Brand Energy

Have you ever felt stuck in a rut, where nothing, not even the air was moving in your office?

Your people feel like they could do with a holiday, even when work has been less than hectic?  When you step into the office, do you immediately feel like leaving?

If you answered yes to any of the above, chances are you are suffering from low brand energy. Yes --  low brand energy. In Cantonese, the use the word Yen Hei or Ren Qi in Mandarin, which, translated, means "people energy".

Thriving, productive places have a certain buzz about them. It may be quiet but you can virtually hear the silent moves of purpose -- people walk with it and work with it.

It's a simple idea. Your brand is really brought to life by the people who care for it and nurture it -- from the dutiful receptionist to the visionary CEO. When everyone is motivated, their collective energy becomes the fuel that drives great work, which in turn gets business in.

The buzz of an energetic brand
(Image from www.business.burritos.com)

Speed up or die?

TWO weeks ago at the Khazanah Mega Shift event, I attended a talk by Chris Zook of Bain and Company. The topic was about Speed. Apparently we are now entering into an era of speed. Zook talks about how things are changing so rapidly that if we are to survive, we need to speed up as well.  For companies and organisations, this means that the most adaptable and agile are those who thrive over the competition.

Image sourced from: http://francisyeng.blogspot.com

Mark Zuckerberg, of Facebook fame, talks about eschewing perfection in favour of getting things done and I subscribe to that wisdom. There are times when we can talk or deliberate ourselves out of things and programmes that are beneficial for us. At one time or another, we've all dealt with organisations out there who can take months just to approve a brand or communications exercise and this was in line with world class ISO procedures. Compare this to the telco companies who now have a 48hr turn around time for new campaigns. Well apparently,  the new world class waits for no man.

So where does branding fit in with this clarion call for speed? Is speed everything? Do we then sacrifice quality for speed? In a world of constant flux, does branding become the compass? If you have a clearly defined brand, are you more likely to make decision for and against speed? Ultimately, are the best organisations those that deliver both quality and speed? Let me know what you think.

Much Ado about Awards

Last week, for the first time, I attended an awards ceremony where my brand was nominated for an award. The nomination came as a surprise as it was from industry clients. I must admit, after the incredulity wore off, I began to feel a little chuffed, as well as tremendously grateful.  Truth be told, I am not a fan of local awards. Even though I feel that they are important to some extent, there is always a lingering feeling that they celebrate and perhaps nurture a big fish in a small pond syndrome. However I was determine to put my skepticism aside, observe and perhaps learn what the industry at large was doing in terms of ideation and innovation.

The venue was impressive and the flow of cocktails and drinks more so.  There was definitely a lot of flash, pomp and ceremony to start and there was excitement in the air, fuel high on alcohol and hunger pangs. The line-up of nominees were equally impressive and kudos to the organisers for being as inclusive as possible in a rather diverse and sometimes fragmented industry such as branding, advertising, media, events and communications. There were awards for PR, Brand Consultancy, Media, Social Media, Viral etc.. Even my clients were suitably impressed as they valiantly came to cheer me on. The night was looking promising.

Are you aligned?

Today was a good day as I had just finished a brand alignment workshop with a key client. After nearly 5 months, it was now time to put things into action. As a consultant there is always an air of apprehension as to how the team will receive the brand and will they understand the brand enough to apply it across the organisation to begin building a brand centric culture rather than an organisation led culture. But they passed with flying colours, able to grasp the core of the brand and how they would like to align it internally.

For a brand to succeed, you have to have the right people on the bus. What do we mean by the right people, well that really depends on your brand. Which is why branding is important for culture building.

Founders, owners, senior management, all of you are responsible for the creation of the brand. You need to know what type of brand you want to be.

Is branding really necessary?

So last week I got a nice surprise over the phone to say that The Listening Tree has been nominated for Brand Consultancy of the Year by the Advertising and Marketing magazine. I was immediately grateful for the nomination and I must say it came at the right moment when I was wondering if branding in Malaysia was necessary. Not the branding aka marketing and communications but branding as a form of culture building to boost morale, loyalty and performance.

Through the years, I have come across many employees who are amazing people but due to a combination of our education system and the Asian culture of respect and conformity, have somehow let themselves become worker bees instead of leaders or even visionaries. In an organisation where 90% of them are worker bees, the journey towards establishing a standout brand is a long one, as the brand is literally being pushed upwards by only a few key people at the top.

The journey is not unlike that of Sisyphus' -