Brand v. Logo

"A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person.

You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well."   - Jeff Bezos

The words brand and logo are often used interchangeably at schools, but make sure you clarify these terms before you embark on any new endeavor in your communications office. It would be quite frustrating if the Board of Trustees asked you to create a new brand for the school only to find out that all they really wanted was a new logo. (aka- corporate identity)

What's the difference? You can easily identify a company's logo, but brand is sometimes more difficult to articulate. Just remember: {brand = emotion} and  {logo = art}. 

Let's use Starbuck's as an example. Of course they made headlines when they changed their logo to commemorate their 40th Anniversary last year, but the brand remains the same...it is all about creating an experience of personal service, inviting atmosphere, quality product, and consistency. That's the brand...the feeling you get when you think about it.  Good, bad or otherwise.

As schools we should embrace our individual brands and strive to articulate it in everything we communicate.

And if it really is a rebranding your trustees want, then hold on to your hat and call in reinforcements.  (I highly recommend Ian Symmonds and Associates...they have helped us beyond measure with Parish's 2011 Strategic Vision.)  Of course, after you create a new strategic vision you will need to create a communication plan to go with it, but let's save that for another day. It's late and I need a grande soy latte, extra hot with cinnamon on top.

P.S. - About the quote...I dig Jeff Bezos and he knows a thing or two about brand. In 2010, Amazon.com was named the most trusted brand in America.

Communicating a Shared Vision

In Module 2 of my MASCL program we are studying organizational culture and John Kotter is my new transformational hero. Here is a post I wrote earlier today that could be helpful if you are attempting a major transition:

In order to effectively communicate a shared vision, Kotter explains that communication must be "face-to-face whenever possible" (Deetz et all, 2000, p. 45). There are two important actions leaders need to take in order to ensure that the vision meets Kotter's vision criteria of imaginable, desirable, feasible, focused, flexible and communicable – engage in dialogue and demonstrate through actions.

Engage in Dialogue
“Presentation is not communication” (p. 45). Leaders must engage the constituents in dialogue rather than continuously bombard them with monologue and taglines. “Communication takes two – one to have meaning and send a message and another to hear it and decide what it means” (p. 45). Constituents are more willing to commit to the shared vision if they took part in creating it. Hence, the word shared. Ultimately, everyone wants to know, “What’s in it for me?” (p.45).

Demonstrate through Actions
Leaders need to do more than “preach the values,” they need to “get directly involved in the change effort” (Deetz et al, p.45). Nothing can derail a major transformation faster than hypocrisy. When leaders’ actions do not align with the shared vision, they destabilize the possibility of a successful transformation. The shared vision serves as the framework for the transformation and once established, it should be communicated with leaders and the internal constituency in order to help them articulate what Edgar Schein (2010) calls “espoused values” (p. 43).

NOTE: At Parish, we created a message framing document as a reference to help our brand evangelists articulate our shared vision. We also converted the doc to an iBook for easy access on smart phones. We encourage our constituents to let us know if what we are espousing is not congruent with what they are experiencing. Transparency is key when managing change.


References:

Deetz, S. A., Tracy, S. J., & Simpson, J. L. (2000). Leading organizations through transition: Communication and culture change. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc

Schein, E. H.(2010). Organizational culture and leadership, 4th edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Prezi

Prezi has been my "go to" presentation tool since some of the high school kids told me all about it in May 2010. It's as simple or as sophisticated as you want to make it.  And best yet...it's free for teachers, staff and students with school e-mail addresses.

I used it today to present on one of my favorite leaders of all time - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Check it out...all you have to do is click [more] then [full screen] then forward the slides by clicking the arrow at the bottom of the screen. Of course, you won't have my witty banter to go along with the slides...but hopefully you will enjoy the presentation just the same.

Launching a Strategic Vision

In the past, organizations were limited on how they could communicate a message to their targeted audience. And when it came to spreading the word about our 2011 Strategic Vision we decided to think outside of the text heavy printed "box" and create a "buzz" with an amazingly simplistic printed piece.

We then followed up with professional, but authentic, videos about our shared vision of the future.  It was a 6-month roll out beginning with branding the campaign as "Remarkable Realities" and launching with this large 12x12 printed brochure. Since as an organization we have cut-back tremendously on our printing, this size of printed piece arriving in the mailbox of every constituent successfully grabbed their attention.

Again, we worked with our BFF's at DL&a to create a piece that would knock it out of the park...and it did!

Going Viral on YouTube

Why?  Why do organizations want to go viral?  Yes, because it could potentially raise awareness of the organization, but it is also perceived as a badge of social media honor.  However, going viral on YouTube with a video that accurately shares information that you want shared is highly unlikely.  Geek.com reported in May of 2011 that 48 hours of videos are uploaded every minute to YouTube. That statistic helped put things into perspective for me, so it got me thinking...

Even though we have the potential to communicate on a global platform, it doesn't mean that our message needs to be global.  Make it as specific as you need it to be and then get it in front of everyone you need to see it. 

At Parish Episcopal School, we created a series of videos to share the message of what we aspire to become and why we aspire to become it.  The Little School that Dreamed Big kicked off our 2011 Strategic Vision launch and even though our views may seem low compared to a leprechaun sighting or a break dancing baby the message is reaching the people we intended.