeling of pride and inclusiveness.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Employee contentment with career and future prospects.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Proactive positive helpful attitude.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Improved health and wellbeing.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Lower absence rates.</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Employees live the brand values.</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">We
cannot all expect to work in Legoland, but we can work towards building an Employer
Brand culture where you can work and play well.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Thank
you</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Paul
Hitchens </span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<a href="http://www.verve.co.uk/"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">http://www.verve.co.uk</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">I
help people and companies to build strong brands inside and outside their
organisation. I often ask delegates at my workshops to describe their favourite
brands and I expect them to reveal the stand out qualities and the stories they
associate with those cherished products and services. This is because strong
brands have meaning and stand for something that’s relevant to us. </span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Paul
presents the following one-day courses with Symposium Training -</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .1pt; mso-outline-level: 1; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0cm; mso-para-margin-right: 0cm; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Brand
Strategy and Human Resources – Building the Employer Brand</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0cm; mso-para-margin-right: 0cm; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">21 May 2014 – London<br />
2 July 2014 – Birmingham</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0cm; mso-para-margin-right: 0cm; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Your brand needs you! The power of employer branding.</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: .1pt; mso-para-margin-bottom: .01gd; mso-para-margin-left: 0cm; mso-para-margin-right: 0cm; mso-para-margin-top: .01gd;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<a href="http://www.symposium-training.co.uk/brand-strategy-and-human-resources/#more-1682"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">http://www.symposium-training.co.uk/brand-strategy-and-human-resources/#more-1682</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Copyright
© Verve Interactive Ltd 2014</span></div>
Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-90511209639342293452014-04-08T09:17:00.000-07:002014-04-08T09:17:09.796-07:00Hearts and Minds Branding
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uAkwuL6MtU0/U0QcqJ0UC2I/AAAAAAAAALs/5sNtrLRi1gE/s1600/Ikea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uAkwuL6MtU0/U0QcqJ0UC2I/AAAAAAAAALs/5sNtrLRi1gE/s1600/Ikea.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b> </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>A brand is not a logo</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #444444;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Paul Hitchens is Author of
‘Create the Perfect Brand’ and ‘Successful Brand Management – In a Week’
published by Hodder Education. He is co-founder of Verve Brand Consultancy Tel: +44 (0) 1932 352353 and presents the CIM Branding Masterclass - https://www.cim.co.uk/Training/CourseDetails.aspx?course=0069. </span></span></i></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">‘A brand is not a logo’ has
become something of a mantra in the years that I have been working with clients
helping them to build stronger brands. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial;">Your logo is not your brand;
it’s just the tip of the iceberg, a signpost pointing to a deeper experience.
<br />Your brand is the heart and soul of the organization. <br />Your brand is multi-dimensional and exists in the past, present and future. <br />
Your brand has a reputation, provides an experience and raises expectations. <br />
Your brand audience includes your customers, suppliers, partners and most
importantly you and your colleagues. </span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">A successful brand means
that everyone shares the same idea of the brand and both customers and
employees become brand ambassadors. Great brands sell themselves, creating
emotional bonds and rewards that surpass rationality. We are all willing to pay
more for something we cannot get anywhere else.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">At the close of March I
presented the CIM Practical Insights Webinar on Brand Identity. The
presentation attracted 1,444 registrants; many of who chose to listen to the
event live. I posed ten brand identity questions to the audience to gauge how
CIM members are using their brand to build value in their organisation. These
are the results:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1, Do you see branding as critical to the success of
your business?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">89% Yes</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">11% Maybe</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The majority of respondents
indicated that branding was firmly on the agenda.<br />
Since 2008 and the credit crunch, a lack of values and an unhealthy culture has
been blamed for the absence of many household brands that failed to survive the
economic downturn. A clear brand strategy, shared across the organization is an
effective way to guide employee behaviour steered by strongly defined values.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /> </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2, Does your branding communicate the scale and scope
of your business?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">39% Yes</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">36% Maybe</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">25% No</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The results from this
question suggest that 61% of respondents are not making the most of their
brands equity. A brand Identity has the potential to communicate an
organisations business strategy clearly. From Branded, Endorsed and House of
Brands models of architecture, each system has the potential to create equity
and offer leveraging possibilities. Customers are more likely to buy new
products and services from brands they trust and admire.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />3, Does your branding have a narrative?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">47% Yes</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">36% Maybe</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">17% No</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">We all like a good story and
news travels faster when it’s worth repeating. In the age of Social media,
brands would be wise not to try controlling the narrative and would be better
advised to assist. Foundation stories, innovation stories and customer stories
can provide a compelling dialogue that builds firm foundations of authenticity
and empathy for the brand. The power of storytelling is often overlooked and
yet every brand fits an archetype.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />4, What type of naming strategy do you use?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">33% Descriptive</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">28% Family</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">11% Invented</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">11% Abbreviated</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">11% Symbolic</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">6% Geographic</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Inspiration for a brand name
may come from many sources. Toys-R-Us, General Motors and PC World are all
examples of Descriptive brand names. The majority of respondents to this survey
indicate that they have chosen this strategy, which makes it very clear which
market they operate in. The negative side to this approach is that it can
restrict the perceived scope of the organization and it lacks personality.
There are pros and cons to each approach and it is worth considering these
before settling on a choice. Please refer to my new book written with Julia
Hitchens, ‘Successful Brand Management – In a Week’ published by Hodder
Education, for more insights.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />5, Does your logo have any symbolic meaning?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">64% Yes</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">32% No</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">4% Maybe</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The logo is not the brand
but it does have an important role to play. When a potential Customer or
Employee knows little or nothing about the brand, they will be looking for
clues about its authenticity, personality and culture through the quality of
its branded communication. The logo is the big signpost guiding the audience to
the brand experience and confirming that they are in the right place. A logo
with meaning forms part of the narrative and helps to tell the story behind the
brand. It has the potential to become a valuable asset.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br />6, Do you have a brand mascot?</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l9 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">91% No</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l9 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">9% Yes</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">In a nation like the United
Kingdom famous for its love of animals and pet ownership, it’s no wonder that
brands with mascots find passionate and loyal customers. Brands as diverse as
PG Tips (Tea), Compare the Market (Insurance Comparison) and EDF (Energy) use
Monkeys, Meerkats and endearing orange blobs to add emotion and personality to
their communication. It’s nothing new and Michelin’s Bibendum is now a
Centenarian. A mascot will cost less than a celebrity endorsement and can be
better behaved, so perhaps its time to consider employing a character in your
marketing mix?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">7, What colour is your brand?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l8 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">32% Blue</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l8 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">15% Red</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l8 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">15% Green</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l8 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">12% Purple</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l8 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">10% Orange</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l8 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">6% Pink</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l8 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">5% Yellow</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l8 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">4% Black/White</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l8 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1% Gold/Silver</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l8 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">0% Brown</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: StoneSerifStd-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;">In this survey,
respondents expressed an overwhelming preference for blue. Blue is
conservative, professional and can convey trust but it may also be criticised
as corporate camouflage in a tidal wave of blue. Colour is a valuable and powerful
brand asset and its choice can be both symbolic and personal. Colour can
express feelings, emotions, political allegiance, social status and personal taste,
so consider colours that complement your values and help support the brand idea.
Choosing a different colour from your</span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: StoneSerifStd-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 4.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: StoneSerifStd-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;">competitors
can pay dividends in market</span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: StoneSerifStd-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 4.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: StoneSerifStd-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;">differentiation,
but be careful of fashionable</span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: StoneSerifStd-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 4.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: StoneSerifStd-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;">colours
that may appear dated over time.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: StoneSerifStd-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 4.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: StoneSerifStd-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;">Colours
can have varying interpretations</span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: StoneSerifStd-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 4.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: StoneSerifStd-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;">in
different cultures and it is wise to</span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: StoneSerifStd-Bold; mso-bidi-font-size: 4.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial;">check
if you intend to market overseas.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">8, What style of typeface do you use?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo9; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">64% Sans Serif</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo9; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">24% Serif</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo9; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">6% Display</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo9; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">6% Script<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: StoneSerifStd-Medium; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;">Typography
is the art of the letterform and its discipline covers type</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: StoneSerifStd-Medium; mso-bidi-font-size: 8.0pt;">design and
type layout or composition. A corporate typeface becomes the</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">handwriting
of the brand and its style can convey both personality and tone. Since
Guttenberg and the invention of moveable type there has been an exponential
growth in the choice of typefaces and styles available to designers. The survey
revealed a trend towards Sans Serif typefaces. These clean and elegant
typefaces are often described as contemporary but can trace their print origins
to the 19<sup>th</sup> century. Akzidenz-Grotesk was first released in 1896 and
has since influenced Helvetica, Frutiger and Univers amongst many.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">9, Do you have a designated team or colleague
responsible for protecting the brand?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo10; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">61% Yes</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 18.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo10; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">31% No</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">8% Maybe</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">It is very important to
appoint an individual or a team with the responsibility to manage and protect
the brand and its expression in every dimension; both online and offline. They
will require the backing of top management and have the power to remove and
replace materials and communications that do not exemplify best practice. It is
important to monitor the consistent communication of the brand or risk
projecting the message that your standards are low and by inference the quality
of your products and services. A set of comprehensive guidelines and digital
templates are essential and prove invaluable when working with external
agencies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">10, Have you ever undertaken a brand audit?</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l10 level1 lfo11; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">53% No</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l10 level1 lfo11; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">47% Yes</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Undertake a health check of
your brand. Touchpoints are the chain of interactions that collectively form
the customer experience. Analyse how you communicate internally and externally
and how your colleagues and external audiences perceive you. Review every
communication from external marketing to internal communications for
continuity. Check for consistency in branding; logo, type, colour, tone of
voice and look and feel. Score each communication according to its ability to
fulfill the brand according to the Key Brand Criteria; Purpose, Vision, Values,
Mission Statement, Proposition, Positioning, Personality and Audience.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial;">Further resources and reading:</span></u></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1, Book: ‘Successful Brand Management - In a Week’.</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Authors: Paul Hitchens & Julia Hitchens.
Publisher: Hodder Education.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">A Teach Yourself guidebook that quickly teaches you the
insider secrets you need to know in order to successfully manage your brand.
The motivational structure of the book provides seven straightforward chapters
explaining the key points; ‘Determine your brand focus’, ‘Define your brand
strategy’, ‘Express your brand identity’, ‘Evolve your brand culture’, ‘Build
your employer brand’, ‘The importance of design’ and’ Sustaining the brand’.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2, Book: ‘Create the Perfect Brand – Teach Yourself’.</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Authors: Paul Hitchens & Julia Hitchens.
Publisher: Hodder Education.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">This book will help you to maximise your brand, even in a
downturn. All aspects of branding are covered including brand creation and
protection. Fascinating case studies of famous brands, including the disaster
stories, nail the advice in the real world. Lots of instant help with common
problems and quick tips for success, based on the author's many years of
experience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Thank you</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Paul Hitchens <br />Brand
Consultant and Course Director</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial;">http://www.verve.co.uk</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"> Copyright © Verve Interactive Ltd 2014</span></div>
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Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-37092659056292758882014-03-26T09:26:00.004-07:002014-03-26T09:26:38.258-07:00What would Walt do? – How corporate culture can create magical moments.
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-POJs6XYLZHQ/UzL_VfZxFeI/AAAAAAAAALM/nE7K6tpGswI/s1600/magicalmoments.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-POJs6XYLZHQ/UzL_VfZxFeI/AAAAAAAAALM/nE7K6tpGswI/s1600/magicalmoments.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-no-proof: yes;"><br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Paul Hitchens is Author of
‘Create the Perfect Brand’ and ‘Successful Brand Management – In a Week’
published by Hodder Education. He is the Course Director for ‘Brand Strategy
& HR’ hosted by Symposium Training. </span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Paul will be at the Employee Engagement Summit 2014 on the 3<sup>rd</sup>
April at The Kensington Close Hotel, London.</span></i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Magical Moments</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Successful Brands are like famous
personalities, they have special ways of doing things that we instantly
recognise and grow to expect. They have a distinctive look, feel and tone of
voice that we associate with them. If you consider your brand as a living
personality you will find it easier to bring it to life and create meaning.
Managing a successful brand is about knowing the brand thoroughly so that you
can instinctively guide it through the stages of growth to provide a consistent
experience to its audience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Walt Disney Company has an Institute dedicated to best practices in leadership;
culture; customer experience; brand loyalty; creativity and innovation. The
success of a brand is largely due to employees who share a commitment to the
brands ethos and ideals and are empowered to act intuitively to deliver the
brand promise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the employees or
‘cast members’ at Disney would say ‘what would Walt do?’</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />
Disney resorts are held in high esteem as a glowing example of Employee
Engagement and healthy corporate culture. The staff at Disney Resorts are
called Cast members which reflects their collective involvement in putting on a
good show and entertaining families of all ages. In 2010, my wife and I took
our two excited young sons for a weekend break to Disney Land Paris. There’s a
lot riding on the outcome of a trip like this; parents want a stress free break
and their children to have wonderful time, but what about a magical experience?
It wasn’t until the end of a long day of queues that the real magic happened.
The four of us were standing on the side of Main Street for the big parade.
This is when all the principal Disney characters march down the main
thoroughfare at Disney Land Paris and put on a carnival. I was aware of a small
family group in my peripheral vision, two parents and an adolescent son in a
wheel chair. It struck me that they had gone to some lengths to be here and
this was a special time for them. At that moment some of the Disney characters
peeled off from the parade and made straight for the wheel chair bound youth
and shook his hand and danced with his parents. I realised in a moment that
these unscripted moments, when employees are given license to bring a brand to
life and act on instinct, enrich their careers and are the true test of the
brand promise. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I vividly remember
the look of joy shared by that family which radiated so positively; this was a
magical moment that surpassed my expectations.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The
Mindful Employer Brand<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A vibrant Employer Brand is a precious
asset that attracts loyal customers who value dealing with engaged employees.
That's why people are prepared to pay more shopping at Waitrose, it may not be
the cheapest Supermarket, but it offers the best customer experience. Sadly
this is not commonplace and a failing in Corporate Culture has been behind some
of the biggest headlines since the credit crunch of 2008.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is now sadly familiar to read of
Executives that have been financially rewarded for failure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many people turn a blind eye to an
employee’s damaging actions before alerting the appropriate authorities? Some
of the most respected and trusted brands have taken a spectacular fall from
grace and caused us to question their institutionalised behaviour. How can an
organisation inspire and create a culture with a strong moral compass that
guides its employees on a path to fulfilling the brand promise? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A thriving Employer Brand will naturally
retain its best people and have an advantage when competing for the best
candidates to fill vacancies. The mindful Employer Brand promotes a healthy
culture where employee health and wellbeing are essential to delivering the
number one touchpoint, its people! The mindful Employer Brand offers a unique
working experience that is designed to attract people who share it’s values and
are encouraged to flourish within its culture. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">We are all familiar with the phrase
‘institutionalised behaviour’ applied in a negative context, but what makes
some organisations thrive and attract like minded people who together build a
winning formula of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘esprit de corps’?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">It is evident that there is a necessity
for well-defined values in creating a shared moral perspective to guide and
encourage the successful behaviour of an organisation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In two years of asking delegates in my
Employer Branding workshops to reveal their favourite brand, I very rarely hear
anyone respond with the name of the organisation that they work for. We spend
the majority of our lives at work and our work forms part of our conversation
with friends and families. <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Brand
delivery through employees</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Each member of staff is a brand
ambassador, from the credit controller to the delivery driver. Their behaviour
can influence the perception of the brand and their actions create touchpoints
that affect customers, for example an incorrect invoice or a badly driven
vehicle will reflect poorly on the brand. It is essential that each individual
member of staff understands the brand strategy and is able to interpret it in
relation to their role.<br />
<br />
Whoever is in charge, is ultimately responsible for the brand and as the
brand’s champion it is their duty to protect and fight for the brand’s
reputation. If they cannot get passionate and enthusiastic about their own
business, who will? Employees have to have someone to look up to, and the
natural role models are the brand’s champion, and their line managers.
Employees are more likely to embrace the brand if they are set a good example
by their leadership and can only advocate the brand when it is fully
understood. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">It is no coincidence that some of the
world’s most successful brands are also the most desirable to work for.
Informed, sincere employees add an emotional dimension that no advertising, sales
brochure or website can provide. A business can create an experience that is
harder to emulate by attracting and retaining engaged people who exemplify the
brands values. Employees really do have the potential to be a brands greatest
asset.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Paul Hitchens </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.verve.co.uk/"><span style="font-family: Arial;">http://www.verve.co.uk</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I help people and companies to build
strong brands inside and outside their organisation. I often ask delegates at
my workshops to describe their favourite brands and I expect them to reveal the
stand out qualities and the stories they associate with those cherished
products and services. This is because strong brands have meaning and stand for
something that’s relevant to us. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Paul presents the following one-day
courses with Symposium Training </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Brand Strategy and
Human Resources – Building the Employer Brand</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">21 May 2014 – London<br />
2 July 2014 – Birmingham</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Your brand needs you! The power of employer branding.</span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.symposium-training.co.uk/brand-strategy-and-human-resources/#more-1682"><span style="font-family: Arial;">http://www.symposium-training.co.uk/brand-strategy-and-human-resources/#more-1682</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Copyright © Verve Interactive Ltd 2014</span></div>
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Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-84830273712746705302013-03-22T09:56:00.001-07:002013-03-22T10:02:13.541-07:00Employer Branding - Interview with Paul Hitchens and HR Review<style>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;">Employer branding is increasingly moving up the HR
agenda, as HR professionals are trying to recruit top talent to speed their
business through recovery.</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: maroon;">HR
REVIEW: </span></b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Who do you think should take
responsibility for employer branding within their company? Should it be
marketing, training? </span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">PAUL
HITCHENS – VERVE BRAND CONSULTANTS: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Well I think it’s all of those to be
honest. This course is focused at HR, but it’s not just the preserve of HR –
we’re talking about evolving a strong employer brand, and it starts at the
heart and the soul of the organisation. So it’s not just the responsibility of
HR – I would like to see HRs forming strong bonds with marketing together, to
have the same clear objective.</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: maroon; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /> </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Why do you think employer
branding is important to HR and recruiting professionals?</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Employer branding is essential – it
really is the heart, the origin, the real spirit of the organisation. It’s that
feeling that you get when, you know, ‘I love working here’, ‘I feel a part of
this organisation’. There are companies, organisations and brands that we’d
love to work for, and what is it about those organisations that make them so
special?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This course looks at some of those
leading brands, and gives delegates inspiration, ideas and tools to help them
evolve their own brand.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Your background was originally in
corporate branding – how did you get into employer branding? Where did your
interest stem from?</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Well that’s interesting because
actually my career began in recruitment advertising. When I started I worked
for PA Advertising which was part of the PA Consulting Group, specialising in
recruitment advertising. I worked on the campaign for Smiths Industries that
was voted the Best Recruitment Campaign of 1990.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So I had a strong start in employer
branding. I’ve since worked in brand consultancies including Wolff Olins where
I really strengthened my brand skills, and then I started my own brand
consultancy, Verve Interactive, focusing on branding, and more recently we’ve
published the book ‘Create the Perfect Brand’.</span></div>
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nominated for one of the Chartered Management Institute E-Book of the Year
Awards – what did your book cover? Was it mostly corporate branding or did you
talk about recruitment branding as well?</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The book is a holistic overview of
branding – it’s an accessible book. I wrote the book together with my wife
Julia Hitchens – we’ve both worked in London agencies, and we wanted to share
our knowledge and expertise in branding.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The book is meant to be accessible –
it’s aimed at everybody really, from entrepreneurs, business owners, HR,
executive level education, students of business studies too. We felt there was
a gap in the market for a book that was practical – that provides a practical
insight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Much of the literature about branding
is quite academic, and it can be quite inaccessible to the layperson – we
wanted a book that made the subject something that you could apply to your own
situation.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">From that, what would be your top
tip to give an employer regarding employer branding?</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I think one of the most important
focuses of the course is about your values. You know, I really believe that
when you set up an organisation, if you know what you stand for – stand for
something with integrity and define the values of that organisation, because
they can be used as a measure of performance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They can be used as a measure of
selecting and recruiting people. They can actually work as a standard that will
attract people to the organisation if they share those values.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Values become a moral compass that
enable people to behave in accordance with the brand – if people have an idea
and they universally share that idea of the brand at every level of employment
within an organisation, from accounts and finance, to people in delivery,
logistics, everybody in the organisation should be able to interpret their role
and their values of the organisation as they apply them, and see their part in
delivering the brand.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">How would you filter the values
down from the top of the organisation to all employees?</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That is a very important issues for
human resources – it’s not enough just to have this set of values; they need to
be translated so that everybody understands them and the situation that they’re
in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So for instance, ‘how am I driving?’ –
we’ve seen that legend on the back of the lorries. It’s almost how that applies
to everybody really, whether we’re in a vehicle or not. How am I performing?
How should I behave?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That doesn’t have to be constrictive –
we’re not talking about policing people. We’re actually enabling them through
the values. A strongly, healthy brand will have personnel who feel empowered by
the values that they share and deliver for the organisation.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">From your experience in working
with some of the big employers, are there many common mistakes you see being
made in developing an employer brand? What would you recommend to those people?</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yeah, I think it’s by not having a
clearly defined set of values, and if they do one of the classic mistakes is
they’re not sharing them with everybody.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There’s no point in having an academic
notion of the brand that only stays within the boardroom – you need to share
that, and that’s where a lot of organisations need help through the marketing
department, through the HR department. They need to communicate what the brand
is about and make it relevant to everybody that works in that organisation,
because ultimately they are the ones that deliver it to the customer – they’re
the most significant touchpoints.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So making sure retail and
communications and the HR departments all work together?</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yeah. It’s so crucial, particularly in
service organisations where there may not be a physical product, but the main
primary points of contact will be personnel – they are ultimately the ambassadors
for the brand.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">OK. So you’re currently running
some training courses entitled ‘Brand Strategy and Human Resources’ – what was
the background and rationale for the course?</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">OK, well we really felt that there was
a need for some training that really brought the brand to life – the human
resources department. I’ve worked with a lot of organisations – startups,
existing brands, developing brands, and usually I’m dealing with the business
owners or the marketing department, and very seldom do I actually get to meet
the human resources department.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But again, human resources is a
strategic partner with marketing – they should be working together. By
attracting the right people into the organisation, if you share an
understanding of the brand and believe in those values then you’ve got the
strongest case for growing not just the employer brand but the brand itself.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So enhancing the productivity of
the organisation?</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yeah, absolutely.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: maroon; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What does the program cover? So
we talked about values a lot – are there any other topics?</span></i></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: Times; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></b><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yeah, very much so. The course is
broken down into four sections – it begins with fundamentals of the brand, so
we examine what exactly is the employer brand, what are we talking about? Does
it live in a different area from the brand itself? What is it’s relationship to
it?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You know, the brand might be seen as
the consumer brand – the external communication of the brand, and the employer
brand the idea that’s shared amongst the people that work in the organisation.
The two shouldn’t be divorced from each other – one powers the other. They have
a very strong relationship – they are facets of the same thing, the brand.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then in the second part of the course
we are looking at the strategy – the most important elements of the brand
strategy, and then through the afternoon we look at how you’re going to
implement those ideas through the culture of the organisation. When I say
culture – what’s your history? Where did this organisation begin? Is there a
founder? What is their unique story?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I think we all respond to powerful
stories – I think it’s just part of the human condition. If you’ve got a great
story to tell you’ll always command an audience. I think that when I’m working
for an organisation I want to know ‘who started this?’ Is there a pioneer
behind it? Somebody with a great story – somebody who I can actually believe in
and brings the whole thing to life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So we look at the history of the brand,
and then we look at the bigger ethos. If you think of somebody like for
instance the Body Shop, and Dame Anita Roddick, how has she put against having
testing on the agenda? That was something that she firmly believed in, and she
put a lot of issues and an issues-led organisation through Fairtrade, and put
them into the customer mind in a way that other cosmetics companies had never
done before.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That’s the thing with a brand – you’ve
got the ability that by bringing out the personality of the organisation and
sharing what you really believe in, it gives you a significant advantage and
distinguishes you in the marketplace.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We look at the senses – you know, it’s
not just a visual thing branding. What do you sound like? What does the brand
feel like? If you’re going to start growing an organisation, you’re going to
take over offices, you’re going to perhaps invest in vehicles for delivery for
whatever – it’s not just the products. It’s all those other elements that are
central to the brand.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They’re very important choices, so when
you have a strong idea of the brand, how does that brand then roll out through
all of these different touchpoints? We’d be asking the delegates to consider
that too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then the final part of the course,
sustainability – having attracted a candidate guided by values, then we look at
how to induct them into the organisation. That’s an important point of sharing
ideas about the brand. They say that many people when they first join an
organisation are left wondering ‘where am I’. You know, ‘what is my
relationship to management?’ ‘Who am I responsible to?’ ‘Where do I go at
lunchtime?’ You know, orientation – basic stuff really, but it’s also very much
an important part of the employer brand. So you get to consider this notion of
the brand – how do you welcome somebody into that organisation and make them
feel welcome? The induction is a critical point.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Towards the end of the course we also
look at some ways to measure the metrics of how we can evaluate the performance
of the employer brand.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">OK, so we’ve talked a little bit
about the employer brand and the corporate brand – how would you say they
differ?</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The employer brand and the corporate
brand – I think it’s really important to understand that they are facets. You
have the brand, which I very much put in terms of the past, present and future.
The past is your reputation, the present is the experience that you provide,
and the future is the expectation about the brand, and that’s how we define it
and create the perfect brand.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Variously, other people see a brand as
being a promise, or will talk about it being the personality of an
organisation, and these all help in understanding what the brand is. At the
heart, this understanding of what the brand really is about and what it stands
for; through marketing you can really communicate those ideas to the customer
audience, the consumer audience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Through HR and marketing, together, we
can grow this notion, build it, and communicate it to new people that join the
organisation and existing people – the employer brand and the customer brand
are really two facets of the brand itself.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Are there any recent trends and
developments that you’ve noticed in recruitment branding?</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I think the trend that has really
emerged over the last few years has been the boom in social media, absolutely
no doubt.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You know, I began my career in
recruitment advertising, and very much the focus would have been through print
campaigns that typically would have appeared in the Sunday papers, and the
Sunday papers appointment section was quite a large part of the papers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But now we’re seeing a move away from
this, and obviously that kind of recruitment advertising is incredibly
expensive. Social media has got this huge reach, and even the smallest of
organisations are empowered to do some very sophisticated marketing of their
brand using Twitter, LinkedIn, even using YouTube.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Throughout the last year that I’ve been
hosting the Brand Strategy and Human Resources seminars with Symposium, I’ve
asked the delegates how they’re running their recruit campaigns, and
increasingly it has been focused around LinkedIn, use of Twitter, and those are
really sort of the standout areas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Of course, social media gives us other
tools too. There are services like Glass Door that give a more anonymous voice
to employees who can also share the truth of their situation in a brand, so it
works both ways too. The prospective candidate can look at other barometers of
opinion to get a truthful idea of the brand, and Twitter doesn’t just have to
be for appraisal from a corporate point of view – individual employees can use
it to voice their opinions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So you have to be quite educated about
what is possible, and also what are the potential problems too. Choose
carefully who’s going to be empowered to use those channels as well. Today we
had a delegate who mentioned that they have a social media professional – that
is actually a role within their team. They’re in effect a PR specialist for the
organisation, and this is really important because you’re broadcasting at the
end of the day, so the person that’s in charge of that area really has to have
a very clear idea of the brand voice to be able to communicate on behalf of the
brand.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I think just recently with the troubles
of some high street brands – it was widely reported that the HR department or
some of the team have been using Twitter to express their own personal views,
so it’s a fair point. It’s a very important consideration – who is empowered to
use social media, and are they doing it effectively on behalf of the brand?</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Lots of people are of the opinion
that the employer brand is transforming into the employee brand, because it’s
difficult to doctor what social media activities people take in their own time.
Do you think personal activities should be doctored?</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">No, I don’t think you can really police
that. I think that becomes very draconian. You know, people have their social
lives, and young people have their profiles from Instagram to Facebook – there
are multiple channels available to them, and it’s part of their growing up as
well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The idea of snooping on people seems to
be, you know, quite contentious, but it’s also important to be careful about
what you choose to share with everybody and what becomes instantly accessible.
But it does give a very honest idea and an insight into the true nature of
people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So there are definitely pros and cons –
you know, very powerful tools. I think it’s also very much a conversation
that’s evolving, because I think that as it matures and new people come into
more prominent positions in human resources marketing, and they themselves will
know that perhaps they’ve left quite a long dialogue online that’s readily
accessible, and we’ll be perhaps be less critical of other people’s information
about themselves that they’ve published in the past.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You know, I think it’s a very
interesting time.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I guess it brings you back to the
values of the organisation as well and employing people with similar values to
the company.</span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yeah, yeah. Exactly – I mean, of course
it does give you an insight into whether those people truly believe in those
values and can help you choose people to join your organisation based on values,
or people that are able to act on or behave in a way that promotes the brand.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Well, thank you very much Paul.
I’d just like to say a big thank you for sharing your thoughts, and I’m sure
that some of the audience will be able to take away some really good tips and
start thinking about their organizational values.</span></i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thank you.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.hrreview.co.uk/podcasts/hr-news-from-hrreview-15-february-2013-2/41815" target="_blank">Link to original interview with HR Review</a> </span></i></b></div>
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Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-71509382070538578312012-07-24T09:52:00.001-07:002012-07-24T09:53:50.497-07:00BRAND MATTERS<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">BRAND PERCEPTION</span></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></span></span></b>The perception of branding has changed
dramatically over the past decade. Mention working with brands ten years ago
and the majority of people would assume you were talking about Fast Moving Consumer Goods or
Sports wear. The word 'brand' has gained phenomenal widespread use and popularity
- and now even Reality TV celebrities declare themselves brands. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: small;">A brand represents the heart and soul of an organisation and is the sum total of its reputation
(past), experience (present) and expectation (future). This definition applies to a product, service or
organisation. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The brand lives in the hearts and minds
of those who believe in it. Its integrity is constantly put to the test through
the experiences of consumers and the actions of employees. The popularity of online social networks places brands under ever-stronger scrutiny. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Reputations can easily be broken and a brand cannot rest on its laurels. To achieve
sustainability it must constantly innovate to remain relevant to the consumer.<br />
Branding is part of the human condition. Since the dawn of civilization we have
been painting our bodies and tattooing our skin to communicate that we are different
and belong to a distinct society or group. We have left giant marks on the landscape
and placed symbols on our dwellings to signify our ideology. <br /><br />The origins of the word ‘brand’ can be traced back to the eighth century and
the North-Germanic language of Old Norse. In its original form ‘brandr’
translates as ‘firebrand’ or ‘to burn’. The word was first used in a commercial
sense when cattle owners began using heated irons to burn identifying marks in
the hides of their livestock. This method of identification developed into a sophisticated
variety of symbols in North America. In the contemporary sense a brand leaves
an impression on our consciousness. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">You
can only be new once and that postnatal moment is shrinking as the internet
eats up infant brands, providing them with instant exposure and quickly digests
them. In the world of music, a band would once have had time to mature and be
forgiven ‘the difficult second album’ as they grow and find their feet. There
is a cultural impatience that demands gratification and status reward and is
not willing to watch the ugly duckling grow into a beautiful swan like the
heritage celebrating advertisement for Audi’s A5. The challenges are harder for
new brands to sustain a long life. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: small;">With the accessibility of social media
tools and the democratization of the web, the internet has made it possible for
everyone to express themselves on a global scale and create their own brand. To
become a strong brand and stand for something, it is essential to be consistent
in behaviour, guided by values, have a long term vision and a relevant
proposition. A strong brand knows how it makes the world a better place.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0.1pt 0cm;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">BRAND VALUE</span></span></b></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0.1pt 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">The majority of businesses in the UK have no
idea what their brands are worth. The Intellectual Property Office conducted an
Awareness Survey in 2006. It revealed that over 96 per cent of small to medium sized
enterprises (SMEs) had never assessed how much their intellectual property was
worth. </span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Establishing a brand’s value is necessary
for:</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">- </span><i><span style="line-height: 200%;">brand
investment decisions</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">- </span><i><span style="line-height: 200%;">marketing
budget allocation</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">- </span><i><span style="line-height: 200%;">communication
of brand worth</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">- </span><i><span style="line-height: 200%;">putting
a brand on the balance sheet*</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">- </span><i><span style="line-height: 200%;">establishing
a brand’s value for mergers and acquisitions</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">- </span><i><span style="line-height: 200%;">securing
finance – some companies put their brand up as collateral.</span></i><span style="line-height: 200%;"><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">* UK companies are only allowed to place acquired brands on their balance
sheet, but internally generated brands are not allowed at present.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0.1pt 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">According to The Intellectual Property
Office, most UK businesses’ intangible assets are ‘the single-most valuable
asset class and </span>typically represent well over 50 per cent of corporate value’.<span style="line-height: 200%;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 200%;"><br /></span></span><b style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"></span></span></b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><b><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">BRAND LOYALTY</span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><b><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></b>Brands connect with
people, culturally, economically and emotionally. A strong brand will earn devoted
customer loyalty. The rap band Run DMC declared their love for their favourite
brand </span>of
training shoes with the rap song ‘My
Adidas’. <span style="color: black; line-height: 200%;">Can you imagine loving a brand so
much that you would tattoo its logo onto your skin?
Harley-Davidson owners are so loyal to their </span><span style="color: black;">favourite
motorcycle brand that they make it a lifestyle. Harley Davidson tattoo’s are
among some of the most popular design subjects in this medium. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 200%;">Loyalty can help to build a
brand’s reputation through word of mouth. Loyal customers become the brand’s
best advertisement and their enthusiasm can influence the behaviour of friends
and associates. Fans of the Apple computer brand
travel great distances to attend the opening of new stores. The store opening
becomes a social occasion for other brand fans to meet and share their
enthusiasm for the brand.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #660000;">EMPLOYER BRAND</span></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></b><span style="line-height: 200%;">In a
service-based business, it is<span style="color: black;"> </span>the staff who
are tested to realise the brand promise. It is the employees who<span style="color: black;"> </span>represent the brand to customers. Happy staff are
essential for a brand that depends on good customer service. </span><span style="line-height: 200%;">A strong employer brand
is essential to attract, develop and retain, engaged employees. It is built on
shared values that deliver benefits in employee satisfaction, productivity and
performance. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">We all hope to have an employer on our CV that we
are proud of and know will open doors of opportunity, much like the alumni of
celebrated Universities and Colleges.</span></span></div>
<div class="msolistparagraphcxspmiddle" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;"> </span><br style="color: #660000;" /><span style="color: #660000;">BRAND STANDARDS</span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">The world’s first valuation standard was
release in 2010. The standard ISO 10668 was developed by the International Organisation
for Standardisation (ISO) with input from the British Standards Institution
(BSI) in the UK. The standard specifies the requirement for procedures and
methods of monetary brand value measurement. There are 14 participating
countries including: Germany, Australia, China, France, Japan, Republic of
Korea (South Korea), Spain and the United Kingdom.<br />
<br />
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">The three main methods of brand valuation,
endorsed by the new standard ISO/DIS 10668 are:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 200%;">Income approach : </span></b><i><span style="line-height: 200%;">Measures the future income which the brand
may generate and the costs of generating that income over the economic life of
the brand.</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 200%;">Market approach : </span></b><i><span style="line-height: 200%;">Measures the value of the brand based on what
other purchasers in the market have paid for similar assets.</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="line-height: 200%;">Cost approach: </span></b><i><span style="line-height: 200%;">Measures the value of the brand based on the cost
invested in it.</span></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin-left: 18pt; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;"><b style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">GLOBAL BRAND </span></b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i><span style="color: red; line-height: 200%;"> </span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0.1pt 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Marathon, Ulay and Opal
fruits, were all victims of globalisation. Marathon became Snickers, Oil of
Ulay changed name to Oil of Olay and Opal Fruits went supernova and became
Starburst. This makes sense as a streamlined global marketing initiative but
there remains a residual of nostalgic affection and emotional connection to the
original names. A global campaign requires vigilant quality control and
consistency in the brand experience across different cultures. A reputation-damaging
incident on one side of the globe will have far reaching consequences to the
brands integrity around the world. There is now an audible muttering of
disapproval to the widespread standardisation of the high street where each
town feels identical with the familiar roll call of retail brands offering a
generic experience. The challenge for brands is to offer the essence of an
experience without sterilizing the environment.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0.1pt 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0.1pt 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Lenovo
is a global best selling PC manufacturer and was founded in Beijing in 1984.
The brand was originally called Legend but rebranded in 2004 to Lenovo (derived
by combining ‘Le’ for Legend and ‘Nova’ for new). The Chinese version of the
name translates as ‘connected thinking’ or ‘creativity’. By
2011 the company was the worlds second biggest PC seller. In 2005, Lenovo
aquired IBM’s personal computer business and successfully markets the ThinkPad
and IdeaPad brands. The
Chinese company’s globalization strategy was to aquire an internationally
familiar brand ‘ThinkPad’. The
ThinkPad is not just a global success but has been authorized for astronauts.
It is the only notebook computer brand to have been certified for use by the
International Space Station.</span></span></div>
<div class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0.1pt 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0.1pt 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">Author: <a href="mailto:phitchens@verve.co.uk">Paul Hitchens</a> - <a href="http://www.verve.co.uk/">Create the Perfect Brand</a> </span></span></div>
<div class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0.1pt 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0.1pt 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="p2" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%; margin: 0.1pt 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-6920087083945313212012-03-01T09:21:00.000-08:002012-03-01T09:34:10.888-08:00Branding for the head and heart<div style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<i><b><span style="font-size: small;">We drive them, wear them, eat them and live with them. They exert a powerful influence on our behaviour, but what are they? BRANDS! A brand is a small word considering the big part they play in our lives. Brands are about our feelings; trust, pride, joy, excitement, security, love and even lust and greed. We love our favourite brands and even join clubs to prove it – from owners clubs to fan clubs. </span></b></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">DIFFERENTIATION</span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">We use brands to describe ourselves and identify like-minded people. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Some brands are symbols of our love or hate – ‘Marmite’ defines both ends of the spectrum. </span><span style="font-size: small;">They are symbols of self-expression that we use to gain acceptance to a club or social clique. Throughout the history of mankind, we have used branding to mark out our territory and proclaim tribal membership.</span><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">In a fast moving society, we use brands as a short cut to making decisions. Their reputation guides our choice in the process of selection. Today, every car brand offers the same basic benefits – trouble-free transport with a warranty and a proven level of safety. But we are prepared to pay much more for kudos, style and status. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Trust in the brand name means you don’t need to struggle with the details. Brands offer a barrier to competition. They position themselves first in the mind so that there is no preferred alternative. In every walk of life there is a brand leader that offers something more than just performance. In an age of mass consumerism filled with copycat products, it’s the ones that stand apart and think differently that connect on a deeper level with customers. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<b><span style="font-size: small;">FOCUS</span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Behind every great brand story it is usual to find a tale
of dedication; few, if any, achieve overnight success. We have all
heard stories of famous musicians who began their careers by traveling
the country in transit vans and performing at small venues before
getting their big break. In business, it starts with prototyping and
honing an idea before it achieves the winning formula that connects with
the customer. This takes dedication and an overarching vision. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Whether you’re a musician, entrepreneur or an inventor, a clear vision is the distinguishing mark of success. It answers the question, ‘What’s the point and why am I doing this? ’ When everyone supports the vision – its purpose and values – it builds a cohesive culture that carries the brand forward. In such businesses, people are motivated by the vision and committed to it. They understand it and are able to share it with their colleagues, clients or customers. They know their contribution to the brand’s success and can see its effect. It creates a sense of esteem and esprit de corps among the employees, and they identify themselves with the brand and are able to work together towards a shared goal.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Great brands are built on great experiences. A poor
experience will damage a reputation. After all, who wants a wonderful
restaurant meal if it means being served by a surly waiter and a table
next to the toilets! Valued people feel happier and take pride in their
work, which is critical because employees deliver the brand and bring a
brand to life.</span></div>
<div style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">BRAND IDENTITY</span></b></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Every organization is required to identify itself, if only by name. That name becomes a symbol for the brand experience. If I say Coca-Cola you will have an immediate picture in your mind of the product. This identity plays a very important role in setting up the market stall. The name, colour, typography, imagery and symbols all prepare the market audience for the experience. To succeed the image must not deliver style over substance as this is a deception and will only have a short-term benefit. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The logo is not the ‘brand’ but merely the means by which we identify the brand. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the aesthetics of a corporate identity is invaluable in the recognition of a brand. From the Mercedes-Benz ‘three-pointed star’ to the Nike ‘swoosh’ , symbols play an important role in helping us navigate our way to our favourite brands.<br /><b style="color: #990000;"> </b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;">COLOUR</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">If branding is concerned with differentiation and identification, then sight must be the sense we rely on most. We are able to perceive infinite subtleties of colour yet the majority of businesses choose blue for their identity. Be it cyan, indigo, royal or sky, businesses choose blue more than any other colour for their brand identity. Visit any British trade fair and you will be bathed in blue.<br /><br />So why, when you want your business to stand out, would you camouflage your brand? Colour is an asset that can become closely linked to the brand.<br /> </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">VERBAL BRANDING</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">With Google the most popular search tool for online commerce, a carefully chosen word can mean the difference between being picked up by the search engine or obscurity. Whether it’s a made-up name, an acronym or a family name, a successful brand name should be memorable, pronounceable and legible.<br /> </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">BRAND CHAMPIONS</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br />So who are the people that will build tomorrow’s new Perfect Brands? They are the brand champions or entrepreneurs with the passion to inspire – it’s no accident that charismatic leaders are behind some of the world’s biggest brands. It takes all types of people, but long-term success depends on commitment and verve.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /><i style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We hope you will be inspired to create your perfect brand!</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">For more information and inspiration about Creating your Perfect Brand contact <a href="mailto:info@verve.co.uk">Paul Hitchens</a> at <a href="http://www.verve.co.uk/">Verve - Creative Brand Strategy </a></span></div>Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-2250690142515271262011-09-13T09:26:00.000-07:002011-09-13T09:26:09.494-07:00Brand Perception and the Vehicle Industry<div style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<i><span style="font-size: small;"><span>The following post was written for the Institute of the Motor Industry's (IMI) membership publication </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span>- 'Motor Industry Magazine'. It has been quoted from in an article </span>concerning the predicament of
decreasing work volumes for traditional bodyshops and how the vehicle repair
industry is responding.</span></i></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span><u>
</u><br />
The way that you present yourself, your business, product or services
provides instant information about the nature of your organisation. As
the old saying goes ‘you don’t get a second chance to make a first
impression’. The initial impression you make is the first of a series of
touchpoints in your brand experience. If a potential customer or
employee does not like what they see, they may take a lot of convincing
to change their mind. <br />
<br />
We are all expert consumers and from an early age we become skilled at
making choices based on our preferences for smell, feel, sound and
sight. Before we can read we can interpret the signs that communicate
the qualities that we admire. Branding has its origins in a pre-literate
society. For example, Pub signs helped the illiterate to recognise an
Inn. Consumer branding really took off in the Industrial Revolution when
retailers like the Co-Operative introduced colourful brightly presented
packages of Soaps and Flour to help a largely illiterate society
recognise their favourite products. The branded packaging communicated
the message that the product was authentic, trustworthy and distinctly
different from the other products on offer and a century later Brands
are still fulfilling this role today. <br />
<br />
The boom in consumerism and branding coincided with the birth of the
motorcar. This industry has had 100 years practice at brand building and
its leading brands are evocative, emotional and powerful. Automotive
brands are so resonant that they can sell other products seemingly
unconnected with motoring and imbue them with new values. So keen are
people to be associated with the messages Motor Brands convey they will
pay a premium for branded produce. ‘Porsche Designed’ Clothing and
Accessories, Bentley endorsed Brietling watches, Caterpillar Boots and
Jeep branded leisure wear are some examples of transport brands
transferring their values into successful lifestyle brands.<br /><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The benefits of creating a brand include:</span></b><br />
</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span><br />
<b style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1. Differentiation – </b><br />
Branding highlights the differences that make a product or service better than anyone else’s.<br />
<b style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />2. Connecting with people - </b><br />
Branding creates a bond between the brand and the consumer that leads to loyalty. <br />
<b style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />3. Added value -</b> <br />
Brands create value by adding an emotional significance that exceeds the basic value of the product or service.<br />
<b style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />4. Signify change – </b><br />
The launch of a brand is an effective way to communicate change in an organization.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Examples of successful rebrands in the automotive sector include:</span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span><br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1. RAC – </span></b><br />
The British Royal Automobile Club (RAC) has been a fixture of British
Motoring since 1897 and had a conservative image suited to pottering
around the lanes of the home counties in a Rover. In the late 1990’s the
organization realized that their brand did not connect with a new
generation of younger Motorists and was keen to break with tradition to
attract new members. The rebrand was unmissable with the Breakdown
Vehicles becoming the hero with a bright orange livery and a distinctive
typeface for the initials R A C. The organization has 7 million members
today.<br /><br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">2. Daewoo rebrands as Chevrolet – </span></b><br />
This year General Motors confirmed the rebrand of Daewoo as Chevrolet in
South Korea. This continues a complete rebrand that began in 2004 for
Europe when the troubled Korean brand relaunched under the evocative GM
Chevrolet Marque. GM Daewoo Auto and Technology Co. President Mike
Arcamone is reported to have said that about 50 per cent of GM Daewoo
customers paid extra to replace the GM Daewoo badge with that of the
Chevrolet, showing their “overwhelming” desire for the brand. (Source: <span style="color: blue;"><u><a href="http://www.asianewsnet.net/">http://www.asianewsnet.net</a></u></span>).
The hugely successful film franchise ‘Transformers’ introduced the
Character Bumblebee into many households. The ‘Autobot’ transforms into a
Chevrolet Camaro and it’s not hard to imagine how a brand with such
rich imagery will not fail to improve its old Daewoo perception among
cost conscious families with children. The excitement and aura of the
Chevrolet brand and its ‘Bow Tie’ are now applied to the rebranded
range, including the award winning Matiz - now sold as the Chevrolet
Spark.<br />
<br />
Great brands depend first and foremost on great products and services. A
brand provides a rewarding experience, backed by an excellent
reputation and these factors are down to you and your colleagues. <br /><br />
<br />
<b style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Considerations for building a meaningful brand:</b><br />
<br />
<b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1. Put some personality into it -</span></b><br />
The founder of an organisation is typically the Brands Champion and the
brand is often an extension of their personality. Putting your
personality into your brand can be very effective and obvious examples
include Richard Branson and Virgin. Body Shop was founded by Anita
Roddick who put the campaign for ‘against animal testing’ at the
forefront of Body Shop’s image. She was a prominent human rights
campaigner and champion of fair trade.<br /><br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">2. Courage of your convictions -</span></b><br />
Henry Ford, is famously quoted for saying: "If I'd asked my customers
what they wanted, they'd have said a faster horse ". When Apple’s
founder Steve Jobs launched the iPad, he invited us all to play with it
and decide how best to use it. Now every electronic consumer brand has a
me-too product - but none of them occupy the same space in our
consciousness. The lesson is that those who anticipate future needs can
lead the market by thinking differently.<br /><br />
<b style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">3. Loose talk -</span></b><br />
The successful investor Warren Buffett said, "It takes 20 years to build
a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that,
you'll do things differently". There are many examples of CEO’s who
have put their foot in it and lived to rue the day. Big name brands
often pay a high price when off guarded comments shatter the market
perception. Christian Dior recently ended its relationship with their high profile
designer, following the reporting of offensive comments.<br /><br />
<b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">4. It’s not what you say but what they say that counts -</span></b><br />
The best introduction to a brand can be a personal referral from a
trusted source, friend, colleague or family. WD-40. A brand name with
instant familiarity, found under sinks and in toolboxes is a great
example of a brand built on personal referral and reputation. This
multi-purpose lubricant does exactly what you expect it to without
relying on flashy packaging and a persuasive marketing campaign. <br /><br />
<b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">5. Consumer satisfaction -</span></b><br />
A brand can offer value above and beyond the price label by granting the
customer the satisfaction of owning a leading brand. Every organisation
can focus on its quality and service levels to offer a higher level of
care and durability. For example: Snap-On Tools. The premium tool
manufacturer cements its reputation as the tool of professionals with
its prominent use in Auto sport and offers a famous lifetime warrantee. <br />
<br />
<b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">You can’t avoid having a brand, so why not make it work to your advantage?</span></b><br />
<br />
<br />
Article by Paul Hitchens –<br /><br />
<i>Paul Hitchens is a Founder of Brand Consultancy Verve
(<a href="http://verve.co.uk/">verve.co.uk</a>) and the Author of ‘Create the Perfect Brand’ published by
Hodder Education and Nominated for the Chartered Management Institutes
‘Management Book of the Year’ Award 2011/12. </i></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span><i><br />Contact - <a href="mailto:info@verve.co.uk">info@verve.co.uk</a><br />
</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span><br />
</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span><i> <br />
</i></span><i><span>©Verve Interactive Ltd 2011<br />
</span></i><span style="color: #424242;"><span><br />
</span></span></span></div>
Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-51449822324213513702011-08-04T10:22:00.000-07:002011-08-05T08:45:50.610-07:00Creating your Perfect Brand Strategy<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The reasons for undertaking a branding exercise include a new organisation; product or service; a merger between businesses; new management or a consolidation of existing products and services. A new brand will have PR value and could result in a higher profile. The new brand will attract new customers and investors and will help retain and recruit staff wishing to be part of the new exciting brand. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
<br />
An effective brand identity will make the business strategy visible. </span><span style="font-size: small;">When new brands and re-brands make the news they are often attacked for how much they cost. British Airways ethnic inspired tail fin art, Consignia’s spirals and more recently Gap have all attracted much criticism at the time of their launch - and all were short lived. The focus of criticism is usually on the logo and not the actual brand experience. A logo is not a brand - it’s just the tip of the iceberg. A brand is multi-dimensional and exists in the past, present and future. It’s built on a reputation, lives through experience and raises expectation. </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A re-branding exercise can prove to be a considerable investment in time and money, so you want the results to be fruitful. But the long-term success of a brand will depend on the behaviour of the organisation, its management and employees. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Start by forming a brand working group –</span><br />
At the start of the re-brand its important to identify a brand working group led by the organisation’s principal figure (Owner, Entrepreneur, Managing Director or Chief Executive) and assisted by key management figures including those responsible for Marketing and Sales. The team will need to be committed to working on the brand for the long term because brands are like gardens, you need to keep tending them, harvesting and planting for future yield.
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Make it clear why your brand makes the world a better place –</span><br />
Identify what the brand does in a single sentence. Every organisation, product or service must have a reason for being. A brands purpose is the benefit it provides and may be defined as how it makes the world a better place. The brand’s purpose should be clear and easy to understand.
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Stake a claim on the future –</span><br />
A brand vision is an ambition for the future, it’s where you want to be in five or ten years time. It is a goal to be worked towards and will deliver a clear benefit to all concerned. A great vision can inspire and consolidate a community in a common goal. It’s important that this vision is achievable and progress is measurable.
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Be clear what you believe in –</span><br />
A brand’s values are what it stands for and what it believes in, they are the guidelines that form its moral compass. Values provide direction on how to behave in any given situation. Your brand can be defined by its values and really stand for something.
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Share the brand idea with your organisation –</span><br />
How will the brand achieve its vision and stay true to its values? A mission statement combines the purpose, vision and values in a brief declaration directed at management, staff and shareholders. It is a strategic communication that is clearly worded and must be accessible to all.
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A compelling reason –
</span><br />
Why do I need the brand? The brand proposition is the unique selling point (USP) that differentiates it from its competitors. It is the compelling reason why you need it and should be no more than a single sentence. <br />
For example: Brand X is the only _____ that _____ !<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Position the brand against its competitors –</span><br />
How does the brand compare with its competitors in its market place? In a crowded marketplace it is difficult to stand out if you are the seventh best selling brand. The opportunity is to identify the attributes that differentiate your brand and promote your brand as the leader in that category. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Don’t be anonymous–</span><br />
What is the brands character? The brand personality is the brand’s distinctive character including communication, behaviour and visual style. A brand with a strong personality has a greater chance of encouraging a deeper relationship with the consumer. <br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Empathise with your audience –</span><br />
Who is interested in the brand? Create profiles of who your customers are and the type of people who are interested in working for you or investing in your organisation. Take note of your suppliers and other organisations that you interact with. These are the groups of people that form the brands audience. This audience is never passive; it is an interactive community of people with an interest in the brand. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">For more information about Verve Creative Brand Consultants and Brand Training please visit: <a href="http://www.verve.co.uk/">http://www.verve.co.uk</a><br />
</span></div>Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-50558059927198709222011-07-04T11:08:00.000-07:002011-07-04T11:08:10.082-07:00The lessons start-ups can learn from Superbrands<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Most superbrands including Coca-Cola, Microsoft and Google began with a great idea followed by the determination and passion to succeed. One common factor to their success is focus. A focussed brand has a clear vision for its future that guides the organisation on its path to success. <br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What does your brand stand for? What values guide you in each business decision? How can a brand follow its own moral compass to find its authentic self? We have identified seven qualities that each provide a compelling reason for brand loyalty. <br />
<br />
<b><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">PIONEERING</span></b><br />
<br />
Pioneers are passionate, fearless and independent. They are leaders who move the market forward with their ideas; they change the way people think and break through into new territories. They are confident self-starters, courageous, energetic and dynamic. They are determined to persevere where other businesses would give up. <br />
<br />
Pioneering is about discovery, being radical and having the energy and determination to win. Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group epitomises the pioneering brand, bravely traversing industries from music to finance and air travel to space.
<br />
<br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">CREATIVE </b><br />
<br />
Creativity can be the guiding force that helps a business achieve success. The growth and development of the brand depends on the constant supply of new ideas. Unfortunately, most businesses do not foster this resource or facilitate the generation of ideas, allowing productivity and performance to take dominance and stifle the creative process. <br />
<br />
The Apple Superbrand exudes creativity and places it at the heart of their business strategy. Jonathan Ive the talented British designer and Senior Vice President at Apple is central to the success of the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad.<br />
<br />
<b style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">CARING </span></b> <br />
<br />
Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are the two ‘must have’ policies for global businesses. But is CSR a charity bandwagon or really heart-felt? Either way, a lot of good causes benefit from these policies but there is a difference between believing in a cause and just doing the right thing. A hollow CSR policy will come up for scrutiny but passionate heart-felt causes could be the focus that drives a brand. <br />
<br />
Dame Anita Roddick founded the ethical beauty brand ‘The Body Shop’ and placed ‘Against Animal Testing’ on the political agenda. The brand was the first global cosmetics brand to be recognized under the Humane Cosmetics Standard.
<br />
<br />
<b style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">INNOVATIVE </span></b><br />
<br />
The job of the innovator is a challenging one. As if the task of inventing something new and useful isn’t daunting enough, they then need to convince us that we actually needed the device in the first place! The stakes are high but the rewards can be huge. The innovator may succeed in creating an entirely new class of product and become the brand leader. <br />
<br />
What is an innovative business? It is one that values clear, rational and focused thinking. Being first to market with a new concept can mean the difference between survival and failure. Sir James Dyson is the force behind his innovative products: air multiplyer (bladeless fans), air blade (hand dryers) and bagless vacuum cleaners.
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</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">COMMUNICATIVE </b><br />
<br />
A communicative Superbrand brings people together and improves life by enabling the exchange of ideas. Larry Page the co-founder of the Internet Search Engine Google said, "The perfect search engine,…would understand exactly what you mean and give back exactly what you want." Google have a self-proclaimed mission to organise the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.<br />
<br />
Not every Superbrand will get an easy ride. There has been criticism of the Street View service because it allegedly recorded the details of private wi-fi networks. How a brand behaves under crises can prove critical to building or losing its superbrand status.
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<br />
<b style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">KNOWLEDGEABLE </span></b><br />
<br />
The knowledgeable brand earns its customers’ trust and respect by sharing its expertise. There are certain types of retailer that have an appalling reputation for ignoring their customers, giving incorrect information or simply being rude. If you treat people poorly, you cannot expect them to return! This is not how Superbrands are built. <br />
<br />
The Black Cab and the London Taxi Driver are cultural icons. The Cab drivers are famous for their happy demeanour and encyclopaedic knowledge of the streets of London. John Lewis is a high street example of a brand celebrated for its customer service and friendly knowledgeable staff.<br />
<br />
<b style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">INSPIRATIONAL </b><br />
<br />
An Inspirational brand is an honourable business model, that is humble, noble, dignified and has a purpose. It will make sacrifices to fulfil its high ideals. These are inspirational businesses with very high standards, working for the common good. These businesses are sensitive, are intuitive and have the courage of their convictions.<br />
<br />
Oprah Winfrey is recognised as one of America’s most powerful women. Oprah makes television out of the daily issues that affect her viewers including relationships, health, education, faith and financial matters.<br />
<br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">SUPERBRANDS STAND FOR SOMETHING</b></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </b></span><span style="font-size: small;">Superbrands stand for something that is relevant to their customers. They add value to their customers’ lives and return value to their investors. There is an opportunity for every entrepreneur and start-up to build a new Superbrand by putting faith in the qualities that matter to them - Some have been guided by a desire to improve peoples’ lives and many have changed the world for good. <br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">‘Create the perfect brand – teach yourself’ published by Hodder Education is a guidebook for entrepreneurs and startups. It is written by enthusiastic branding professionals with over 40 years combined experience of working for SME’s and Superbrands.</span></b><br />
</span></div>Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-74138545978385641782011-06-20T13:11:00.000-07:002011-06-21T01:42:01.531-07:00Chartered Management Institute - Management Book of the Year Award<div class="style73"><span class="style61" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">Julia Hitchens and Paul Hitchens are proud to announce that their book 'Create the Perfect</span><br />
<span class="style61" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">Brand' has been entered in the prestigious Management Book of the Year Awards. The event celebrates the very best in the field of management writing and is held in association with the British Library. The book has been entered in the Practical Manager category. Winners will be announced on February 6th 2012.</span><br />
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<h1 class="main" style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></h1><h1 class="main" style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></h1><h1 class="main" style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></h1><h1 class="main" style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></h1><h1 class="main" style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></h1><h1 class="main" style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></h1><h1 class="main" style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Competition </span></h1><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="maintxt" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The competition was first launched by the Chartered Management Institute together with the British Library in 2010. Its aims are to -</span></div><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><i><span style="font-size: small;">recognise and reward excellence in management writing and publishing</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-size: small;">to raise practicing managers’ awareness of good management books</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-size: small;">to encourage the transfer of research community knowledge into the practitioner arena.</span></i></li>
</ul><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="maintxt" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div class="maintxt" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">The judges are looking for a book that has the potential to transform the effectiveness of working managers.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span> The first year received 145 entries in three categories. Henry Mintzberg’s ‘Managing’ was the overall winner, rEvolution won the Innovation and Entrepreneurship category and Richard Donkin’s .’The Future of Work’ won for the Digital Management Book category.</span></div><div class="maintxt" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div class="style73" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="style61" style="font-size: small;"> </span><b><span style="color: #660000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://yearbook.managers.org.uk/index5.htm">CMI Book Awards - Website</a></span></b> </div>Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-29800336355107133102011-06-01T07:23:00.000-07:002011-06-20T12:55:23.757-07:00First Impressions - or - The Martial Art of the Business Card<style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: #660000;"></span></span></b></span><span style="font-size: small;">Mary Harron's film adaptation of Brett Easton Ellis’s cult novel, </span><span style="font-size: small;">‘American Psycho’, </span><span style="font-size: small;">features a scene that is a master class in business card one-upmanship. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Patrick Bateman, is an investment banker who thinks the pinnacle of Business Card design is a watermark. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Bateman is obsessed by symbols of status and his insecurities nail him when his colleagues present their business cards - each more perfect than the last - in an urbane game of top trumps. From the fictitious fonts of Silian Rail and Romalian Type, to the off white finish of Eggshell and Nimbus, a trip to the high street printers will never be the same again.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: small;">In Japan the practice of exchanging Business Cards or ‘Meishi’ carries great social importance with emphasis on the physical interaction. The card is regarded as a tangible symbol of the person presenting it and a casually flicked card will cause great offence. Meishi are kept pristine in a dedicated leather case and presented with both hands pinching each top corner to the recipient at chest level. Received cards may be arranged on the meeting table in hierarchy according to seniority or carefully placed at the back of the recipient’s meishi case. It is a sign of respect to take care of your received cards.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">The use of Business Cards originated with the exchange of Visiting Cards, which first<br />
appeared in Europe in the 17<sup>th</sup> Century. Footmen used the cards to introduce royalty and aristocracy and the practice was mainly the preserve of the servant employing classes. </span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<blockquote><i><span style="font-size: small;">If an organisation values its brand it will provide a template for its business cards - ensuring continuity for each employee. For the entrepreneur or start-up business there are many considerations to take:</span></i><br />
<ul><li><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Choose a rigid weight of at least 350gsm.</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Do not crowd your card with too much information; it’s not a leaflet.</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Give emphasis to your name, title and company name.</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Is the design and use of type consistent with your existing brand communication.</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>A succinct strap line can encapsulate your brand promise</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Include telephone numbers, email address and website.</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Use colour for emphasis but not gratuitously.</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>Irregular formats and unusual sizes may seem distinctive at first but they may not fit into a wallet or cardholder. </span></i></li>
</ul></blockquote><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: small;">There is an infinite number of choices a designer can make in the design of a business card. For the more adventurous client the number of applications is limitless from plastic to metal. Why not choose a medium that relates to your business, but remember quirky ideas can date or be construed as tacky.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 200%;">The paperless office may not yet have arrived but there is however still a huge demand for printed business cards. The ritual of exchanging cards on first meetings and the boom in networking events assures this stationery item will be with us for sometime yet.</span> Value your cards and consider carefully who you hand them to. They will only work for you if you give them to the right person.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: 200%;"><br />
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</div>Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-67322250298553368212011-05-11T09:03:00.000-07:002011-05-11T09:03:26.329-07:00Create the Perfect Brand - or how not to be a 'Susan Boyle' Brand<div align="center" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span></span><span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: black;"><strong><br />
</strong></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: black;">As Prime Minister David Cameron urges Britons to start their own business and help build a more entrepreneurial economy, a leading brand consultancy has penned a new book for entrepreneurs, SMEs and start-up businesses about how <em>not</em> to become the next 'Susan Boyle' brand.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: black;">Many start-ups and SMEs are 'Susan Boyle' brands - before the singing sensation's make-over that is - they have a great product, but poor presentation.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: black;"><em>'Create the Perfect Brand'</em><strong> </strong>explains how building a brand around a business will prove to be a valuable asset. </span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span>Expert </span>husband-and-wife branding team Paul and Julia Hitchens are the authors of <span><span style="color: black;">'Create the Perfect Brand'<strong> </strong></span></span></span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: black;"><span>and </span></span></span></span><span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: black;"><span>have worked with global brands including </span><span>Virgin Atlantic, Saab and the Design Council, as well as many start-ups and entrepreneurs. The couple are the </span><span>founding Partners of Surrey-based creative brand consultancy <em>Verve.</em></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #333333;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="color: black;">Their book's timely publication comes as Mr Cameron calls on Britain's 'doers and grafters, inventors and entrepreneurs’ to 'get this economy going.' </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="color: black;">As many as 10,000 new small businesses could be launched by next year with Government plans for a<span style="color: black;"> New Enterprise Allowance, that will give financial and mentoring support to unemployed people who want to start their own business.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #333333;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: black;"><span>Published by Hodder, <span>'Create the Perfect Brand' </span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span>explains how to harness the power of branding used by global brands and big organisations and apply this knowledge to new businesses and SMEs.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #333333;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: black;"><span>The business education book explains the importance of brands - how they are created, implemented, supported and protected, and tackles the challenges of maintaining a durable brand and provides strategies for brand survival and brand building in a recession. </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><i><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Chartered Marketer - Julia Hitchens:</span></span></b></i><i><span> <span style="color: #444444;"><br />
<br />
"Many SMEs are 'Susan Boyle' brands, before her make-over that is! They have a great product, but poor presentation.</span></span></i></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>”</i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><i><span><span style="color: #444444;"></span><br style="color: #444444;" /><br style="color: #444444;" /><span style="color: #444444;">"In business, you only get one chance to make a first impression. How many people will take the time to discover a 'Susan Boyle' brand?</span></span></i></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>”</i></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span>“Your brand is not just a logo, it's so much more, it's about your reputation, experience and clients' expectation. All three aspects have to be synchronised to make a perfect brand.”</span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span>Verve, celebrates 15 years of service since 1996 in branding, marketing and design. Verve have worked with big global brands, as well as creating and building brands for entrepreneurs, new businesses and organisations.<span> </span></span><span></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span>The Teach Yourself book 'Create the Perfect Brand' reveals the inspiration behind some of the world's largest brands and the influences that helped to build them, with real-life examples of successful brands - such as Apple, Aston Martin, Google, London 2012, Michelin, Jamie Oliver, Samsung, Star Wars and Oprah Winfrey - as well as some notable disaster stories.</span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
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</div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="color: #333333;"><i><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><b>Brand Consultant - Paul Hitchens: </b></span></span></i><i><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</span> <span style="color: #444444;"><br />
"The public are tired of lies and spin. The banks have let them down and the MPs' expenses scandal has left them cynical about institutions.</span></span></i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>”</i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><i><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"></span><br style="color: #444444;" /><br style="color: #444444;" /><span style="color: #444444;">"A brand must offer a consistent experience at every touchpoint from point of sale to performance. The brand vision must be shared by staff, suppliers and customers.</span></span></i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>”</i></span></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><i><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"></span><br style="color: #444444;" /><br style="color: #444444;" /><span style="color: #444444;">"We advise businesses to be clear about what the brand stands for, agree its ambitions and decide on its path to realise these goals. Be consistent in behaviour and make the best of yourself and your presentation so that people can see your potential.</span></span></i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>”</i></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>“Many SMEs don't understand the importance of matching their internal strategy with their external appearance. In order to be the best, you need to have a holistic approach. A brand is not just an outward projection, it's a vision that is shared by your employees and suppliers.</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>”</i></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><br />
“If you have a conscious brand, you are ensuring you are going to have the best brand possible for you, giving you the best chance of success.”</i></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><i><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></i><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span>'Create the Perfect Brand' explains the business of branding - what it is, brand valuation, brand strategy, brand creation, brand management and brand protection. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><b><em>Julia explained: </em></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><em>"We want to inspire entrepreneurs and managers of start-ups and organisations to create their perfect brand with substance and credibility and to realise their true brand potential. Paul and I feel our book is for all the 'doers and grafters, and entrepreneurs' who will help 'get our country moving again.</em><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>”</i></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><b><em>Paul added: </em></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #444444; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><em>"We all exercise brand preferences from our choice of toothpaste to the car that we drive. Our book explains how to harness the power of branding used by big organisations and apply this knowledge to all businesses.</em><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>”</i></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 12pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;">'Create the Perfect Brand' is a Teach Yourself Book published by Hodder and is for everyone interested in brands including, entrepreneurs, organisations, businesses and students. The book is priced £10.99 and is widely available from retailers including: Waterstones, Amazon, Tesco and WH Smith and is available in over 20 countries worldwide.</span><span style="color: #333333;"><br />
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</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">For further information about 'Create the Perfect Brand,' or to speak to branding experts and authors Paul and Julia Hitchens, please contact Verve on 01932 352353 or e-mail <a href="mailto:info@verver.co.uk">info@verve.co.uk</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #333333;"><strong></strong></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"> </span></div></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: black;"><b><u><span></span></u></b><span> </span></span></span></span> <div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span><strong>Fascinating Facts About Branding:</strong></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><ol style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: small;">
<li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span>According to the Financial Times, Warren Buffet now considers the brand first when investing in businesses, the management team second and a strong balance sheet third. In March 2011 Warren Buffet (one of the most successful financial investors in history) was ranked the world's third wealthiest person with a fortune of $50 billion in the Forbes list of billionaires.</span></span></div></li>
<li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span>Some of our daily brands have a very long history - Stella Artois was established in 1366, Birkenstock shoes in 1774 and Burberry in 1856 - brands have staying power!</span></span></div></li>
<li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span>In the designer handbag market, the profit margins can be ten to twelve times the cost of the bag - the power of branding!</span></span></div></li>
<li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span>Interbrand publish an annual survey of global brand value. Coca Cola has topped the list for ten years. According to Interbrand's 2010 survey, the Coca Cola brand is currently worth $68.7 billion.</span></span></div></li>
<li> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span>Gerarld Ratner devalued his brand by £500 million when he joked about the quality of his products: he described a £4.95 Ratners decanter as 'total crap' and said the firm's 99p earrings were 'cheaper than a prawn sandwich from Marks & Spencer, but probably wouldn't last as long!' - be careful how you behave as it has a direct impact on your brand!</span></span></div></li>
</span></ol><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #333333;"></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><span></span><span> </span></span></span>Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-82390349165885674902011-05-10T04:42:00.000-07:002011-05-10T05:26:36.321-07:00Why did we write Create the Perfect Brand?<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72" style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b></span></pre><pre class="moz-signature" cols="72" style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>What discoveries did we make whilst researching this book? -</b></span></pre><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<ul style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Most branding books are written for branding professionals by consultants who work with international businesses and are quite academic in tone. <br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Many branding writers are trying to impart their own philosophy on branding.<br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Many existing branding books follow the same format and case studies.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">We found that there was a gap in the market for a down to earth, holistic practical branding book for anyone interested in branding, including entrepreneurs, business management and students.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">We could not find any branding book written by a branding professional who creates and implements brands (from start to finish) and works every day with businesses - We do! <br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">We could not find a branding book which gave an overview of the whole of branding - what it is, brand valuation, brand strategy, brand creation, brand management, brand protection.<br />
</span></li>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></ul><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">What are the books USP's? -</b>
</span></pre><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<ul style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Practical advice packed with real life examples to encourage the reader.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">An informative, concise and holistic resource including the financial, legal, cultural and creative aspects of branding.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Accessible, easy to read and jargon free. This is not a dry academic tome.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Teaches you how to free up your thought processes to write a brand strategy and create a brand identity.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">A flexible format that can be read from cover to cover or referred to by individual chapter for specific guidance.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Written by practicing professional brand consultants with over 40 years experience.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">A motivational book that will enthuse and inspire entrepreneurs and business leaders.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Takes you from the inception of a brand to its launch. The book tackles the challenges of maintaining a durable brand and provides strategies for a recession.</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Why did we write this book? -</b>
</span></pre><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<ul style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">To inspire entrepreneurs and managers of start-ups and organizations to create their perfect brand with substance and credibility.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Following 15 years of running our own brand consultancy we wanted to share our experience to help businesses realise their true brand potential.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">We felt that just about all the branding books in the market were written by Men who had no experience of actually creating and implementing the identity. The books tend to be written by the consultants who come from a business background rather than the creatives. </span></li>
</ul><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">How can this book help SME's? -</b>
</span></pre><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<ul style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Practical advice that can be followed and implemented. <br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">All aspects of branding are covered including brand creation and legal protection. <br />
</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">It is backed with relevant case studies of successful brands and some notable disaster stories to illuminate the subject.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">This book lifts the lid on what may be seen as a 'black art'.<br />
</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;" /><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Fascinating facts about brands? -</b>
</span></pre><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<ul style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">The book reveals the inspiration behind some of the world's largest brands and the influences that helped build them.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Fascinating Case studies include: Apple, Aston Martin, Butlins, The Co-operative, Dyson, Google, Ikea, London 2012, Michelin, Jamie Oliver, Samsung, Star Wars, Virgin, Oprah Winfrey. <br />
</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">How did we research the book? -</span></b>
</span></pre><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<ul style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">The book is based on 40 years of combined experience in branding, marketing, advertising and design.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">It consolidates our knowledge and is brought to life through recent news and relevant case studies that illustrate why branding is an ongoing process and is never a fait accompli.<br />
<br />
<br />
</span></li>
</ul><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Julia Hitchens Biography</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </b><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="style38" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Julia is an Author and Brand Consultant. She is the founding partner of Verve and is responsible for brand strategy. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"> A graduate of the University of Greenwich, Julia is a qualified Chartered Marketer with the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Julia started her career in Marketing and has worked for the US advertising agency Lintas as an Account Manager. At Lintas she worked on the MG Rover Account including the launch for the MGF Sportscar. She has managed integrated marketing campaigns for clients including Samsung, Telewest and ICL.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="style38" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="style38" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="style38" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Paul Hitchens Biography</b><br />
</span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="style38" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;">Paul is an Author and Brand Consultant.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">He is Verve’s Creative Director and a joint partner in the consultancy. Paul studied Graphic Design at the London College of Printing (</span><i style="color: black;">now known as </i><i style="color: black;">London College of Communication - University of the Arts London</i><span style="color: black;">). He began his creative career in advertising, where he won awards for his work. Paul later worked for Wolff Olins on the General Motors (GM) brands of Vauxhall, Saab, Opel and North American Vehicles. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="style38" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <br />
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #990000; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Verve - Creative Brand Consultants</b></span></div><div class="style38" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="style38" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Verve was established in 1996 and is an independent brand consultancy. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Since founding Verve Paul and Julia have hosted seminars on the importance of building a strong brand. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Verve have worked with the Design Council on their ‘Designing Demand’ programme and helped to launch the British Science Festival 2009 for Surrey. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Paul has has been quoted in ‘The Daily Telegraph’ and 'The Scotsman' National newspapers regarding branding and was interviewed by the Institute of Directors for the IOD magazine in DECEMBER 2010. Paul has contributed to Management Today and written articles for Start Your Business Magazine. For more information -</span></div><div class="style38" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">http://www.verve.co.uk/news.htm</span></div>Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5379700021284093776.post-31682782326151523312011-05-10T03:54:00.000-07:002011-05-10T05:15:31.897-07:00'Create the Perfect Brand' A Teach Yourself Book published by Hodder Education.<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Do you see branding as the key to the success of your business but aren’t sure where to start? This book, written by enthusiastic experts, will help you to maximize your brand, even in a downturn. All aspects of branding are covered including brand creation and protection. Fascinating case studies of famous brands, including the disaster stories, nail their advice in the real world.</span></span><br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<span style="color: #990000; font-size: small;"><b style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">All aspects of branding are covered including:</b></span></div><ul style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;"><i>what is a brand and why it is heart, soul and core of a business</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><i>
brands in a recession, including the success stories
</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><i>methods to value a brand
</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><i>brand focus
</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><i>brand creation and structure
</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><i>brand audience and brand vision
</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><i>importance of creativity
</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><i>brand implementation
</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><i>personal branding
</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><i>brand protection- trademark, intellectual property
</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><i>brand delivery</i></span></li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Case studies include Harley Davidson, IKEA, Aldi, Lego, Cadbury and the Apple iPod plus the disaster stories such as Woolworths and MFI are given throughout the book to nail the advice given in the real world. Even examples of branding behaviour such as Susan Boyle, banks and MP's are analysed!</span><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Not got much time?</span> </span></b></span><span style="color: #999999; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">One, five and ten-minute introductions to key principles to get you started.</span></span><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Author insights
</span></b></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">Lots of instant help with common problems and quick tips for success, based on the author’s many years of experience:</span></div><ul style="color: black; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Written with great enthusiasm by branding experts
» Explains why branding is so important even to smaller businesses
» Packed with fascinating case studies from IKEA to Susan Boyle!
» Gives real, practical advice on how to brand your business for success
» Covers the value of branding in a downturn</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Test yourself
Tests in the book and online to keep track of your progress.</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Five things to remember
Quick refreshers to help you remember the key facts.</i></span></li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">About the Authors:</span></b></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
Julia Hitchens, a qualified Chartered Marketer and Paul Hitchens, Creative Director, own Verve Interactive Ltd, an independent creative brand consultancy. The authors have created many new brands for entrepreneurs. They are approved suppliers to the BBC and have worked with the Design Council on their ‘Designing Demand’ Programme.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Readership:
</span></b></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Entrepreneurs, marketing and branding experts. Anyone interested in branding</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">We hope you will be inspired to create your perfect brand.</span></div>Verve Brand Consultancy - Julia Hitchens + Paul Hitchenshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07651983435853183854noreply@blogger.com0