Your Brand is Everywhere You Go – And Then Some!

Marketers spend a lot of time creating, managing, enhancing, publicizing & exhibiting diverse brands. For us at Skyline Exhibits & Design, that challenge is compounded by the number of client brands with which we are privileged to work. The work we do for clients is critical to their success and their success is critical to our objectives and our longevity. Consequently, we are always striving to share with client the importance and urgency of their brand responsibility.

Perhaps the toughest concept in branding is to understand that you don’t control your brand! In this business climate, perception truly is reality and a brand only exists within the confines of the public’s perception. Yes, you can have your own definition of the brand, but the reality depends on the audience. That realization makes brand responsibility even more essential to marketing success. The work we do to support the design and presentation of your messaging is designed to enhance both awareness & perception; however, the “total impression” of your organization, its people and its capabilities is far greater than any single marketing or advertising initiative.

Brand perception of the audience’s total sum of interactions with your company. Brand is what people hear about you from others (including competitors). Brand is how your people are seen as ‘people’ not just as employees. Brand is the environment you work in as well as your digital front door (your website). Brand is how your phones are answered as well as the ultimate products & services you provide.

It’s important to take an inventory of the number of ambassadors your brand might have. If you wrap your company vehicles with your brand and contact information, do you know how those vehicles will be driven? If you’ve giving away promotional items in packaging, will your logo be the litter on the sidewalk outside the show venue? Are your promotions timed well so that your brand doesn’t seem insensitive to world events and history?

When you begin to understand that you do not control your brand, you’ll be better equipped to start thinking about how to influence the perception of your brand.Make the right plans for the presentation, promotion and exhibition of your brand, but have contingencies for those times when something goes wrong. Be ready to change your plans to preserve the integrity and perception of your brand.

When branding is done right, your image will become pervasive in your space. That reality compounds the challenge of influencing the audience’s perception of you and it makes it all the more important. Naturally, use your knowledge, experience and common sense to protect your image but remember to enlist the help of those who can extend your reach – brand evangelists, marketing professionals, your company’s employees and engaged customers can all lend a hand in promoting and safeguarding your message.