Building the Internal Brand

So how would you go about creating an internal brand? Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Build your brand on your mission

The starting point for any brand is what the organization stands for. Its mission and vision, backed by culture and values, are what the brand means to the employees. Any deviation from mission and culture will strike a false note.

• Make leadership the brand driver

The brand needs your senior management support in order to survive. It’s as simple as walking the talk. Leaders need link their goals to organizational goals — a powerful way to do this is through branding. When leaders are in synch with the organization, they have a better chance of getting results. At the same time, a leader pushing change can use brand to drive the transformation by finding the impetus and support for the initiative inside the culture.

• Nurture the brand through communications

Brand without communication is like an unlabeled can on a shelf by itself — you don’t know what it is and you really don’t care. Any communication tool, from a broadcast email to an all employee meeting, reinforces the brand. Choosing which media and when depends upon the message; the heavier the brand message, the more media you will need. To keep it fresh and vital, email and banners might do the trick. Again, keep the communications consistent with the brand identity, image and aspirations.

• Inject a sense of fun into the brand

Who says life inside an organization has to be dull and boring? Link the brand to activities in the organization that are of a less formal nature; e.g. corporate outings, off site activities, after hours bowling or softball leagues. Your branding can be as simple as displaying your corporate logo on a banner promoting your upcoming ice cream social, or putting your logo on hats made available to corporate retreat attendees. After all, part of brand identity is merchandising. In this way, your brand becomes a unifier and reinforces your organizational culture.

• Grow the brand

Organizations either grow or they die. Same for brands. The brand must be inclusive and by that, it must embrace new initiatives that arise with regularity. Think brand extensions. For example, if manufacturing rolls out a quality initiative, the team would be well served by linking the quality to the company wide brand. In doing so, they add credibility as well as awareness.

http://www.brandxpress.net/2005/09/building-an-internal-brand/