Does your organization know your brand? That might seem like a silly question, but would you be surprised to find out that your associates, board members and even your visitor reception is not communicating your brand, because they don’t have clarity?
Recently, we conducted a brief survey of 5 questions for executives and employees at an organization, and a majority were confused on their brand promise. Most could not accurately name their brand colors, when for the past 3 years they were sporting red and blue. Also half recited their tagline wrong and quoted an outdated advertising headline that actually hurt their image. Even their receptionist answered the phone with the wrong brand name. This was a rude awakening, since they had just spent over $1 million on a national brand awareness program. Yikes! If internal touch points are not on the same page, your organization is working against any potential return-on-investment.
Here’s a quick fix:
Survey your destination’s employees, partners, representatives and board members. Send it out online, where people complete it with some type of minor incentive, using an application like Survey Monkey. As for board members, distribute a hard copy and spend 5 minutes at your next meeting for all to complete and turn in. It should only be 5 basic questions that require quick, top-of-mind answers, such as:
1) What comes to mind when you think of your destination’s brand?
2) How is your destination different from other places?
3) What colors do you associate with ____________ brand?
4) What is your destination’s public perception or reputation?
5) If your brand were an automobile, celebrity, or animal, what would it be?
Compare the results to your brand style guide, and send a fun follow up memo to clarify. You might just improve your return-on-investment by 25% on your next campaign!
