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Aligning to Deliver the Brand 

    Aligning to Deliver the Brand 

    It takes strong focus and hard work to get through the brand-positioning process and build a brand platform. But once this work is done, brand managers and marketers have a basis for deciding what they want to achieve with the brand. Next, the fun of brand building can begin.

    Because brand encompasses much more than just marketing, it is important for the entire organization to understand the brand and each person’s role in delivering the brand promise to customers. Every employee in every department, from Accounting and Finance to Product Development and Technology (and everyone in between) plays a part. Organizations with great brands look for ways to educate all internal stakeholders about what the brand means and how it connects with their way of doing business. Company leaders provide incentives for employees to innovate and excel at delivering the brand effectively.

    Of course, organizations also communicate about their brands to external audiences—to current and future customers, investors, thought leaders, and influencers, for instance. Brand is embedded in every strategy, tactic, and activity associated with a marketing mix for a given target segment. The brand platform is like a filter that lets through the kinds of communication that an organization needs to reach its audience, but it keeps out the distracting noise and chatter that might confuse or alienate that audience. The brand platform gives a brand coherence and helps the company stay on track.

    Figure 1, below, illustrates the tools and artifacts marketers use to deliver strong alignment between brand, messaging, and other marketing activities. The brand strategy and positioning are very consistent from year to year, and they rely on the tools and artifacts we’ve discussed in this reading. Market-specific positioning and messaging are designed to reinforce the brand while promoting the organization’s products and services to target segments. The positioning tools and process discussed in the previous positioning module work at this level of marketing alignment. They remain relatively consistent, with marketers reviewing and refining positioning strategy every twelve to twenty-four months in alignment with company strategy, priorities, and performance.

    Brand, Messaging, and Marketing Alignment. A pyramid showing time frame and tools and artifacts for different strategies. At the base of the pyramid is campaign-specific marketing, messaging, and communications strategy. The time frame for this strategy is aligns with yearly goals, but adjusts at least quarterly to reflect evolving priorities. Tools and artifacts for this strategy are campaigns, tactics, messaging, proof points, and touch points. In the middle of the pyramid is the market-specific positioning and messaging strategy. The time frame for this strategy is refreshes every 12 to 24 months, depending on market dynamics. Tools and artifacts for this stage are target segments, market-specific positioning, and key marketing messages. The top level of the pyramid is brand strategy. The time frame for this strategy is highly consistent from year to year with periodic refinement. The tools and artifacts for this strategy are mission and value proposition, core values, brand voice and personality, brand positioning, and tagline.

    At the bottom of the alignment pyramid are the day-to-day marketing activities associated with executing the marketing mix to reach target segments. These include marketing campaigns and the tactics, messaging, promotions, and other activities that accompany these campaigns. We’ll explore this dimension of marketing activity in much more detail when we turn to integrated marketing communications (IMC).

    Red Bull’s Extreme Brand Alignment

    The energy drink Red Bull has developed a fun, edgy, maverick identity to match the young male adult segment it targets. To stay true to this brand identity, Red Bull’s leadership decided not to go with business as usual and sponsor another sporting event like the Coca-Colas and Procter & Gambles of the world. Instead, they set out to control the entire brand experience in a different way by producing the events themselves—and even by inventing a completely new sport!

    Watch the following video to learn more about the extreme steps Red Bull has taken to invest its own money in the creation and ownership of sporting events and teams, all with the goal of building the brand’s name, image, and dedicated following. For Red Bull, brand alignment is the name of the game.

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