The Yahoo! we know today is just the tip of the iceberg of where the company and brand are going in the future. The challenge will be repositioning the brand that has for so long been associated with search and as the brand tagging along behind Google, into a brand that delivers a more experiential and less transactional promise.

I’m rooting for Yahoo, and I think repositioning the brand could be what saves it.  I give props to Carol Bartz for recognizing that the online market has changed and for trying to catch up.  There is deep value in the Yahoo! brand, and watching it struggle in recent years has been unfortunate. 

The repositioning of Yahoo! won’t succeed overnight.  It’s going to take time, investment and patience.  According to Bartz (and despite all the rumors and negative press to the contrary), the majority of Internet users still visit Yahoo!  Perhaps the shift in brand perception among consumers doesn’t have to be a rough road.  Only time will tell, but it sounds like Bartz is on the right track. 

Watch the video interview with Bartz to hear her take on the future of Yahoo! firsthand. 

What do you think?  Can Yahoo! rebound?

Image: Flickr

Following are five core steps to help you get started with a strategic plan to build a brand for your business.  These are certainly not the only steps to brand-building, but they are at the heart of developing any brand strategy.  Read my 5 Rules of Branding post to learn the steps you should take to build your brand after you’ve developed your brand strategy.

1. Research the market.

Before you can begin thinking about your own brand, you need to understand the state of the market in which your business operates. Until you understand the existing market, you can’t fully define where you want your brand to be positioned within that market. Take the time to investigate the market, your competition, threats and opportunities. Then sit down and evaluate where your business fits in the existing market and where you want it to fit going forward. That’s your business’ position in the market. Once you know your position, you can define a brand message that accurately reflects that position.

2. Define your primary brand message.

Ask yourself how you want your business to be perceived by customers. The answer to that question determines the goal of your primary brand message. Next, you need to map out the steps to get to that goal. How do you need to present your business through marketing communications, employee communications, customer service, etc. to gain the reputation that will lead you to reaching your branding goal? Outline the tactics you need to take to build that reputation and the messages that will help you develop that reputation, and your brand image will grow organically in the minds of consumers.

3. Consider long term objectives up front.

A dangerous error that is commonly made in the early stages of defining a branding strategy relates to being too short-sighted in outlining your goals. Take into account not just short term goals but also long-term, stretch goals as you develop your brand strategy. For example, don’t choose a brand name for your business or product that doesn’t allow for future growth to various target audiences. While a new company may only cater to female employees in the beginning, that strategy could change dramatically as the business grows. The Women’s Business might not be the right name for a company ten years down the road.

4. Be consistent.

Strive to develop a brand strategy that allows you to be consistent in all of your communications and business touch points. An inconsistent message from one day to the next or one department to another can destroy all the work you’ve done to develop your brand image. From the representation of your logo and the colors used in your printed materials, to the way employees speak with customers, each part of your business needs to accurately communicate your brand strategy.  Integrate the need for consistency in all your brand development efforts and make it a key part of your overall brand strategy.

5. Don’t give up.

Creating a brand takes time. You need to be relentless in building your brand image and presence in the market. That means you have to be persistent in communicating your brand at every opportunity.  Get ready to commit to developing your brand for the long haul and be prepared retool your brand strategy to meet the changing needs of the market.

Image: Flickr

1. Image

If you develop your brand effectively, over time, your logo will become the most recognizable icon of your business and product.  It’s important to choose a graphic that appropriately demonstrates your brand’s image and values.  Make sure no part of your logo could be considered offensive, and if your company is global or could become global in the future, make sure it’s not offensive in other countries.  Try not to be too trendy.  Select a design that can be timeless.  Creating a new logo in a few years can be expensive and requires a rebranding investment that you may not be able to take on in the near future. 

2. Color

The colors used in your logo are important not only in terms of production (see “Printability” below), but also in terms of how logos are perceived psychologically.  Do some research about the meanings behind colors, and take a close look at your competitors’ logos.  You want your logo to be appealing aesthetically, and you want it to help differentiate you from the competition.

3. Printability

So many companies choose logos on aesthetics alone without taking production issues into consideration.  For example, printing halftones on promotional items like coffee mugs and t-shirts can often be a problem.  What if your budget doesn’t allow you to print all of your marketing materials like brochures, advertisements, direct mail, etc. in full color?  You may have to print in 1-color or 2-colors to meet your budget restrictions.  Make sure your logo will translate well to black and white and 2-colors.  Additionally, stick with colors from the most common print production color palette, Pantone, rather than custom colors.  The size of your logo can also affect it’s production quality, so make sure your logo works in small and large formats (e.g., business cards and banners or billboards).

4. Consistency

Once you’ve chosen your logo design, make sure you use it everywhere to represent your brand, and make sure it is always used consistently.  That means it should always look the same.  Everyone in your company, your business partners, and anyone else who may print or use your logo, needs to understand how the logo is to be used, which brings us to #5 – “Guidelines.”

5. Guidelines

To ensure your logo is used correctly and consistently at all times, it’s important to develop some basic guidelines for logo usage.  For example, you need to define the colors used in the logo for consistent printing.  If you selected any, you need to define preferred secondary and tertiary colors that can be used in printed materials.  You need to define the background colors that the logo may or may not be printed on.  You need to define the amount of required white space surrounding the logo.  I could go on and on about different guidelines you may want to consider, but these are some of the most important. 

Bottomline, your logo is another extension of your brand’s message, image and promise.  You need to communicate your message and promise in every aspect of your business to fully develop your brand, and your logo is no exception to that rule.  If that consistency in your brand message doesn’t carry over to your logo, then your logo is just a useless piece of clipart. 

Do you have any important “Do’s” to add to this list?

Image: Flickr

In other words, President-elect Barack Obama ran a campaign based on an inclusive brand promise, while Senator John McCain’s campaign focused primarily on his core supporters, conservative Americans, with many people outside of that demographic feeling excluded.  While Barack Obama spoke of wanting to meet with world leaders regardless of the United States’ current relationship with them in order to start a dialogue and move forward, John McCain repeatedly stated that he would not sit down and converse with these same leaders.  At the end of the day, the majority of Americans supported the brand promise of inclusion and cast their votes for Barack Obama.

The results of the election demonstrate a shift in thinking that can be directly applied to consumerism as well.  Earlier this week, I was corresponding with a potential client that has a reputation of being exclusive – you’re with us or against us, not unlike the George Bush doctrine that Senator John McCain continued in his own campaign.  I mentioned to this client that the social web has dictated a change in brand strategy away from being exclusionary to being inclusionary.  In short, I’d rather have the online buzz about a brand be supportive and positive than negative, simply because some consumers don’t feel welcome to the party, so to speak. 

Naturally, every brand has its core demographic customer, or its “best” customer, but that doesn’t mean consumers who don’t fit the mold should be made to feel any less valuable.  It’s a fine line between boosting ROI from your marketing initiatives and maintaining an inclusive brand image.

The lesson to learn is to embrace all consumers using a brand promise of inclusion – everyone is welcome to the brand party.  While every consumer might not be 100% happy with your brand or might not support every aspect of your brand promise, it’s better to agree to disagree and move forward in unity than it is to turn your backs on consumers. 

This could be considered a protectionist strategy, but the power of the social web has dictated a shift.  Brands must get on board and leverage the power of the online buzz and citizen journalism or they risk consumers feeling excluded and driving a negative buzz that can damage a brand in the short and long-term.

What do you think?

Image: Flickr