Super rapid awesome brands

Brands matter. Great brands make a positive difference in cost of sales and in overall company book value. You know that line on the balance sheet called goodwill? The somewhat ephemeral items that compose goodwill are often comprised of things like brand, high performing culture, and other soft items that make the company worth what it’s worth.

Social media, mass collaboration platforms, and other tools of the web 2.0 age have helped amplify brands, both for those that are going to market for the first time looking for ways to accelerate their entry, as well as established big brands that are looking to further reinforce and extend their positioning.

The research team for nGenera’s Marketing & Sales 2.0 program recently completed a study and associated new report on Brand Communities. In the report, for which the research team studied over 100 online communities of big and small brands, there several notable frameworks and lists that provide unique insight on the subject of branded communities. These include:

• The New Brand Arsenal – chart of 13 elements, comparing a decade ago to today
• The six ways brand communities create value – advocacy, insight, content, support, perception, and serendipity
• The FLIRT Model (Blueprint for success): Focus, Language, Incentives, Rules, and Tools
• Implications for the Future of Marketing
• The 50-question Readiness Assessment for building and operating a branded community

The process of creating an awesome brand isn’t just for companies with deep pockets. More than ever, one can be extremely efficient with capital, yet rapidly create and launch a brand that makes a powerful statement. One super resource I discovered earlier this year is Brandstack.

The good folks at Brandstack came up with a way to reverse the brand creation process.   Frequently (always?) the entrepreneur must endure a maddeningly prolonged process that starts with their “big idea,” immediately followed by:

• (a) thinking of a company name
• (b) vetting it for availability
• (c) checking for available URLs
• (d) designing a logo and tagline
• (e) creating a stationery system, including business cards, letterhead, envelopes or labels,
• (f) designing the website, etc. etc.  

Brandstack reverses the process.  Designers from around the country (or globe), develop the brands first – including domain names, logos, template websites, and source rights to the IP – and put them up for sale in an open market for the would-be entrepreneur to browse. When the entrepreneur selects one, they can pay the suggested list price or make an offer. 

A clever way, indeed, to launch your very own super, rapid awesome brand.