A short presentation I gave on brands and branding for the Police Innovation Conference, 9.16-17.2013 in Cambridge, MA. Presentaton design by Dylan Wilson http://www.dylanwilson.com

1. Brand Management
Police Agencies
for
P o l i c e I n n o vat i o n C o n f e r e n c e
0 9 . 1 7. 1 3

2. Who am I?

3. Why am I here?

4. What does branding have to do
with you/your department?

5. Let’s start simple…

6. What is a brand?

7. Let’s start simple…
What is a brand?
A brand is the sum total of perceptions,
assumptions, expectations and interactions
that consumers have of a product or service.

8. The
Brand
Product Performance
Customer Service
Brand Personality
Rational Benefits
Emotional Benefits
Social Influences
Communications
The Consumer
What is a brand?
A brand is the sum total of perceptions, assumptions, expectations
and interactions that consumers have of a product or service.

9. Why do brands matter?

10. Why do brands matter?
We depend on brands
As a Shortcut
We have to make thousands of decisions
every day, brands are a way to make these
decisions easier.
Brands telegraphically communicate the
benefits of a product or service.
As a Badge
Brands have social value. People say a lot
about themselves – and learn a lot about
others – from the brands they use and value.
As a Guarantee
People want their performance expectations
met for products and services and are willing
to spend more to ensure a particular outcome.

11. What a brand IS, is as important
as what a brand ISN’T.

12. Why do brands matter?
A Brand is NOT a:
Campaign
Instance of part of a brand in promotion
Tagline
Catchphrase to make positioning more memorable
Positioning Statement
How we explain what we do
Message
Positioning relevant to a single target audience
Name
Entity into which you can build a brand
Logo
Visual representation of brand essence
Event
Physical representation to give messages
Product Benefit
Tangible value a product delivers
Product Feature/Attribute
Significant piece of a product that delivers benefit

13. This is the part where you are probably saying,
seriously, what does this have to do with me?
With police departments?

14. Branding can play a
role across a wide
range of Police
Department functions
While the primary purpose of a
police agency is to protect the
communities they serve, a strong
and consistent brand can help
them with:
• Disseminating information about public safety
• Improving employee job satisfaction
• Gathering information about crimes
• Improving community relations
• Recruiting

15. Tips for creating
a strong brand
Definition
Determine what it is you want to stand for
Consistency
Every time people interact with your
department, you have an opportunity to
affect their brand perception – positively
or negatively
Frequency
The more you repeat your message, the
more it sinks in

16. Definition
Purpose is CLEAR
“To organize the world’s information
and make it universally accessible
and useful.”
- Google

17. Definition
Purpose is EMOTIVE
So others may live.
- Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers

18. Definition
Purpose is SIMPLE
To make people happy.
- Walt Disney
Definition

19. Consistency
Apple’s brand is about
clean design and
powerful technology.
From store, to device, to software,
to the customer service reps, they
always stay true to this philosophy.

20. Consistency
Virgin’s brand is about
putting the consumer at
the heart of everything
they do.

21. Frequency
Who is this?
How many times a
day do you see her?

22. That’s all well and good for Progressive
with $700+ Million to spend on TV ads.
What are you supposed to do?

23. Start small
Define what your brand is all about.
What do you stand for?
Is is clear, emotive, and simple?
Look for “low hanging fruit” – where you can
tell your message quickly and easy?
• On your cars? On your website?
• Letterhead / print communications?
• In the way your staff interacts with the public,
the media?
Take it to the streets – literally and figuratively
Ensuring that all staff understands and lives the
brand message is important and will need to be
trained, otherwise it’s just a meaningless slogan
Take it to the streets – digitally
Social media enables anyone to cultivate an
audience and communicate a message

24. Social media for Police
There is probably a whole conference
dedicated just to this topic, and certainly
there are whole sections of this conference
about it.
Here are some basic tips for using social media well:
1. Don’t outsource it
2. Break down the walls in your organization
3. Set objectives
4. Map social activities against business objectives
5. Listen
6. Be real
7. Know what you’re talking about
8. Measure
9. Set benchmarks
10. MEASURE AGAIN
11. Follow up
12. Encourage advocacy

25. Thank you so much for listening.
Please remember how helpful I was the
next time you pull me over.