Company values
I’ve been working on a presentation much of today, one that attempts to capture a brand’s direction and its future before we match up the communications work we’ll do that reflects that direction and future. I’ve sifted through a lot of source material, much of it from the web, but this interview with Howard Lester of Williams-Sonoma was particularly interesting. “Integrity, trust and honesty are the lasting values upon which great brands are built.”
I think this is a good definition of branding: “Brand image is the sum total of your customer’s experience across all contact points with your product or service.”? But this is a better one: “good branding is what happens when a company does everything else right.”? I wish I could recall the source. It implies everything that Howard Lester is saying in that interview. Define a vision but stay true.
IMHO - We advertising folks have been known to venture into propoganda; claiming things that are beyond the capacity of the product or service. It’s equally important to match the costomer’s experience with the brand vision.
Good luck with the presentation and thanks for the post – I guess I’ll have to start shopping at Williams-Sonoma.
Posted by Bruce DeBoer on 06.13.07.