Articulate your brand and put the right words in others' mouths

Brainstorm about your brand

PROJECT MILESTONE #1 (due 11/5):
PROJECT MILESTONE #1 (due 11/5):

First, gather all of your existing materials.

This could be website copy, mission statements, q&a's, about sections, press releases, etc. Highlight the language that you like, and the language you think could be improved. Often times positioning and messaging is written from the perspective of someone very close to the brand, and doesn't translate to external audiences. This portion aims to identify what is working and what could be improved.

The second portion of the assignment is to brainstorm all of the different constituencies for your communications as well as every potential touchpoint for your brand.

For example, you need language to speak to:

-Investors

-Users

-Press/influencers

-Potential talent/hires, etc.

These audiences often need to have a different approach. Write them all down.

Also, this week, please create a list of every touch point your brand has.

For example:

Website

Social channels

Customer service

In-store

User experience of an app

Checkout process

Internal communications

The idea here is the brand isn't just what you message to others -- though that is incredibly important -- but it is also an aggregation of dozens of tiny touch points. The best brands are hugely consistent throughout. Think about Apple's messaging and how consistent and polished it is across advertising, the user experience, the hardward design and the actual user experience of the interfaces.

PROJECT MILESTONE #2 (due 11/8)

A brand's communication doesn't happen in a vaccuum. Just because you might have the most polished pitch letter ever, doesn't mean an audience has to believe it. Especially journalists. This week, we'll endeavor to pressure test our messaging through a mock exercise.

From media to investors, list out the various audiences you'll talk to about your product and come up a list with all of the tough questions that you think they'll ask you. Then, you'll want to prepare a clearly articulated, simple answer for each. Put on your cynical journalist or difficult VC's cap and write out all of the hard stuff that you are struggling with or don't want anyone to ask you.

Some simple questions, but these will vary from business to business.

How is your product different from your competitors?

Why is there any market demand?

What is your monetization strategy?

The point here is to look at every stress point of your brand and interrogate it. In the process, you may find you come up with a better way of articulating your message then what you had in the first place.
Gather existing materials/brainstorm on experiences
First, gather all of your existing materials. This could be website copy, mission statements, q&a's, about sections, press releases, etc. Highlight the language that you like, and the language you think could be improved. Often times positioning and messaging is written from the perspective of someone very close to the brand, and doesn't translate to external audiences. This portion aims to identify what is working and what could be improved.

The second portion of the assignment is to brainstorm all of the different constituencies for your communications as well as every potential touchpoint for your brand.

For example, you need language to speak to:

-Investors

-Users

-Press/influencers

-Potential talent/hires, etc.

These audiences often need to have a different approach. Write them all down.

Also, this week, please create a list of every touch point your brand has. For example:

Website

Social channels

Customer service

In-store

User experience of an app

Checkout process

Internal communications

The idea here is the brand isn't just what you message to others -- though that is incredibly important -- but it is also an aggregation of dozens of tiny touch points. The best brands are hugely consistent throughout. Think about Apple's messaging and how consistent and polished it is across advertising, the user experience, the hardward design and the actual user experience of the interfaces.
Write up the dozens of tough questions you'll get asked
A brand's communication doesn't happen in a vaccuum. Just because you might have the most polished pitch letter ever, doesn't mean an audience has to believe it. Especially journalists. This week, we'll endeavor to pressure test our messaging through a mock exercise.

From media to investors, list out the various audiences you'll talk to about your product and come up a list with all of the tough questions that you think they'll ask you. Then, you'll want to prepare a clearly articulated, simple answer for each. Put on your cynical journalist or difficult VC's cap and write out all of the hard stuff that you are struggling with or don't want anyone to ask you.

Some simple questions, but these will vary from business to business.

How is your product different from your competitors?

Why is there any market demand?

What is your monetization strategy?

The point here is to look at every stress point of your brand and interrogate it. In the process, you may find you come up with a better way of articulating your message then what you had in the first place.

Communicate your brand

PROJECT MILESTONE #3 (due 11/15)
PROJECT MILESTONE #3 (due 11/15)

Write a series of 1-2 sentence mission statements for the company that seek to encapsulate the essence of what you are trying to do. Then, write a single paragraph that delves into a bit more detail.

An example from my friend Noah Brier's company, Percolate, that I think is strong.

Percolate helps brands create content at social scale.

Today brands are acquiring audiences at an unprecedented scale thanks to social platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. The challenge is to figure out what to say. Percolate solves this with its intelligent content platform, helping brands both scale and sustain their digital content strategies.

PROJECT MILESTONE #4 (due 11/15)

This is the final piece in the puzzle! Have all the written collateral you'll need to properly communicate your brand.

Write your one sentence description, your paragraph, as well as a few sample media pitches and any FAQ's that you need for your brand.

Additionally, you should create a list of some bloggers or reporters that you feel have written about similar subjects to your company and might be interested. Make a list of 3-4 people, with a one sentence rationale as to why they might be interested in learning more or writing about your product.
Craft your message / brand articulation
Write a series of 1-2 sentence mission statements for the company that seek to encapsulate the essence of what you are trying to do. Then, write a single paragraph that delves into a bit more detail.

An example from my friend Noah Brier's company, Percolate, that I think is strong.

Percolate helps brands create content at social scale.

Today brands are acquiring audiences at an unprecedented scale thanks to social platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. The challenge is to figure out what to say. Percolate solves this with its intelligent content platform, helping brands both scale and sustain their digital content strategies.
Write up your mission statement, pitches, and FAQs
This is the final piece in the puzzle! Have all the written collateral you'll need to properly communicate your brand.

Write your one sentence description, your paragraph, as well as a few sample media pitches and any FAQ's that you need for your brand.

Additionally, you should create a list of some bloggers or reporters that you feel have written about similar subjects to your company and might be interested. Make a list of 3-4 people, with a one sentence rationale as to why they might be interested in learning more or writing about your product.

Additional Resources

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663494/ideo-five-companies-that-mastered-social-medias-branding-potential

http://www.forbes.com/sites/lorikozlowski/2012/05/08/branding-your-start-up-how-soon-is-now/
http://mashable.com/2011/10/10/pr-startups/

http://www.briansolis.com/2008/05/pr-tips-for-startups-directors-cut/

http://www.inc.com/ilya-pozin/start-up-marketing-an-essential-road-map.html

http://venturevillage.eu/tips-for-startups-linkedin-konstantin-guericke

Elaine Matthias

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