The Brand is the Organization

I created these diagrams to help clarify how branding can impact an organization. The key take away is that brand is not an output of the marketing department. Rather, it is the guiding force behind an organization - it becomes the fundamental building blocks & expression of the organization's existence. In fact, I think it's fair to say that the brand and the organization are one in the same.

The typical organization sees the brand as an output of its marketing initiatives. It sees the brand as the logo, color scheme, tone of voice, etc., and as I explained in my second blog post, this is not what branding is all about. Branding is more than a logo - it is the organization.

The trouble with seeing the brand as an output of the marketing department is that it creates an unfocused and meaningless organization. The purpose is unable to permeate throughout the entire organization. Therefore, the brand itself becomes meaningless, or worse, meaningful but in a negative way. One of my marketing professors once said, "If you don't control your brand, the market will". By seeing the brand as a marketing output, places the organization's reputation (the brand) in a vulnerable state. If any of the organization's actions counter what the marketing department has been communicating, people will instantly question the organization and an air of distrust will emerge. Unfortunately, chasing profits leads to business departments acting out of unison, resulting in miscommunication to consumers who then become disloyal to the brand.

So really, marketing should not be the only department to execute the organization's brand/purpose. Rather, it should be the work of the entire organization.

Well-branded organizations enable the brand to influence the organization's strategy, because here, it can make more of an impact. Every business function is focused on accomplishing the organization's purpose, which encourages them to live it every day through their actions. So, when the company goes to invest in something, not only should it be financially viable, but it must also help satisfy the organization's purpose. When new people are hired, they need to believe in the purpose, or they are not worth hiring. This is what Izzy Sharp, the founder of the Four Seasons, did - those who did not support the organization's goal for unprecedented customer service, even if they were good at their job,  were let go, because the organization needed to be working towards the same goal.

The operations & product development must, also, be inline with the organization's brand. Often, people think of a product or service as the brand - but the product or service, for great brand organizations, is a result of the organization trying to satisfy its purpose - not the other way around. To be clear, an organization may begin with a product or service, which leads to the purpose.  But once that purpose is instilled, any subsequent products/services/etc. are developed to satisfy the purpose.

By having the brand/purpose influence the organization's strategy, it is able to create consistent brand experiences at every customer touch point. This consistency leads to consumer trust & loyalty. The brand becomes the fundamental building blocks for the organization & the answer to WHY the organization exists.