What we do differently

Brands come from within, not from the perceptions of our audiences or markets.

In other words, a company is what it is, not what they’d like their customers and prospects to think they may be. A brand is not just a promise of distinction, as some would have you believe.  It is evidence of distinction.

In the past, many believed that to discover the essence of a brand, one would individually interview key executives, rank and file employees, channel partners, customers and prospects. And, in the end, create a matrix that pointed to the most common perceptions or opinions as to who the company was and what it did differently – and if the brand didn’t necessarily live up to those perceptions, adjustments would be made to accommodate – a test tube brand, if you will.

Only one problem.  All the brand’s competitors were doing the same interviews, getting the same answers and making the same adjustments. The outcome was often the perception that all brands are alike. The market would declare:  “I’ll take the least expensive.”

Central to brand development is a trademarked brand discovery process called “Turning the Telescope.”  It was perfected in 1985 and refined over the next 20+ years to become recognized nationally as a consistently effective brand-building tool (Some of our Brand Establishment members have given the process their owned branded name, but the process is still the same).

The new criterion dictates looking inward rather than out, avoiding time-consuming and costly interviews and realizing the true essence of the brand through internal discovery. Turning the Telescope has accomplished this for hundreds of marketers in literally every business category with amazing efficiency.

Turning the Telescope focuses inside, rather than on the street.  It examines the advertiser, its history, products, people and culture.  In other words, when we look inside, we can explore and discover the essential difference of the brand – where it comes from, how long it’s been around, what the company is all about, its culture, values, personality, what makes it different, and so on.  Once clarified, that marketer can then develop a truly unique and distinctive brand identity – one that its audience can choose for a reason other than price.

There are several other steps in the brand development and branding process, of course, but the core component is always brand discovery and that leads to intelligent, creative brand planning which will ultimately lead to a successful new or renewed brand.