The Republican and Democratic conventions have provided plenty of fodder for political pundits and late night comedians alike. But for those of us focused on creating, sustaining and nurturing strong brands, there are valuable insights.
A successful convention is not unlike running a successful company. You've got a team of people who are on your side, part of the team and want to actively participate. But how do you get them on the same page with you? How do you prevent the rogues from sidelining your brand in favor of their own personal agendas?
One way is to empower your employees, partners and fans with the basic tools that help keep them on message and on brand. This could be as simple as giving them a Brand Standards Guide with a suite of communications templates and talking points—or as complex as a brand syposium, scripted sales protocol and specially created intranet.
I recently spoke with a client who was reluctant to proceed on a project to provide branded communications templates to key partners and volunteers.
The client's concern was that things were rolling along just fine without this investment and that providing a new format might ruffle some feathers. He didn't want any of the partners or volunteers to feel criticized for how things were being done. But the situation remains: the brand has little traction because too many constituents are doing their own thing, and not following brand standards. Volunteers and partners have to keep doing what they're doing because they haven't been given any options; they haven't been served the brand Kool-Aid.
Additional branding and marketing messages from the conventions are in this article from American Express Open Forum. Drink up!
