Branding is a big buzzword in marketing — always has been. And everyone who practices it has their own take on it.
For some, it’s barely more than the consistent use of logo and color palette. For others, it’s coming up with whatever story the consumer will buy. For D.P. Knudten, it’s all about knowing who you are—so you can be it.
D.P. has created a unique approach to branding, and he’ll share it at the November 27 Craft Marketing when he presents, “NonFiction Branding™: Discovering, Crafting and Communicating Truly Authentic Brands.”
D.P. Knudten
We talked more in-depth with D.P. about his upcoming presentation at Vintage Brewing. (Sign up here!)
1. Give us a little background on yourself and your experience with branding.
As a young copywriter, I learned the ins and outs, and the art and craft of branding while working in Atlanta on a certain brand of bubbly, sweet, brown water. The fact that I don’t have to say any more than that for you to name the company says everything you need to know about the power of branding.
2. What is your take on the state of branding in today’s digital world?
I see a lot of ‘skate where the puck was yesterday’ trend lemmings, and soulless imitators doing what they think works. But every once in a while, you can see a person or company who truly understands who they are, what they do, and how they do it, who is capable of communicating all that via marketing comms. These companies are destined to be the real winners—both short-term, and long.
3. What is “NonFiction Branding™?”
It is what is says: Branding based on the NonFiction foundation of your business, service or product. There is no right or wrong brand. There is only true, or false. NonFiction Branding™ is an approach dedicated to the former—creating a ‘completely true / completely you’ brand.
4. You mention in the description that your approach is based on physical documentation that’s “sustainable, scalable and everybody on the same page – able.” Can you give us a little more insight into that?
If a brand is created in a marketing department, does it make a sound? Not if it’s not communicated and enforced throughout the organization. How can you do that? Codify it on paper with images, concepts, examples and exemplars that effectively show (not just tell) what that brand is.
5. You also mention “shiny object” fluff — define for the studio audience, please.
It’s around us every day, capable of taking your attention off the ball, and diluting your efforts in seconds. Example? Social media as a ‘strategy.’ Solution? Smart, strategic use of ‘social media tools.’ There’s a difference.
Another example? Chasing whatever the cool kids say is cool today. Be like Apple. Let the market prove itself as legitimately viable THEN enter to dominate. Chasing ‘might work’ markets is a waste of real-world money. Oh, and actively choose to do FEWER things BETTER.
Click here to sign up for AMA Madison’s November Craft Marketing event!
Greg Mischio is the Owner and Strategic Director of Winbound. Winbound is a content marketing firm that provides an all-in-one content marketing and conversion optimization package specifically designed for small marketing departments. Read his post on how to start content marketing. Twitter: @gregmischio