Define Your Brand

A brand strategy expert explains why companies need to get on the same page about their identity

June 18, 2008
Edited by: Ken Beaulieu in: Brand Identity Marketing

If you look around your home or office, chances are you’ll see a product that has been influenced by Alan Siegel. Founder of the New York–based strategic branding company Siegel+Gale and author of Alan Siegel on Branding and Clear Communications, he has established himself as a singular authority on corporate identity development and the power of simple strategic communication. Siegel has worked with numerous companies and organizations over the past 30 years, including Xerox, 3M, Chubb Group, American Express, Dell, Novartis, and Harley-Davidson. FuelNet recently chatted with Siegel about the importance of creating a corporate identity with a clear and persuasive voice.

FuelNet: How would you define branding in today’s marketplace?

Siegel: When I first got into this business, it was called the identity business, and I think that’s a much more appropriate term than branding. A corporation is more than just a product or service; it’s an employer, a member of the community, and an investment. If you’re dealing with a company, you want to know what it stands for. Does it make a good product or offer a good service? Is it a good place to work? That’s a corporate identity — a much deeper and more accurate description.

FuelNet: In a saturated media market, how can you make your integrated marketing communication messages stand out?

Siegel: First, offer a product or service that has genuine value. Next, establish a brand identity of who you are and why others would like to do business with you. Then, deliver on that promise. Develop a clever and consistent way to communicate your brand identity to rise above the noise of the marketplace.

FuelNet: You’ve said that brand identity is more than just a message; it has to permeate throughout the company as shared values, from the president on down.

Siegel: Yes, it’s also behavior. It’s what you say as well as what you do. It really stands for something. Survey your employees and ask them what they really know about their company’s identity.

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