May, Wyne Conduct Brand Seminar

Brian and Monty recently conducted a branding seminar as part of the Chamber's "Business Building Blocks" program. This is an annual series of seminars conducted by local professionals in the marketing, sales, time management, and leadership fields. Seminars are held on the first Tuesday of every month for the entire year.

Over 40 people attended the event, including small business owners, corporate executives and representatives from other organizations. The presentation began with the three most important properties of a successful brand. It must be unique, ownable and relevant. The "idea" of branding has been around for 5,000 years. In ancient Mesopotamia, they carved images onto products to distinguish them from their competitors.

What is it about branding? Why all the talk about its importance? Today's consumers base their brand preferences on symbolic attributes and emotion. Brands become trusted friends. They take you to work. They fix you coffee in the morning. They wake you up. They make you feel good about yourself. There has to be an established sense of trust and an emotional connection for a brand to enjoy lasting success and relevance.

Following some break out exercises, where small groups had 20 minutes to solve a complex marketing problem of a large, well-known company, the seminar concluded with the three things that will ensure your brand becomes a success story. Guess you'll have to attend the next seminar to find out what they are.