Living Your Brand

Living. Your. Brand. These three words are easy to say and even sound like something good to do. But how many of us are truly doing it? And what does living your brand actually look like anyway?

The importance of living your brand has significantly increased over the past few years in light of increased competition, rising market expectations, and the need to create a unique, engaging, and motivating experience for members and staff. Because of this, I interviewed Karen McGaughey, VP/client services at Weber Marketing Group, Seattle, to get a better handle on the idea.

Q&A With Karen McGaughey

Paul: What does living the brand mean?

Karen: Brands are built through experiences and interactions. Living the brand requires an organization to be brand-focused in all its delivery channels. This includes how the brand is conveyed externally to target audiences, in the online user experience, and through the service delivered inside a branch. Two of the most overlooked components of living the brand is what it means to employees as well as what the expectations are of direct member-interfacing staff compared to those who function in a back-office role. Should the expectations be different? My answer is no. To build a brand culture and deliver rich member experiences, all staff needs to be operating from a consistent set of actions and behaviors that reflect a distinctive brand.

Paul: Why is it critical for a credit union to live its brand?

Karen: One of the greatest competitive advantages for an organization will come from aligning the operations and culture around its brand. For a brand to truly come to life, it needs to be embedded throughout the organization. The marketing department cannot do it alone. The brand needs to have a collective vision, with leadership focus, organizational-wide commitment, and clearly defined values with a set of defined actions so everyone is moving in the same direction and reinforcing the brand’s promise.

Paul: Is storytelling an important part of living the brand?

Karen: Brand storytelling allows us to engage audiences and elicit emotion. Brands should connect with members emotionally in order to be the provider of choice.

An excellent example of a credit union living its brand through all delivery channels is $3.8 billion BlueShore Financial in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2005, the credit union developed a prototype and brand experience called the “Financial Spa.” This new concept led to the development of a brand that helped them grow an enormous amount in eight years while only adding one branch and increasing members by just 5 percent. They live their brand through every element of their branch and online delivery, as described in this BlueShore Financial case study.

Other than a big sign on the building, most credit unions and banks stop branding at the threshold of their headquarters. This is a mistake. To maximize brand equity, credit unions need to take the brand into their operations areas so all staff has the same brand experience, and deliver the same to members through remote and decentralized delivery channels. BlueShore Financial decided its brand and branding initiatives had been so successful in the branches, online, and in the community, it would fully apply the same concepts to its new headquarters, which opened in November of 2014.

In Conclusion

While developing a new branch prototype can be the catalyst for organizational evolution, much more is required. There a few key points that should be remembered when considering and managing a brand transformation across your organization.

• Motivation must come from the top down to ensure full engagement, buy-in, and follow-through.
• A “brand champion” position must be created in the organization to oversee all aspects of brand development and operations across all departments and delivery methods. This champion ideally reports to the CEO, so he or she has the authority to maximize motivational opportunities and positive brand impact. The brand translation exercise helps break down organizational silos and rebuild a cross-functional brand delivery team.
• Keep both short- and long-term objectives in mind.
• Consider working with outside consultants that can provide an unbiased perspective and a holistic set of services to help shepherd your brand and organization forward.
• Ensure staff works within a consistent brand environment so the brand attributes become a visceral part of their daily experience and resulting expressions.
• Living the brand is not an exercise; rather, it is a way of life that must constantly evolve and improve. Embrace Kaizen—a constant movement toward perfection.

Forbes magazine states that the coolest companies in the world believe culture is everything. That means engaging your employees and members with an authentic, compelling story they are eager to share.

A well-developed, articulated, and delivered brand can be the catalyst that helps your credit union bring real positive change to your organization’s culture and ensure you deliver on your promise to members, staff, and your bottom line.

Paul Seibert, CMC, is principal/financial and retail design, for CUES Supplier member EHS, a NELSON Company, Seattle.