What is THE most important thing your brand can do right now?

As a Creative Director, I have the privilege of working with a variety of organizations that all have very different needs and goals and assets. When you are exposed to so many different problems to solve and so many different clients to serve, you start to notice patterns in activity, choices and behaviors.

Think about it. Any given day, I can hear questions like the following:

• How should we say the things that are really important to our audience?
• How should things look if they are to really connect with our audience?
• Do we already have the assets (logos, messaging, photography, “look" etc.) that we need to make the most of the moments where we might engage with our audience?
• How do we make the most of our visual assets and voice so we can reach our goals?

These are all really great questions that all need answering but, they only address a symptom. They are “band-aid” solutions for what are typically deeper desires and problems that organizations face like:

• We are not seeing the results we want to see.
• The world is passing us by and we don’t know what we can do to change that.
• We’ve noticed that our audience has decided that a different organization is better than ours (or, better said as “we are losing relevance and influence among our audience”).
• We are just starting out and we want to make sure that we are off to a great start!

Being able to articulate bigger picture problems and goals is how you take a huge step toward identifying a path to success. Why is it so important to talk to a marketing and technology agency like The A Group about these deeper issues, as opposed to just requesting the “band-aid” project? Because you will get a more effective solution that will conquer the deeper issue and set your organization up for long-term success! Wouldn’t you want that?

This leads us the the biggest question of all: What is THE most important thing your brand can do right NOW?

The answer might not be what you expect, but here it is:

Get your bearings. Triangulate your brand. Figure out where you are.

So what in the world does that mean?

When I think about my own life and need to “get my bearings” I will usually write down my accomplishments, write down my goals, figure out my resources and look for examples of success around me that could help me learn. I put together an informed plan to get to my goals and get to work. I think the same could apply to your church, nonprofit or ministry’s brand. You have to look at those around you that seem to be getting it right and ask “what is the difference between what they are doing and what we are doing?” Ask yourself questions like, “has my audience/community changed?” or “are we still doing, what it is that we do, for the right reasons?"

Once you are armed with that information, you can decide if you want to create an original, more unique pathway to success, or emulate a path that has been proven.

Every brand has a life-cycle. Every brand is experiencing something that seems unique to them, but many have been there before and found success…or failure. Figuring out where your brand is in its life-cycle is a good way to make an informed decision about your next steps.

If you need help answering these questions and "getting your brand’s bearings”, know that The A Group works with brands like yours every day. When you work with an agency like The A Group, the answers you will get, while tailored to you, are informed by an awareness of the many other clients we’ve served that were standing right where you find yourself, and have found success. Let's chat!

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