There are countless examples of Brands having suffered reputational damage in the digital space. 'United Breaks Guitars', BP increasing their ad presence after the oil spill accident, Sony's Playstation sites being hacked, the list goes on. There are positive examples too, such as the Financial Times successfully launching a web app. By using html 5 they bypass the 30% kickback Apple gets when selling in-app content.
But most examples show how Brands struggle with Social Media, viral videos and technical complexity imposed on them by the interactivity of today's Digital Ecosystem. It is urgent then to define a Digital Brand Strategy.
Why is Digital Different?
To me Digital is just a technology that connects humans with humans but also humans with machines and machines with machines. Digital connections facilitate communication, information exchange, storage and media consumption. In addition there are a few interesting characteristics that have consequences for everyone and that includes Brands, dealing with it.
1. Digital communication is fast as light and viral in nature. Information can reach millions of people in a matter of hours since information can be copied and forwarded immediately with the press of a button.
2. Digital is cheap and available to a very large part of the global population. A PC in an internet cafe or a smart phone is enough to create and send your own messages. Twitter is the example "par excellence" of a medium that can be used from almost all communication devices, including older smart phones at no cost. But in the right context it reaches further and is faster than any press medium is able to attain. The most recent examples being the protests in Libia and Egypt and the Tsunami in Japan.
3. Digital has a memory that cannot be erased. Paris Hilton can certainly confirm that one of the video's in which she features in her birthday costume will circulate for a while to come. It will an almost eternal reminder of a faux-pas she committed and which she by now might regret.
4. Digital is global. Again the examples of political protesters and the intense use of text messaging in Africa mean that more people have access to internet or more in general digital communication than ever before and the number of digitally enabled people is still rising.
5. Digital is personal. Facebook has more details about you than you might know. This can be used for a wide variety of purposes. The recent announcement by the Dutch air carrier KLM that they will allow customers to search for a seat next to someone by using Facebook profiles of potential travelers on the same flight illustrates how this can be put to use. The web being so personal means that we start to expect that brands personalize their brand experience around my needs and preferences.
The Brand image disasters from the pas decade clearly illustrate what the consequences of these 5 digital characteristics are. Brands have become accessible because digital is interactive where the interaction can be totally owned and driven by web communities. Brands are as a result more exposed to their customers' opinion and are scrutinized over their actions, communications and responses.
Digital is about Listening, Feedback and Feeding Back
Compared to 'classic' Branding & Brand Management, Digital means that Brands have to deal with potential feedback coming from an increasing set of channels. The following illustrates the difference between classic Brand channels such print and television and the Digital ecosystem.
The interactive connection between Brands and the Digital Ecosystem means:
- Brands are accessible and will receive Feedback from Digital Communities.
- But Brands also have the opportunity of feeding the Brand Values back into these communities.
- Digital also creates the opportunity of listening or monitoring how your Brand Values are perceived and live in the Digital eco-system.
I call this the concept of Accessible Brands. Accessibility means that Brands today are more fluid, nonlinear in their development and subject to scrutiny by their clients. The question now is how do you deal with this feedback coming from Digital interactions. How is this connected to the 'classical' Corporate Design & Corporate Identity guidelines.
From Accessible Brands to Brand Governance
The Accessible Brands concept means that Brands have to define a strategy specifically targeted at Digital interactions. How can Brand Managers ensure that Digital interactions are in line with Corporate Design and Corporate Identity guidelines?
It is here where the Brand Governance concept can add real value. What I define by Brand Governance is the following:
- Governance is the act of governing. It relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power or verify performance.
- It consists of either a separate process or is part of management and leadership process.
These processes and systems are typically administered by a government in the public sector and by the Brand Management department in the private sector.
Brand Governance can be seen as an extension of Corporate Design & Corporate Identity guidelines. The guidelines are there to manage expectations in Digital and grant power to e.g. the marketing department to act within the boundaries set. Brand Governance can only be successful if it is monitored in terms of its performance and effectiveness.
Brand Governance can also be regarded as a more specific form of Corporate Governance. It equally implies that stakeholders in the company take responsibility for Brand Communication and Interactions, against a broader Brand Value and Brand Purpose Framework.
What drives Brand Governance?
Brand Governance should be driven by Brand Values. In order for the Governance itself to be credible and effective the Brand Values themselves need to be authentic and positive.
So before even considering going deep into Digital Space it is important to conduct a Brand Value and Positioning analysis.
Suppose you feel comfortable with your Brand Value Proposition then it is the moment define how your Brand is governed in the Digital Ecosystem.
Governance should then include the following:
- Listen & Monitoring framework
- Planned Actions based on the Brand Values & the Insights generated from Listening & Monitoring
- Show Leadership by taking actions that generate discussions, feedback in line with your Brand Values and ideally reenforcing them.
- Guide your resources. The marketing people, editors and communication managers should have clear guidelines that help them interact, without boxing them in. At the same time these guidelines should help dealing with emergency situations. But better still they should help preventing catastrophes.
How to do Brand Governance: Easier Done than Said
Since Digital is the "raison d'être" behind The Accessible Brands and Brand Governance concepts, defining them for real world use is a 'brand' new task as well. Although one can define a lot of the guidelines by building on classic Brand CI & CD, adding to it the vast knowledge of expertise coming from the past decade of internet experiences, defining Brand Governance is a fluid process in itself.
Early adopters in Digital that have embraced Social Media at a very early stage have taken risks at first but now benefit from the learnings and best practices they've gathered. If you don't have defined your Brand Governance yet, then I would recommend the following:
Branding Governance: A Participatory Approach to the Brand Building Process
Nicholas Ind, Rune Bjerke, Wiley
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But most examples show how Brands struggle with Social Media, viral videos and technical complexity imposed on them by the interactivity of today's Digital Ecosystem. It is urgent then to define a Digital Brand Strategy.
Why is Digital Different?
To me Digital is just a technology that connects humans with humans but also humans with machines and machines with machines. Digital connections facilitate communication, information exchange, storage and media consumption. In addition there are a few interesting characteristics that have consequences for everyone and that includes Brands, dealing with it.
1. Digital communication is fast as light and viral in nature. Information can reach millions of people in a matter of hours since information can be copied and forwarded immediately with the press of a button.
2. Digital is cheap and available to a very large part of the global population. A PC in an internet cafe or a smart phone is enough to create and send your own messages. Twitter is the example "par excellence" of a medium that can be used from almost all communication devices, including older smart phones at no cost. But in the right context it reaches further and is faster than any press medium is able to attain. The most recent examples being the protests in Libia and Egypt and the Tsunami in Japan.
3. Digital has a memory that cannot be erased. Paris Hilton can certainly confirm that one of the video's in which she features in her birthday costume will circulate for a while to come. It will an almost eternal reminder of a faux-pas she committed and which she by now might regret.
4. Digital is global. Again the examples of political protesters and the intense use of text messaging in Africa mean that more people have access to internet or more in general digital communication than ever before and the number of digitally enabled people is still rising.
5. Digital is personal. Facebook has more details about you than you might know. This can be used for a wide variety of purposes. The recent announcement by the Dutch air carrier KLM that they will allow customers to search for a seat next to someone by using Facebook profiles of potential travelers on the same flight illustrates how this can be put to use. The web being so personal means that we start to expect that brands personalize their brand experience around my needs and preferences.
The Brand image disasters from the pas decade clearly illustrate what the consequences of these 5 digital characteristics are. Brands have become accessible because digital is interactive where the interaction can be totally owned and driven by web communities. Brands are as a result more exposed to their customers' opinion and are scrutinized over their actions, communications and responses.
Digital is about Listening, Feedback and Feeding Back
Compared to 'classic' Branding & Brand Management, Digital means that Brands have to deal with potential feedback coming from an increasing set of channels. The following illustrates the difference between classic Brand channels such print and television and the Digital ecosystem.
The interactive connection between Brands and the Digital Ecosystem means:
- Brands are accessible and will receive Feedback from Digital Communities.
- But Brands also have the opportunity of feeding the Brand Values back into these communities.
- Digital also creates the opportunity of listening or monitoring how your Brand Values are perceived and live in the Digital eco-system.
I call this the concept of Accessible Brands. Accessibility means that Brands today are more fluid, nonlinear in their development and subject to scrutiny by their clients. The question now is how do you deal with this feedback coming from Digital interactions. How is this connected to the 'classical' Corporate Design & Corporate Identity guidelines.
From Accessible Brands to Brand Governance
The Accessible Brands concept means that Brands have to define a strategy specifically targeted at Digital interactions. How can Brand Managers ensure that Digital interactions are in line with Corporate Design and Corporate Identity guidelines?
It is here where the Brand Governance concept can add real value. What I define by Brand Governance is the following:
- Governance is the act of governing. It relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power or verify performance.
- It consists of either a separate process or is part of management and leadership process.
These processes and systems are typically administered by a government in the public sector and by the Brand Management department in the private sector.
Brand Governance can be seen as an extension of Corporate Design & Corporate Identity guidelines. The guidelines are there to manage expectations in Digital and grant power to e.g. the marketing department to act within the boundaries set. Brand Governance can only be successful if it is monitored in terms of its performance and effectiveness.
Brand Governance can also be regarded as a more specific form of Corporate Governance. It equally implies that stakeholders in the company take responsibility for Brand Communication and Interactions, against a broader Brand Value and Brand Purpose Framework.
What drives Brand Governance?
Brand Governance should be driven by Brand Values. In order for the Governance itself to be credible and effective the Brand Values themselves need to be authentic and positive.
So before even considering going deep into Digital Space it is important to conduct a Brand Value and Positioning analysis.
Suppose you feel comfortable with your Brand Value Proposition then it is the moment define how your Brand is governed in the Digital Ecosystem.
Governance should then include the following:
- Listen & Monitoring framework
- Planned Actions based on the Brand Values & the Insights generated from Listening & Monitoring
- Show Leadership by taking actions that generate discussions, feedback in line with your Brand Values and ideally reenforcing them.
- Guide your resources. The marketing people, editors and communication managers should have clear guidelines that help them interact, without boxing them in. At the same time these guidelines should help dealing with emergency situations. But better still they should help preventing catastrophes.
How to do Brand Governance: Easier Done than Said
Since Digital is the "raison d'être" behind The Accessible Brands and Brand Governance concepts, defining them for real world use is a 'brand' new task as well. Although one can define a lot of the guidelines by building on classic Brand CI & CD, adding to it the vast knowledge of expertise coming from the past decade of internet experiences, defining Brand Governance is a fluid process in itself.
Early adopters in Digital that have embraced Social Media at a very early stage have taken risks at first but now benefit from the learnings and best practices they've gathered. If you don't have defined your Brand Governance yet, then I would recommend the following:
- - Have a good look at your CI & CD and core Brand Values. Are they consistent and based on a credible story. In short is your Brand authentic?
- - Listen to existing conversation around your Brand and monitor the discussions.
- - Define a first framework for Brand Governance guidelines.
- - Plan interactions
- - Analyze and learn from these actions and feed them back into your Governance policy.
- - Repeat step 4 and 5 while never stopping step 2 and occasionally revisiting step 1.
In short go Do and Learn. Or in the famous words of Nike's brand mantra: Just do it!
The Value of Brand Governance
Although no insights and research exists today in the actual value that Digital Brand Governance creates long term for business, it is clear that a quiet a few businesses have suffered already negative impact from Digital Feedback. The costs for the definition of Digital Brand Governance could therefore be allocated under marketing as well as financial risk management. My gut feeling is though that proper Brand Governance will create shareholder value because well managed Accessible Brands are more credible, better visible and closer to the primary revenue sources; their customers. This then can only contribute to the bottom line.
For further reading:
Value of Coporate Governance Lawrence McDonald
Branding Governance: A Participatory Approach to the Brand Building Process
Nicholas Ind, Rune Bjerke, Wiley
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