Brand dilemma

Anil Constantine Brand Builder / Blogger

Every Brand Manager faces a dilemma.

How does s/he balance the Brand’s long-term ambitions with its short-term expectations? How does s/he balance the Brand equity requirements against instant profits? How does s/he balance the strategic against the tactical?

On one hand s/he envisions a glorious Brand in the long run that is nurtured and built carefully and systematically over time — A legend in the making — A larger than life possibility that the client might not have seen yet. Meanwhile the client (or employer) demands instant profits — Today. Actually yesterday.

As a Brand Manager, do you nourish the Brand with nutrients of a detailed, future-ready Corporate Identity program (as one would with a child) that will strengthen it over a period of time as it grows? or inject it with steroids for instant growth? The long route or the short?

How do you manage expectations?

In my experience as a Brand builder, I believe the answer lies within the Brand itself — The values it stands for and represents and distinguishes itself with — Values that are more than just USPs — Values that build Brand character — Brand Personality that markets can engage with.

Why? Consider who is engaging with your Brand. Is it a cold soulless machine? Or is it a flesh and blood living entity that has its own set of unique emotions?

Buying and selling is a transfer of emotions. All our purchases are driven by emotions. We might rationalize our purchases but we ultimately make our choices based on emotions.

Danger Ahead Digression! (DAD!) I’d love to own a silver Bentley and I’d build a solid case to rationalize my emotional purchase decision… That house on the beach… Red Telecaster with a…

As long as a Brand’s personality-building values are preserved in the tactical and the strategic, it has the best chance to deliver on expectations in the short-term and achieve dominance in the long — Because values are primarily based on emotions.

This will keep your client / employer happy.

Thanks for the short answer. Now, the long. How do you actually go about achieving all this?

Easier said than done.

I’ve broken it down across a few blogs I hope you’ll visit.

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The name is Anil Constantine and I enjoy building Brands. I really do. The very fact that I can take inanimate ideas, products and services, and bring them to life in the minds of people I might never even meet, or even visit the countries they live in, gives me great joy. A surreal sense of achievement.

I have discovered the scientific-art of Branding is uniform universally. And the challenges faced by Brand Managers / Owners are consequently uniform, universally. So I’ve decided to share from my 30+ years hands-on experience in building Brands to help in any little way I can.

On another note, if you think I’ll be a worthy Brand Advisor / Consultant / Manager / Creative Director / Copywriter on your Brand, or just want to vent ;-) I’d actually love to hear from you at anilconstantine7@gmail.com