I was reading a piece my partner, Mike, wrote a little while ago titled, "Are you brand happy?" It reminded me that as the world continues to become more and more complex and intertwined with the rapid explosion of social media, the importance of this simple question increases considerably.
It’s never been easier, or harder to tell your story. This is where being “brand happy” comes into play. (Brand happy, the state of branding everything you touch.)
To have highly effective communications these days, everyone has to be on the same page. Your audience needs to clearly understand your message and know that you deliver on your brand promise. Keep in mind that a brand is a customer’s gut feel about your product, service or company; it’s what they say it is vs. what you say it is.
That’s why the decision on what to brand is such an important one. The number of brands you choose to build will have a significant and lasting impact in your business for years to come.
Now, what happens if Web addresses could end with anything including your brand name. Imagine the complexity that would bring to the protection of your branded name(s). Well that’s going to happen too. Check out http://usat.me/?34687748.
It is time to really start thinking about what is worth protecting. One simple test is to see if your internal people can keep all of your brand names and trademarks straight. If they can’t, I assure you that neither can your audience. As mind share becomes harder to find, market share harder to get and trademark protection harder to ensure I think all of us need to ask if we’re brand happy.
—Bob Freytag, President @ Introworks