How To Get Your Executive Team On Board With The Benefits Of Branding

Author: Ian Haughton, Creative Director of Handsome

When trying to articulate the benefits of a new brand to your executive team, two factors are important, finding a common language and then phrasing this language in terms of growth.

Many people we speak to arrive at the pitfall of trying to define “branding” to their executive teams. As the word is so amorphous, and with varying interpretations by “branding experts” as to what the term involves, why not try to avoid arriving at a concrete definition but merely discuss how in today’s market, where there is so much background noise, being differentiated and clearly and simply communicating your company’s purpose is even more crucial. Your board is likely already adept at doing this verbally to many stakeholders, it is therefore crucial to emphasize that these same concepts need to be carried consistently through the visual extension of your business.

You should also remember that each member of your executive team is likely to have a different understanding of the importance of identity design and what ‘brand’ actually is, varying from something that is integral to the way the company functions to those who see it as a logo and nothing more. However, given that your leadership team will spend 95% of its time thinking about growth and only 5% about brand, speak to them in terms of growth, not brand. Growth is a ‘must have’ where as brand and design can be perceived to be a ‘nice to have’, by moving brand into growth it becomes a ‘must have’.

In order to make the ‘growth’ concept more material, you must first identify the type of growth your company is trying to generate. Is it growing revenues? Attracting talent? Building reputation? Then identify the barriers to this growth, is it increased competition or the company is perceived as old fashioned? Then articulate how clearly differentiating and clearly communicating through identity design will remove these barriers.

For example, we were tasked by The Body Shop to look at their brand in response to flagging sales at stores. The brand had grown dramatically since 1977, but their brand had been neglected and so wasn’t as clear or as strong as it could be. The continual expansion of its product line had led to drastic inconsistencies in pack design, the information became hard to locate on packs and the stores were cluttered and difficult to navigate. The marketing department were tasked with increasing sales, but the brand was looking tired and they were no longer the only ethical company on the block. We were brought in by the design and marketing departments to take a broad view. A complete brand overhaul followed, including a new position and identity and a clear visual system for all packaging. The Body Shop was then able to reduce the time and resource its in-house design team spent on developing packaging for new products. We developed new store signage and clearer way finding and promotional areas. All this was done in close collaboration with the in-house marketing and design teams. These new test stores recorded a 20% growth in revenues within the first quarter. One year later, the business was sold to L’Oreal for $1.05 billion.

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In summary, finding a common language with your board and moving brand firmly into the growth agenda can assist you in getting your executive team onside to the benefits of branding. Lastly, we encourage you to be social with your ideas on how design can help your company, resist the urge to work in silo. This urge can be particularly acute if your company does not have a tradition of recognizing the value of design. Give the project a shared sense of ownership and exploration of new knowledge. This will help you develop this common language with the board we have discussed and, finally, do not underestimate the power of design to be optimistic and highly inspirational, that’s something they might not get to see every day.