A PRESENTATION AT THE GEM’S ROUND TABLE


1. CREATING A MILLION DOLLAR BRAND
A PRESENTATION AT THE GEM’S ROUND TABLE
‘Lolu Akinwunmi, frpa
Group CEO, Prima Garnet Africa

2. WARNING!
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• Make no mistake about it: a recognizable and loved brand is one of the most valuable
assets a company owns
• According to a Nielsen survey, 59% of consumers prefer to buy new products from
brands they are familiar with!
• As a small business, you may be competing against big brands
with devoted customers and unlimited marketing budgets.
That’s why you have to find ways to differentiate
–with a solid brand building process of your own.

3. HOW DO YOU BUILD A UNIVERSITY BRAND?
• Branding is much more than just a cool logo
or a well-placed advertisement.
• You need to do more.
• Let me provide you with a quick definition
before diving into the nitty-gritty of brand building.
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4. WHAT IS A BRAND?
• Old school: Product + Name = Brand
• Your brand is defined by a customer’s
overall perception of your business
• A successful brand has to be consistent
in communication and experience,
across all touchpoints
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5. THE BRAND DEFINED
• The Brand: The constant in a changing world!
• What are the changes? New media,
new communication channels
- internet, social media, AI, etc.
• Stronger competition - one global village etc.
• Technology making everything faster
• …the brand is the only constant!
• Many definitions
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6. THE BRAND DEFINED 2
• At a time when everything else is changing, a brand offers consistency.
Consumers can feel reassured that, if they buy a can of Sprite today, it will be the
same taste and quality as the can they bought yesterday. And this is true even if
they buy the cans from different shops or in different countries.
• Companies that own strong brands have a huge competitive advantage. As
consumers experience more and more products across more and more media
and distribution channels, they will look for quick ways to choose what to buy.
• Strong brand names give consumers the quickest short cuts when making their
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7. THE BRAND DEFINED 3
1. “Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room”
– Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon
2. “A product is something made in the factory; a brand is something bought by the
consumer.” - Stephen King, WPP
3. “A brand is a complex symbol. It is the intangible sum of a product’s attributes, its
history, reputation and the way it is advertised. A brand is also defined by consumers’
impressions of the people who use it, as well as their own experience” - David Ogilvy
4. “Even great talents couldn’t launch a brand from zero. A brand must have heritage;
there are no shortcuts.”- Bernard Arnault*, Chairman LVMH
*Bernard Arnault is the Chairman of LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy), owner of
several luxury brands, including the three that form the company name. Arnault
recognizes that because a brand exists only in the minds of consumers, it takes time to
build and establish a strong brand.
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8. THE BRAND DEFINED 4
5. “Consumers build brands like birds build nests, from the scraps and straws
they chance upon” Jeremy Bullmore, former WPP
• A brand exists only in the head of a consumer. Everything the consumer knows
about the brand affects the way in which they will see the brand and how they
will want to use it.
• Name a brand that means a lot to you
• Why is this brand important to you?
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9. THE BRAND DEFINED 6
“A Brand is not just what you say it is, the Brand is the totality of what the
consumer experiences. From quality, to taste, to packaging, to the retail
environment, to line extensions, to ergonomics, design and colour, to sales
promotions, to price, to corporate reputations and public relations, to the sales
force and service experiences, to the delivery trucks, to word-of-mouth, to
telemarketing scripts and receptionists style, to the way you answer the telephone,
to prejudices and attitudes, to collective and individual memories, to
history: Scraps and straws that add up to a company’s most valuable asset: a
360°Brand.”
- Shelly Lazarus, Former Chairman, Ogilvy
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10. THE BRAND DEFINED 5
• What are the scraps and straws?
• The way people feel about the TFC brand, for example, goes way beyond how
much they like the chicken. It includes how long they have to queue for their
food, how clean the restaurant looks, whether the ambience is good for hanging
out, what music do they play…etc. This is what is known as the TBE (Total Brand
Experience)
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11. THE BRAND DEFINED 7
• Your brand is your reputation!
• Now, brand building being simple? The truth is: branding doesn’t happen overnight…or
even in a few months.
• Building a brand is definitely a process. However, the ongoing effort will result in
establishing long-term relationships with your customers.
• This can lead to a steady increase in sales, more projects, word-of-mouth referrals, and
advocacy for your products or services.
• Your brand is defined by a customer’s overall perception of your business
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12. THE BRAND DEFINED 8
• What is brand building?
• The definition of brand building is to generate awareness about your business
using marketing strategies and campaigns with the goal of creating a unique and
lasting image in the marketplace.
• In 2019, the amplification of your brand image can be done effectively through
various digital marketing activities
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13. HOW TO BUILD A BRAND 1
-Determine Your Brand’s Target Audience
• Your brand cannot be everything to everyone!
• Target who exactly you are trying to reach and tailor your mission and message to meet
their exact needs
• Determine detailed behaviours and lifestyle of your customers
Brand creation relies on truly understanding the buyer persona. Here are a few of the
things to document when describing your ideal customer:
• Age, Gender, Location, Income, Education Level, Motivations, Goal, Influencer, Brand
affinities and preferences etc
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14. HOW TO BUILD A BRAND 2
- Establish A Brand Mission Statement
• The mission statement articulates a company's purpose. It announces why your
company exists. Also helps unify the organization internally
• Everything from your logo to your tagline, voice, message, and personality should reflect
that mission
• When people ask you what you do: answer them with your brand mission statement.
Instead of saying we produce soft drinks, also add that you “guarantee refreshment!”
Some examples:
• We all know the Nike tagline: Just Do It. But do you know their mission statement?
• Nike’s mission is: “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world“.
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15. HOW TO BUILD A BRAND 2+
- Establish A Brand Mission Statement
• You can see the Nike mission everywhere.
• They focus on all types of athletes using Nike products to be their best self.
• Nike goes even further with their brand mission, by adding a footnote to the
statement: “If you have a body, you are an athlete“. Think about how wide their
target audience becomes with a disclaimer like that!
• The company has built up such a reputation and brand following, that it’s able to
increase the target to accommodate every “body”.
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17. HOW TO BUILD A BRAND
- Research Competition, But Differentiate 2
• Don’t just imitate! Study what competition is doing and determine what's suitable for
you!
• Differentiate from the competition. Sell differentiation!
• Do everything that will make your brand stand out
• For a brand name to be effective, it needs to be easy for consumers to recognize and
remember.
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18. HOW TO BUILD A BRAND
- Determine Competitive Activities 3
Decide on some serious competitors and ask the following questions:
• Is the competitor consistent with messaging and visual identity across channels?
• What is the quality of the competitor’s products or services?
• Does the competitor have customer reviews or social mentions you can read
about them?
• In what ways does the competitor market their business, both online and offline?
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19. HOW TO BUILD A BRAND
- Outline Your Key Qualities & Benefits 4
• Starting a brand that is memorable means you offer what no one else is offering.
• Focus on the qualities and benefits that make your brand unique.
• Always give your target audience a reason to prefer your brand
• Your brand must have attributes that add value to your customer, e.g.
 Better customer service and experience
Value in cost (cheaper and more affordable) Saving time on daily tasks
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20. Outline Your Key Qualities & Benefits
- Apple’s Brand Building Example
• Apple does not present itself as just another computer company
• One of their key qualities is clean design, and a key benefit is ease of use.
• From unique packaging to their management of events, Apple always reminds customers that its
products can be used right out of the box
• It has always presented itself and its product as being different, and results of thinking differently
• Do you remember Apple’s slogan back in 1997-2002? It was “Think Different“. This notion
continues to exist, today.
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21. HOW TO BUILD A BRAND
Create A Logo & Copy Expression 5
• Visual representation plays a key role in brand building
• A logo is a major brand visual expression
• A logo can be a combination of text and visual imagery that serves two purposes: (a) Tells
people the name of the company and (b) Create a visual symbol that represents your
business. Some logos have powerful symbolic association connected to people's
memory.
• Logos are intended to be the face of a company. They're meant to visually communicate
the unique identity of the brand and what it represents. Depending on your design
philosophy, simple logos comprised of only essential elements are often the most
difficult and also successful
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22. HOW TO BUILD A BRAND
5 Characteristics Of An Effective Logo
• Original
• Relevant
• Versatile
• Memorable
• Timeless
• Nike
• Coca Cola
• Google
• Apple
• Microsoft
• Pepsi
• eBay
• FedEx
• Unilever
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23. HOW TO BUILD A BRAND
Strong Nigerian Logos
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24. HOW TO BUILD A BRAND
Creating A Strong & Impactful Logo
• Your logo will appear on everything that relates to your business. It will become your
identity, calling card, and the visual recognition of your promise.
• Be willing to invest the time and money by creating something exceptional to reinforce
the visual identity for your business. Work with pros
• A designer can also develop brand guidelines to ensure consistency for any future
application of the logo and associated brand colour palette or fonts.
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25. HOW TO BUILD A BRAND
Give Your Brand A Voice 7
• Brand voice is the uniformity
in selection of words, the
attitude and values of
the brand while addressing
the target audience or others.
It is how a brand conveys
its brand personality to the
external audience.
• Your voice is dependent on
your company mission,
audience, and industry.
• It’s how you communicate
with your customers, and
how they respond to you
Your brand voice can be:
• Professional
• Friendly
• Service-oriented
• Authoritative
• Technical
• Promotional
• Conversational
• Informative
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26. HOW TO BUILD A BRAND
Give Your Brand A Voice
• There are many ways to follow in building a strong brand voice
• The use of the correct brand voice, provides the strongest chance of connecting with your customers
• Maintaining a consistent voice across all channels will help your brand image. A community of
followers, readers or subscribers will come to expect a certain brand voice and brand personality when
they consume your content
• Virgin Atlantic is known for its friendly and reliable customer service, and their voice constantly builds
that brand.
• On Twitter, their personable style helps reinforce the value that they bring to their customers
•
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27. HOW TO BUILD A BRAND
Let Your Brand Personality Shine 8
• Customers are on the look out for someone who will meet their needs
• Be consistent with your brand personality across all touch points
• Create every opportunity across all media to let customers and prospects have an
interaction with your brand personality
• Train your people, rom the receptionist, to the delivery men, gatemen, sales force,
executives etc., to always ensure your brand personality shines through
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28. HOW TO BUILD A BRAND
Integrate Your Brand Into Every Aspect Of Your Business 9
• The brand building process never stops; IT’S A CONTINUUM
• Your brand should be visible and reflected in everything that your customer can see, read,
and hear
• If a client walks into your office, or a customer walks into your store—your brand image
should be on display both in the environment and with personal interactions
• There must be consistency on all platforms: from the tangible - business cards,
advertisements, packaging and product, your logo, to the intangible – the way the reception
answers the telephone and welcomes visitors.
• On any digital platform, ensure that your brand looks the same everywhere. Use your brand
style guide to create consistency with visuals such as colour and logo use, fonts, photography
etc.
• Invest in a website. Brand your social media network. Be active on YouTube, Facebook,
Snapchat, Instagram etc.
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29. HOW TO BUILD A BRAND
Stay True To Your Brand Building 10
• Except you are responding to a research that indicates the need for a
change, consistency is key
• Keep to all the brand rules and strategies
• Constant changes will confuse your customers and erode brand values
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30. Brand Building Example: Starbucks
• Starbucks is the world’s leading specialty coffee retailer, and their brand has
always promised to bring people together.
• The Starbucks mission?: “To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person,
one cup and one neighbourhood at a time.”
• That’s why at every store you’ll find free Wi-Fi, large tables, and soothing music to
make chatting with others easy. They always write your name on your coffee for
an extra personal touch
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32. HOW TO BUILD A BRAND
Be Your Brand’s Biggest Advocate 11
• Once you build a brand that works for your small business, you (and your
employees) are the best advocates to market your brand
• No one knows your brand better than you, so it’s up to you to spread the word at
every opportunity!
• When hiring employees, ensure that they are a culture fit–aligning with the
mission, vision, and values of your brand
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