A Camping Trip and a Brand Strategy

Several years ago, a friend of mine and I set off on a trip to a predetermined destination. We knew the general location of the destination and had a general idea of how to get there. Like all true men, we relied on our innate, internal compass to guide us on unknown roads through unknown forests to our desired ending point. As embarrassing as it may be to admit now, we ended up about 50 miles off course and eventually had to stop and wake up a park ranger in a remote cabin in Yellowstone National Park (which we never even intended to enter) at 10 o’clock at night to ask for directions.

There are great excuses for our detours. I could explain the poor directions we were given, the road we missed because the sign was missing, the . . . . At the end of the day though, the result was the same. We didn’t end up where we wanted to be. We spent several hours and a lot of extra money in fuel (we were driving a 1975 Ford F-150 that got about 10 miles to the gallon) before we ultimately arrived at our destination. When we arrived, we were disappointed to find that the camp site was closed for the night.

We were forced to spend the night next to the highway on the lawn of my friend’s grandma with no campfire and no tent. Pretty disappointing.

So what does this story have to do with building a brand?

All of us view ourselves to some extent or another, as managers of our businesses and our brands. With that often comes a sense of innate and internal ability to “manage by the seat of our pants”. We set out on a general course with some sort of an idea as to where we want to go but rarely sit down and work out the details as to how we will get from point A to point B. Much like my friend and I, we sometimes find ourselves waking up the proverbial park ranger, 50 miles from our destination with lots of excuses and feeling pretty disappointed that we didn’t end up where we wanted to. We end up on the front lawn of our grandma’s (not that we don’t love our grandmas) instead of roasting marshmallows by a campfire singing Kumbaya with our buddies. We spent a lot of time and extra money getting somewhere that we really never wanted to get to in the first place.

What can we do as business and brand managers to end up where we want to in the least amount of time and with the least amount of cost?

It all starts with a plan. For it to really work it needs to be (1) thought out, (2) written out and (3) carried out.

First: Thought out

Your branding won’t happen overnight nor will it happen automatically. It will need to be tried, tested, reworked, tried again . . . It deserves real thought on your part to make sure it is done right.

Involve several people. Ask employees. Ask customers. Really dig into what makes you unique and special and sets you apart from everyone else who claims to do what you do.

Take the time and make the effort to really develop a brand that you can build and that is worth building.

Second: Written out

Write it down. Written goals have a way of transforming wishes into wants; cant's into cans; dreams into plans; and plans into reality. Don't just think it -- ink it!

Third: Carry it out

“Success doesn't necessarily come from breakthrough innovation but from flawless execution. A great strategy alone won't win a game or a battle; the win comes from basic blocking and tackling.” (Naveen Jain, US Entrepreneur and CEO)

So it is with branding.

Make the time to develop a plan. Your brand and your future are worth it. Know what you want, write it down and then go out and get it.

Good luck. You can do it.