SOME QUICK BASICS...
WHAT IS A BRAND?
A brand is often mistaken as a variety of different things and it’s important to understand its ambiguous nature. A brand is not simply the logo, nor the visual identity. A brand is not the product or service, the slogan or the advertising campaign. A brand is not even controlled by the company behind it.
Rather a brand is a collection of perceptions that reside in the mind of the viewer. It is the gut feeling people have about you. While you may not have direct control over your brand, you most certainly are its custodian. Every interaction a person has with you influences their perceptions.
The service experience, the product, customer service, slogans, ads, and even the way you walk into a room add to the perception of your company, service, or product. Your job is to cultivate, guard, and maintain a strong brand – the rewards of which are to consistently have loyal fans and customers, as well as, increase a preference toward you, over another person in your line of work.
WHAT MAKES A GOOD BRAND?
A good brand communicates a clear message about what it stands for and how it differs from competitors.
It stems from the positioning of your service and product and then people understand and internalize the brand through its consistent use.
Each touch point within their experience should seek to reinforce this same message.
With a well-crafted strategy, a good brand begins to look more like a belief system than anything else. It takes on a vibrant life of its own, and people will stand behind the brand, adopting its claims and evangelizing it to others.
Major brands know this and use it to great effect. Geico has us believing that ‘15 minutes or less can save you 15% or more on car insurance’. BMW owners believe they have the ‘Ultimate driving machine’, Rather than just an ordinary, stuffy luxury car. These brand promises have grown beyond mere slogans, evolving into living mantras for the company and their believers.
WHAT DOES THE
BRAND PLANNER DO?
The brand planner is a brand analysis that takes a look at where you are right now. It pins down what state your brand is currently in, who your buyers and audience are, and what they’re looking for. It also looks at what your competitors are doing. Additionally, it provides insights through proper analysis and investigation prior to the brand development stage (or for rebranding).
TIME TO GET FOCUSED…
This 6 part planner is designed to help you understand your current brand and the context surrounding it. This process may reveal a strong and vibrant brand or it may shine some light on missing areas and a lack of focus. If you need more focus then it opens the door for discussion on these points and will help you gain a razor-sharp vision of what your brand represents. It will help you hit your target.
WHAT WE'LL COVER IN YOUR BRAND PLANNER
PART 1: ABOUT YOU, YOUR BACKGROUND,
AND YOUR AUDIENCE
PART 2: YOUR COMPETITION, YOUR CURRENT MARKET, OR DESIRED MARKET
PART 3: YOUR VISION & YOUR CURRENT BRANDING
PART 4: THE FEEL, PERSONALITY & VOICE OF YOUR BRAND
PART 5: YOUR VISUAL BRANDING
PART 6: CREATING BRANDING GUIDELINES
By harnessing the power of knowing who you truly are and what you offer the world (i.e. you as the brand) I can assure you that you can and will master your market over your competition. This leads to not only happiness in the work that you love but, branding done the right way, targets your most ideal audience, while repelling those that you don’t want to work with anyway.
The whole goal behind this Brand Planner series is to get you to step back from your current situation. Instead of focusing on your talent step back for a moment and put some time and thought into where you want to be. Do you want more work? Better work? Higher paying work? To follow your dreams, your passion? What is it? At the end of the day that is ultimately what you will invest your time and energy into if you’re serious about reaching success.
BRAND PLANNER QUESTIONS
You will want to make sure that you have plenty of time to cover parts 1 through 6 below. These questions are often very thought-provoking, but this is about your future in entertainment. The time it takes you to cover your brand planner can range based upon your availability (from a couple of hours to several days, or even weeks). This is not uncommon. Don’t rush this process just to get it done or you can easily miss the big picture of your brand. If you have to, do a section, and then come back and do the next part at a later time. Give yourself time to reflect on each question and answer. If you don’t know, that’s okay too. Fill it out to the best of your ability. We are here to help you too if you get stuck.
AFTER YOUR DONE WITH EACH PART BELOW:
So you put all your time and energy into the Brand Planner sections below. Now, what do you do with it all? I’ll be willing to bet there are questions in this Brand Planner that you never even thought about and/or how to use them or as it relates to your success as an entertainer. With this information alone, you will have already accomplished more than many others in your field. There are three things that you can do with this new found information…
1) You can use it to self-reflect to see where you are at right now and where you want to be. Then do all the research and work yourself to dive deeper to reinforce your brand the way it should be portrayed. Just know it is going to take you more knowledge, more time and a strategy plan.
2) Use this information consistently and religiously with every single designer or coach you work with moving forward. They can utilize this as a creative brief, knowing exactly how to position your brand alongside your goals. Remember, brand consistency is key.
3) At the end of each part or section below, be sure to submit the Brand Planner to me so that I can evaluate it for you, work with you one-one, answer your questions, or even do all the heavy-lifting for you to fix your brand. Our initial time or communication together is always free and is just one more additional way to get you heading in the right direction toward success. So, bring on those big questions.
LET'S GET STARTED!
Click on a Brand Planner section (part number) below to get started. Each section is broken down to between 10 to 16 questions to make the process more simple for you to work through and alongside your schedule.
Comment (1)
I truly hope that you enjoy this Brand Planner and more importantly put it to use. Feel free to share it with others, using the share icons above. If you have any questions or feedback please be sure either reach out directly (for privacy) or leave your public feedback or comments here. Also, if you prefer a PDF hard copy with all six sections and with the questions above, you may download it here.