B2B Brand Strategy | Understanding Perception

The Consilium™ Model is a methodology for the enhancement, or creation of a brand. While the definition of a brand eludes even branding practitioners today, an examination of the underlying objective of a logo, label, monogram, mark, name or design reveals a commonality – such expressions serve to differentiate. The conclusion that branding is the process of differentiation; and that a brand is an idea in the mind, follows.

Brands exist at different levels: at the corporate level, companies are differentiated by their corporate brands; and at the product/service level, products and services are differentiated by their product brands.

To facilitate and assist our clients in the transformation of their successful businesses into highly differentiated global brands (building this requisite positive perception at the same time), the team at StrategiCom have pioneered the development of a research-based strategic brand management model – Consilium™. This proprietary methodology focuses on creating the brand strategy to drive a company’s marketing and innovation activities.

Consilium™ provides a structured mechanism to firstly measure, analyse and understand how key stakeholders perceive a brand. This provides business leaders with an insight on why their respective businesses have succeeded, failed or remained stagnant. With this objective analysis as foundation, the team then advises Clients on their brand’s position in the market – i.e. the category it needs to create, own, promote and dominate. Subsequently, using the framework of the 13 strategies of differentiation, the best way to perceptually differentiate the corporate brand from its key competitors is determined.

Once a brand is positioned and differentiated, the model allows for the creation of the brand architecture to align and manage all subsidiary corporate brands and product brands. Building coherent brand architecture is a critical part of a firm's overall brand strategy, because it provides a structure: to launch strong brands into other markets, assimilate acquired brands, and integrate strategy across markets. Just as architectural plans provide the basis for a sound building, good brand architecture will establish the plan for developing a sound brand strategy.

At this juncture, Consilium™ also focuses on creating a brand concept that determines how a particular brand should be articulated – so as to convey the general meanings associated with the brand.

A brand is not a brand until it is famous; and it cannot be famous unless it is dramatised and communicated. Consilium™ now uses the derived brand strategy to operationalise into integrated marketing communications methodologies– to increase the efficacy of these, they are creatively succint, yet dramatic and memorable. The focus on communicating to targeted key stakeholders allows for the composition of the 3 most important messages: thereby consistently communicating the position, differentiation and architecture of the brand. An implementation road-map finally charts out the milestone-based plan to launch and build the brand through various static & dynamic, online & offline media – in a consistent manner.

The entire brand strategy is then documented in a Brand Manual as a reference guide for the brand management process. This ensures consistency in which a brand builds its perception and associations in the mind of its stakeholders.