Brand names are a verbally communicated thing (word of mouth is still the most important brand builder). So how a brand sounds and the imagery it creates, along with the emotional response it triggers in the listener, becomes arguably more your brand than your logo.

People have a tendency to shorten long names which is why we have nicknames for things. Take for example the one syllable in coke, verses the four syllables in coca cola. It is important to keep this in mind when coming up with a name and think ‘short’, but avoid jumping to abbreviations for two reasons, first up this can actually lengthen the verbal brand (how many syllables does it take to say the letter W?) and second, people new to a brand that is abbreviated will not immediately know what the abbreviation is for and miss the meaning.

The ideal brand name is a simple one syllable word (or two, just so long as it isn’t easily shortened to one) that creates an instant, concrete picture in the mind (not necessarily product or service related – think Apple), or a strong feeling in heart of the market that is intended for.

The word you choose must sound good, be easy to spell (with no confusing letter swaps) and there should be no confusion when it is heard or read. This will save you lots of grief later.

If you are marketing to other countries it is very important to check that the word does not mean something offensive, or embarrassing in their languages, for example Pajero meaning wanker in Spanish slang.

Of course once you have your shortlist of names it is time to check its availability before locking it in, but that is another blog post entirely!

We recommend this methodology so you take control of your brand from the outset and do not leave it up to the market to create a nickname for you. This way you have a solid foundation to build your marketing strategy from at the very beginning.

If you have any questions about creating your brand name feel free to comment below.

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Happy New Year and on behalf of the Sponge team I wish you a fantastic year of growth and profitability.

It has been a long time since I’ve posted anything so this one will be brief. And I am committing to making time to do so more frequently this year. Hopefully I can persuade some of the team to do so too. While on the subject of the team, we have two new members for 2012, Ming and Ben, and are expecting another two within the next month.

Ming and Ben expand our web development team and we expect them to be awesome for the projects they have been assigned.

Finally, while we have a back log of projects being worked through right now by our web team, we do have some windows opening up shortly for brand strategy and brand creation if you have a project that you are itching to start this year, so get in touch now to avoid disappointment.

Have an awesome week…

Luke

P.S. For my first solid post of 2012 I am thinking of the topic of how crucial it is to get your brand name right first. What do you think?

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It has certainly been a while!

We have been extremely busy at The Sponge. Busier than we have ever been in fact. With our commitment to SureSlim, our amazing clients (both new and long term) and all the interesting branding projects we get to work on, and our two new joint ventures (more to come on these in the near future), I have had no time to post.

Yesterday I shot a video for SureSlim in which I share my experience on my own twelve week Quickloss program. If you have not seen me in a while you may not even recognize me! Take a look here…

So what is new?

You may remember Think Social, well we have been developing and fine tuning our Social Media Marketing offering with a strong focus on the strategic use of videos, articles and harnessing the core social media channels to geometrically grow your business. I would love the chance to speak with you about what options you have today and about how it very much fits with your business (or any business for that matter!). Drop me an email and we can arrange a time.

We have had some wonderful interns in our Sydney studio over the last few months. It is really exciting to see the up and coming talent that is in (or comes to) Sydney, and also to hopefully inspire and help direct the bubbling energy.

As for The Sponge team itself, our core creative team continues to “find the fun” with creative solutions at every opportunity and our web programming team has doubled in size since last post and we now have some amazing new capabilities that we did not have before.

That is it for now, hopefully it won’t be so long until the next one. I will end by expressing my gratitude for all the exciting projects and opportunities that we are continually blessed with and I wish you the same.

Peace, Luke

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Now ALL Australian women can drop a dress size (or two) for Summer!

The new SureSlim website has been online for a little over a week and the waiting list for the new online clinic is growing rapidly. SureSlim.com.au will be opening the doors to its pilot online weight loss clinic in early November to help Australians (ONLY) lose weight safely under its medically supervised program.

There will be hundreds of Aussie women dropping dress sizes for summer and doing so from the convenience of their home or office, with the same motivational support and accountability that they receive at a brick and mortar SureSlim clinic.

The November pilot will be by invitation only to those who are on the waiting list. For more information about SureSlim and the unrivalled variety of programs available (including: vegetarian, vegan, breast feeding & pregnancy) and to join the waiting list, visit SureSlim.com.au

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That’s not entirely true. We now own a piece, not the whole pie.

I believe this is a partnership made in heaven. The SureSlim expert team with an amazingly successful weight loss program, and our team of marketing and design professionals taking it to a nationwide market via the internet (and our new ideas).

Together we are transforming an awesome clinic based weight loss program, into a convenient, any time, anywhere, online clinic. This way we can satisfy the many, many requests from regional and currently unserviced areas.

The brand new site features video and a specially designed client engagement system to increase the percentage of conversion of visitors to clients.

If you are considering loosing a few kilos leading up to Christmas I suggest you jump onto the waiting list: www.sureslim.com.au , or if you are trying to work out how to take your brick and mortar business online, you might want to take a close look at what we are doing with SureSlim too.

I would love to know what you think of it (so why not answer below in the comment box).

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The days of the brochure-ware website is dead. Today, for the highest conversion rate, your website needs to have a specific objective (and ideally just the one).

In Barry Schwartz’s The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less he talks about a grocery store that alternated between allowing customers to sample 24 different flavours of jam & 6 different flavours of jam. With 24 flavours on offer, more people came to the table BUT only 10% as many people bought jam than when only 6 flavours were on offer. This demonstrates that when offered too many choices a human being is paralysed and simply chooses the default, which is to do nothing (your biggest competition!).

This doesn’t mean that your business needs to have only one product or service. It simply means that you need to rethink the one action you need your visitor to do on your website in order to get them into your sales pipeline. This will vary from business to business, but a great place to start is getting their permission to receive emails from you in exchange for something of value to them. Ideally this is something that doesn’t cost you anything to deliver (apart from the initial production of course) and can be automatic, like a free PDF report.

Now, if your website and what you offer is simply too complex, you may want to think about it differently. You can build specific landing pages for any traffic generating marketing campaign you run, that are built with the single focus and desired response. Today domain names are are so cheap that you can afford to purchase one for each campaign or offering. You will need to speak to your web partner about the best way to deal with these pages.

The beauty of the web is that you have the flexibility to test, measure and react in realtime. There are powerful statistics available for free like Google Analytics that show you what is working and what isn’t, so you can make any necessary changes as soon as you need.

With all this power and flexibility comes a challenge. Do you invest in a Content Management System (plus other design software) and training to understand and handle all the changes in-house? Do you commission your design and marketing partner to build a website and then pay them periodically to update it? Or do you work with a partner to lay down some long term strategy and get on a maintenance program with them where a fixed amount of time is regularly allocated (weekly, fortnightly) to review and make recommendations in light of what is working elsewhere on the Internet?

Apart from the comfort in knowing your website will be supported ongoing, what are some of the benefits of a maintenance program?

Price – With a maintenance program your prepaid fees may not be subject to the same minimum time charges as the time is deducted exactly as used. The rate is often discounted from the regular rate on account of the reduced costs that come with a contract.

Priority – as a contracted maintenance client your website should take priority over non-contracted update requests, as ultimately if you are not getting significant value out of your agreement you won’t renew it. Look at what turn around time you are promised for your requests.

Expert advice – A great web partner should take pride in knowing what is going on online and how any new technologies and strategies can work for your business. Look for a partner who make it their goal to recommend any new developments that will generate a return for your business.

I will end this with a Lee Iacocca quote that I often think about for branding and marketing, especially when it comes to the web.

"If you are standing still - you are really sliding backwards."

Lee Iacocca

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We are looking forward to creating and sharing ideas some big ideas this Friday (September 10) for Swap Ideas Day. If you don’t receive your invitation today please get in touch ASAP.

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I was listening to part of an interview this morning where Jay Abraham was paraphrased (not so well). Having heard it before, I was reminded how much I like it. In my opinion it is the key to selling anything. I Googled it but failed in finding Jay, however I did find Gary Halbert’s sales letter which has a very similar version, possibly even the original (please excuse my edits).

Gary - I like to ask my students: “If you and I both owned a hamburger stand and we were in a contest to see who could sell the most hamburgers, what advantages would you most like to have on your side to help you win?”

After hearing their answers they ask “What advantage do you want?”

“The only advantage I want,” I reply…

“…Is A Starving Crowd!”

What do you think of it?

You can read Gary’s classic sales letter here.

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This is a bit of a different post, hopefully it will prove valuable to you.

Our current situation may present an awesome opportunity for you OR someone you know, so please take a moment to read this post fully and then get back to me ASAP, or share it to those you care about.

We have a lovely intern named Zee (Zenith) who has proven herself quite good at learning our process, you can read her guest post in this blog. Zee has done well with our rigorous Internship curriculum and we are thinking of employing her, but there is a final test, that is to prove herself on a handful of real project (supervised by our senior team of course and using our proven process).

As a quick refresher (and separate to your brand, if we have designed it) to illustrate exactly what our process produces, I thought it would be best to include one of our latest re-branding projects. The awesome offer is at the end of the post, so make sure you check it out after you take in this project.

Project Description

Brand name: Ingen

Service type: Executive search within the finance and insurance industry

Project: Total rebrand including name, positioning and identity.

Solution process & description:

• Ingen’s key point of difference is that they are ex-high-level executives from within the insurance and finance industry that they now target for executive search.
• After exploring possible directions, domain names, registered business and IP we presented options and Ingen was selected.
• Ingen is a shortened version of Ingenious meaning: clever; brilliant; able to perform well; and having a proven capacity to execute a client’s challenge.
• To create the identity we traversed many directions. One in particular was flight and view point. Starting with a kite graphic, we progressed to a simple paper aeroplane, then to a similarly styled swan followed by various other birds, finally ending at a stylish origami bird of prey.
• The logo is an origami bird of prey. It symbolises the distinct view point their insider position offers them and paper folding their precise office style work. It is a superior hunter able to swoop up its prey with great speed and fierce accuracy.
• From the process of engineering the actual origami bird the oh-so-fitting tagline was born (and is subject to change pending a current client survey): “Engineering career flights”
• The typeface creates an instant feeling of trust and prestige.
• The deep red, accompanied with a cool grey/silver, present an image of sophistication and style for Ingen’s high end clientele.
• To fit with Ingen’s positioning statement we created a challenge to “try some light engineering” and include the steps for the Ingen origami bird of prey on the reverse of the letterhead.
• Both the Ingen brand identity and the stationery were designed with the intention of creating an identity that is truly distinct and memorable, one that makes the Friday night cocktail discussion.
• We wanted to make something tangible and tactile and thought that the letterhead and follower, which are usually disposable, could become something more.
• The result is a mentally and physically demanding challenge that reinforces the brand identity and positioning statement for the client and (we believe) can’t help but be remarked on.
• On the follower is the deconstructed bird of prey (indicating all the folds) to give the challenger a head start. It is by no means an easy feat to create the bird of prey, which after attempting increases Ingen’s image of precision and finesse..
• The business cards carry this theme with part of the instruction. Combined these offer a real talking point and make the brand unique and unforgettable.

[Click on the images above to see larger versions]

So here is the offer. If you (or a friend, relative or colleague you have just thought of now) have a branding, or rebranding project that you have been thinking of doing, how about you give me and my senior creative team a shot at directing (and closely supervising) Zee through it, using our proven process and only when she produces an awesome result that you absolutely love, only then you pay a cent, no catches at all. Naturally there will be a significant discount on the price you pay too.

What do you think?

This opportunity cannot last long so call now on +612 8586 0000 or email now and we will get Zee to work for you ASAP!

P.S. Of course, if you have a project that you believe requires only our most senior, experienced staff attention, we can definitely help you there too.

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Brand Positioning is a term coined by Al Reis and Jack Trout some 30 years ago in their book titled  Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, 20th Anniversary Edition Some things have certainly changed, but the principles still remain true. And while they may be speaking directly to businesses competing in an oligopoly with the directive to own a single word in the mind of your market, where it is simpler to do so, owning a distinct value position is just as important in a market of any other size.

What is Brand Positioning?

It is the distinct meaning, feeling or promise that is immediately associated in the mind of your market when they hear or see your brand.

Brand Positioning starts with understanding who the key potential clients are that you can provide greatest value for. Then knowing where to find them, what the optimal price point is, and the single most distinct and untapped story, or key attributes, that when used correctly will get them to buy from you over your competition, whether or not they are in the market to buy right now.

Armed with these insights, you then build a remarkable brand identity (logo, packaging, marketing material, etc), culture and value proposition that distinctly addresses each of the key discoveries to position your business as the only reasonable choice for these prospects.

So, how do you do position your brand?

Research

Study your clients, prospective clients and your competitors.

Define your main key buyer profiles or personas. It is common to have a hand full of different key buyers. Create a written profile – a buyer persona – for each of these buyers by asking questions like: Who they are? What are their responsibilities and challenges? How do your solutions fit for their particular challenges? What are their buying influences? And anything else that helps you understand how to sell to this buyer. It is helpful to give each buyer persona a name and describe their physical characteristics. Use these buyer personas as the target for your business communications. For more great information and insights into creating buyer personas I recommend you visit: webinknow.com and buyerpersona.com

Understand the true value of what you provide. Poll your current clients to learn where they believe you have provided them the most value and how they would explain it to a friend or colleague in their own words. At the same time you may also want to check the relevancy of your offerings for them at this time.

Talk with your prospective clients to see what value they are looking for from your business. Your prospective clients can tell you what they need or want which you are not currently offering. The answers may uncover a real void in the market just waiting for you to fill it. In some cases this could open up a completely new niche category for you to create and own.

Study your competition to know what the stories and value propositions they are using so you can understand the landscape and be able to be unique or distinct when creating yours.

Learn what other leading brands servicing comparative price points in different industries look like to your client. Consider their style, aesthetics and level of quality of design.

Create

Find the single most distinct and untapped value statement and build your brand around it.

These next processes can be very challenging. It is helpful to remember that while you are very important to your business, you are in most cases not the buyer of your offerings, so you need to step outside of your perspective during this stage and take the perspective of your primary buyer persona. It is also quite valuable to put together an advisory board of some of your clients and prospects to use for regular feedback during the development of these elements.

All the research you have done has given you a wealth of information to use to create your value proposition. More on value propositions here. A value proposition is your core brand story. It is the collection of reasons your clients buy from you. In it you differentiate your business from your competition and articulate the distinct value you provide, substantiated with examples of how you have helped similar businesses to those you are targeting. With a strong value proposition you are most of the way there and you lay the foundation for all your marketing efforts.

Next create a distinct, compelling and a sticky tagline (See Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die) or core message (sticky: short, succinct, easily visualised, interesting and immediately memorable). This should be an ultra-condensed version of your value proposition, ideally around three words long. This becomes the essence of your brand position.

Then build your brand identity and collateral material to look like you belong in the price bracket you are aiming at. The quality level communicated by your brand, in each and every client contact point, will impact on the price point you can demand.

Deliver

Make every aspect of your business clearly and authentically communicate your core message.

This means every single point of contact that your clients can encounter with your business needs to be consistent. From your signs, brochures, website, through to your on hold audio, it all needs to be about delivering your core message. This especially includes the way your staff interacts with your clients. Engraining your core message (by way of core values) into your company culture and then hiring specifically to fit it, can in some cases be more important than any other single touch point.

Evolve

Frequently check the pulse of your brand and evolve to fit the changes that naturally occur.

This is about staying current and relevant with your brand position and your offerings. A simple way to do this is continue to talk with your current and prospective clients regularly to see what they believe the value you provide is and that it is still relevant to them with the changing time. They can tell you what you are not currently offering that could help them which may turn into a completely new niche category for you to own. It is about listening for the new possibilities and evolving your brand position to suit.

I look forward to the questions that arise. Feel free to ask them below, or email me directly.

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