Branding in the Digital World by Stephen McGill provides 3 key points: 1) Digital marketing has changed how brands are discovered, experienced, and perceived, but has not changed what a brand is - a collection of perceptions in customers' minds. 2) Digital branding is one channel to connect with customers and an important touchpoint, but strategy should drive technology, not vice versa. Brands must be where audiences are and constantly engage and evolve. 3) When developing a brand digitally, consider objectives, promise, positioning, experiences, and personality - but ensure the digital presence reinforces the overall brand strategy.

1. Branding in
the Digital World.
Stephen McGill, President & Creative Director
mcgillbuckley.com | @mcgillbuckley | smcgill@mcgillbuckley.com
Thinking beyond logos and colour palettes

2. There is a great deal of talk about
brands and branding these days.
Very few people know what the hell they
are talking about.

3. Far too many new brands start with
a name and logo.
They should be starting with a strategy.

4. Far too many brand re-development
programs are superficial.
In the end all they manage to do is put a new
shine on an old turd.

5. 81.2% of my presentation is about
branding in general.
Context is critical I think.
In the spirit of full disclosure

6. Perspectives on
branding
What a brand
is not
What a brand is What great
brands do
How to build
a brand
Profuse
apologies
Branding in the
digital world
My upcoming brand rant
Opinions expressed here are my own

7. PerspectivesOn branding

8. The art of marketing is the art of
brand building. If you are not a
brand, you are a commodity. Then
price is everything and the low-
cost producer is the only winner.
– Philip Kotler, Kellogg

9. "Any damn fool can put on a deal,
but it takes genius, faith and
perseverance to create a brand.”
– David Ogilvy,
legendary Mad Man

10. A strong brand is a business asset
$54 Billion$104 Billion $47 Billion
Forbes.com

11. Strong brands can command a premium

12. Strong brands can overcome a crisis
(Perhaps not two though)

13. (simply)…
What a Brand
is not

14. A brand is not simply: A name
Names don’t define people.
The same holds true for brands.
But a name can come to mean
something.

15. What do these names mean?
• Nelson Mandela?
• Martin Luther King?
• Rob Ford?
• Daniel Alfredsson?

16. And these names?
• Google?
• WebFuel?
• General Motors?
• TheCodeFactory?

17. A brand is not simply: A logo
There are strong brands with weak
logos. And there are lousy brands
with award-winning logos.

18. A brand is not simply: A logo
Like a name, a logo must come to
mean something.
(PS: It is better to have a great logo)

19. A brand is also not simply:
a colour palette
a product
or service
a social
media profile
a website
an ad
campaign
a tagline

20. A BRAND IS ALSO
not simply:
What you say it is

21. “Brands are built on what
people are saying about you,
not what you are saying
about yourself.”
– Guy Kawasaki

22. “Your brand is what people
say about you when
you’re not in the room.”
– Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com

23. So, what the
heck is a brand?

24. In a perhaps misguided search for
meaning, I decided to search for
“brand definition” on Google?
No wonder so many people are confused.
I found 127,000,000 results.

25. Our definition of a Brand:
A brand exists in the minds of its audiences.
Quite simply, a brand is a collection of
perceptions, feelings and experiences
around a particular company, product,
person, service or cause.

26. Defining a brand involves:
• Being clear about what it is you do
• Determining how you are different
• Knowing why you matter to customers
• Understanding the emotional connection

27. Defining a brand is:
• Part art
• Part science
• A hair raising journey of discovery
• Always more work than you think

28. What Great
Brands Do

29. Are committed to being different.
Great Brands
Me too brands are brands without a future.

30. “Be yourself; everyone
else is already taken.”
– Oscar Wilde

31. Are willing to take a stand
based on what they believe.
Great Brands
This helps build connections… and loyalty.

32. "When you think of the blur of all the
brands that are out there, the ones you
believe in and the ones you remember,
like Chanel and Armani, are the ones
that stand for something.
– Ralph Lauren

33. Are committed to owning a
distinct position in the marketplace
and in the minds of consumers.
Great Brands

34. driving machine
The Ultimate

35. Great Brands are
driven by a vision
Great Brands

36. “I want to put a ding
– Steve Jobs, Apple
in the universe.”

37. Great Brands
Understand that
experience drives
brand value.

38. "We believed very early on that
people's interaction with the
Starbucks experience was going
to determine the success
of the brand.”
— Howard Schultz, Starbucks
Great Brands

39. How to Build
a Brand
(Here’s a hint: don’t start with the logo)

40. What typically
gets in the way
Poor support
at the senior
management
level
Superficial
thinking: the
logo and
tagline
syndrome
Company
realities and
brand vision
do not match
Closed or
dysfunctional
culture
Resistance
to change
Not making
the hard
decisions
Not getting
buy-in along
the way
An inward
focused
point of view
Micro
managing
the process
Not
knowing
your
audiences
Viewing
branding as
an expense
not an
investment

41. Understand that branding
is a business process
Corporate
Strategy
Brand
Strategy
Branding
Process

42. Strategic branding process
You must have an explicit understanding of where a
company or organization is now, where it wants to go
and how it plans on getting there.
Be clear on the short and long-term
business goals
1

43. Strategic branding process
It is critical to get senior people involved and onside
from the very beginning. Getting their input, support
and buy-in is a must on your to-do list.
Understand who the key
stakeholders are.
2

44. Strategic branding process
Invite opinions from a cross section of people from
different departments. These are the people who know
the customers and help deliver the brand experience.
Involve a wide spectrum of stakeholders.2a

45. Strategic branding process
Make sure you know their wants and needs. Go beyond
traditional segmenting to get inside their hearts and
minds. Can your brand connect with them? Will your
brand resonate with them?
Understand who your audiences
really are.
3

46. Strategic branding process
A brand vision forces you to know what you want the
brand to be and do over the long-term.
Make it simple enough for your customers and your
people to get it, remember it and embrace it. It can
often be the corporate vision
– unless that was written by a committee.
Develop your brand vision.4
– unless that was written by a committee.

47. Strategic branding process
“To make people happy.”
– Walt Disney Corporation
Develop your brand vision.4

48. Strategic branding process
Any strong brand has to have at its core a promise that
lets people know what to expect from the brand. It
could be results achieved, an experience or acting in
a certain way. It must be relevant to your target
audiences. And it must never be broken.
Develop your brand promise.5

49. Strategic branding process
Bruyère Continuing Care is the champion of our aging
population and those requiring continuing care.
- a McGill Buckley client
Develop your brand promise.5

50. Strategic branding process
Take a long hard look at where your brand “fits” from
your customers or market perspective.
Develop your brand positioning.6
What Is Your
Brand For?
Who Is Your
Brand For?
When Is Your
Brand For?
Who Are
Your
Competitors?

51. Strategic branding process
Develop your brand personality.7
If your brand was a person, what kind of person would it be?
Developing a brand personality helps to create a human side
to your brand and makes it easier for “people”
to connect and identify.
Masculine or
feminine?
Underdog or
big dog?
Casual or
formal?
Serious or
humorous?
Plays by the
rules or breaks
the rules?
City or
country?
Traditional or
contemporary?

52. Strategic branding process
Develop your brand messaging platform.8
These are the words that help people understand who you are,
what you do, how you are different and why you matter.
Key Messages BenefitsPositioning Stories

53. Strategic branding process
A thoughtful, coherent and consistent brand identity system
allows a brand to a have an easily recognizable visual presence.
It should be driven by all the work done to date.
Develop your brand identity system.9
Logo ApplicationsName Standards

54. Strategic branding process
Design your ideal brand experiences.10
How will you turn your brand vision and promise into
brand-building customer experiences?
Think of how and where your customers come into
contact with your brand?

55. Strategic branding process
These are delivered at your brand touch points.
Design your ideal brand experiences.10
What are all
your brand
touch points?
What can you do
to leverage
them?
Everyone plays a
role in brand
experience.
It should be
constantly
evolving.
“You cannot NOT have a user experience.” – Lou Carbone

56. Which brings us to
Digital Branding

57. Digital marketing and an
increasingly digital world has not
changed what a brand is.
It has however radically changed how a brand is
discovered, delivered, perceived and experienced.

58. “With digital diversification getting bigger and
with more channels appearing each quarter,
brands are going to shift from "Should I be here?"
to "What should I do now that I am here?" Success
will be linked to how well the brand can
differentiate itself and the levels of emotional
engagement it can create.”
– Robert Passikov, Consumer Experience Guru

59. What then is Digital branding?
• An environment?
• A platform?
• A format?
• A device?
(It is likely all these things
with more to come)
}

60. • It is one of the many possible channels through which
a brand can connect.
• It is an increasingly important touch point for brands.
• It can be a driver of customer perceptions and experiences.
• More than ever digital is the first encounter with your brand.
Our view on digital branding

61. • Lead with business and brand strategy, leverage with technology.
• Be where your audiences are.
• Constantly look for insights.
• Engage, experiment, evolve.
• Beware of the digital disconnect.
Our approach to digital branding

62. • How will we meet our business and brand objectives?
• How will we deliver on our brand promise?
• How will we reinforce our brand positioning?
• How can we deliver brand experiences?
• How can we deliver our brand personality?
A few digital branding questions:

63. • Territorialism of different practitioners.
• An overabundance of self proclaimed experts.
• Too much focus on technology at the expense of strategy.
• An overinflated estimate of its value (perhaps).
• Too much emphasis on price as a benefit.
A few digital brand concerns:

64. What excites us about
digital branding:
• An entirely new environment for building brands.
• Enhanced abilities to monitor brands.
• Direct connections with brand audiences.

65. What about
Canadian Brands?

66. Top Canadian Brands
Top Brands In Canada* Top Canadian Brands* Canada’s Most Influential Brands**
1. Disney 1. Tim Hortons (10) 1. Google
2. Lego 2. Westjet (16) 2. Facebook
3. Johnson & Johnson 3. McCain Foods (18) 3. Microsoft
4. Rolex 4. Canadian Tire (28) 4. Apple
5. Nestle 5. Jean Coutu (32) 5. Visa
*Source - canadianbusiness.com (scores are based on trust, admiration, respect, good feeling and overall esteem)
** Source – Iposos Reid Research

67. Canadian brands we admire

68. Let’s Pick A Great New Local Brand
• Great positioning – DIY
• Fun, friendly, quirky personality
• Delivers an engaging brand experience
• Great products (a matter of taste)
• Understands brand touch points

69. Closing thoughts.

70. • Be driven by business strategy and goals.
• Make sure you have an inspiring vision and a compelling promise.
• Be different and be clear.
• Don’t overlook the power of personality and experiences.
• Get yourself a really nice logo!
Want to develop your brand?

71. ” When you’re going
through hell,
keep going."
— Winston Churchill

72. Thank you for
your time.
Any questions?