Over the course of the past few weeks I have led many discussions about the evolution of branding, especially in the context of education branding. Each time I do, I am asked about literature on the topic. I always recommend that people read Taking Brand Initiative by Mary Jo Hatch and Majken Schultz. The authors provide several case studies of brands within the framework of what they refer to as the Three Waves of Branding. The first wave of branding is the marketing mind set, followed by a second wave of branding, the corporate mind set and finally a third wave of branding, the enterprise mind set.
When I think about the three waves I associate them with the evolution of brand building. Most organizations start off by the marketing department hiring an advertising agency to help them develop a logo, tagline or advertising campaign. Usually those solutions are not sustainable, and very expensive. After a chilling out process the organization realizes that they need to do something more (as I suggest from the beginning) and think about the mission, core values and engaging more stakeholders in the branding process. If executed properly it is at this critical stage when the organization has the opportunity to build an enterprise mind set where every touch point and every employee fully understands and embraces the brand strategy. Think Southwest Airlines.
Because the economy is forcing most organizations to now do more with less and place more value on their mission, core values and employees, I am confident that more organizations will experience the second and third waves. I do most of my work in education. For the past 10 years the majority of educational institutions have embraced a brand strategy, but have limited their focus on the first wave. Now is the time to ride the second and third waves. Those are sustainable. The evolution of branding usually includes the three waves of branding. If you are smart you will realize that you can skip the first wave and go right to the reason why you are in business to begin with, your mission, your core values, and your employees. It is more effective to recruit and retain brand champions based on your organization purpose and what you stand for, rather than the cool new ad campaign that costs a fortune and connects with no one.
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