Did We Build a Better Brand?

This is Part 3 of a 13 part series entitled “Is it time to switch agencies?”  Each post will focus on a different question relating to the overall theme.  So far, we have tackled the question of whether or not one needs outside help, and what kind of outside help you should be looking for, assuming you need it that is. This week, we ask: “Did We Build a Better Brand?” 

Agency-client relationships can sour for any number of reasons.  Creative differences are one… unrealistic expectations, another.  Without question, though, one of the most common reasons also happens to be one of the most avoidable – misunderstandings.

Clients have a tendency to confuse branding agencies with design shops.  Agencies offer mountains, but clients choose molehills, mistakenly believing that a single aspect (design) will propel their brand to new heights.  Then, when problems arise and marks are missed, the client blames the agency for failing to deliver the mountains they originally promised.  “Where’s the ROI,” they say.  “You said that a new logo would win our brand new customers.  What went wrong?”

To borrow a phrase from Cool Hand Luke, “What we have here is a failure to communicate.”

The expectations from these situations are not grounded in reality.  A client wants the benefits of having a better brand, but they fail to follow-up on the agency’s toils throughout the collaborative process.  A client wants brilliant designs but refuses to take the time to educate themselves or heed recommendations on how said designs should be strategically developed and implemented to increase brand awareness.  If you truly want to build a better brand, start by accepting that there exists no magic formula for success.  Winning strategies succeed in direct proportion to the amount of time and energy placed into them.  Revisit discussions at every step of a particular project.  Assess market feedback.  Do anything but sit back and expect a few designs to do all the work for you.

Why?

Because branding and design are not the same.  The sooner life science brands wrap their minds around that, the sooner agencies and clients can begin to see REAL progress from their collaborative efforts, with the returns to match.

Brash as that last statement may come across, it needed to be said – not just for us but also for branding agencies across the globe.  Sugarcoating information may sound sweet to the ears, but too much of it will rot a brand from the inside out.  It doesn’t matter whether your company is a novice to the concept of branding or well versed in it; you need to comprehend how this misunderstanding – although it may seem harmless at first – can drastically hinder long-term growth, as you and your agency partner undertake the daunting task of building your brand’s equity.

Building a successful brand with mounds of equity requires defining long-term goals for your business.  How do you want to define your brand’s niche?  What do you want people to think when they interact with your brand? What makes you different? You see how this already goes well beyond a few design concepts? Design represents a piece of what defines a brand.  Mistakenly assuming that design alone will foster success is both naïve and delusional.  Not even a business’s technology and IP by themselves guarantee success these days.  Plenty of companies in the past made the mistake of thinking they could rest on their laurels because they have a leading technology.  Today, we see history rife with their carcasses.  Innovation PLUS customer experience creates winners in a modern business environment.   And not just any kind of experience either… it must be a radically differentiated one; otherwise, nothing remains to separate your brand from your nearest competitor’s.   Without it, you have failed to give your targets any strong motivations for why they should choose you over the next best option.

In our last blog post, we discussed the different types of partner agencies available.  When we encouraged you to consider your options wisely, this was why.  The selection process helps you to identify the ideal partner to aid your business in carrying out those long-term goals for your brand; the one agency in which you are willing to place your complete confidence.  Unfortunately, this is where most life science brands draw their proverbial line in the sand.  They fear taking conceptual risks, or relegate themselves to willful stagnation because they refuse to learn something new, even when their agency is willing to help them along the way.

It’s true – design shops can certainly provide brands with a stellar look to rival the best companies, but that will only carry a business so far.  Today’s brands need substance, they need to deliver consistently and strategically on all touch points of the customer experiences, which goes well beyond what a design-shop can provide.  You can’t build a mountain of brand equity out of a molehill.

So, that just leaves us with one question.  What has your agency done for your brand lately, or better yet… what have you “let” them do?