The Logistics of Logistics The Logistics of Building a Brand with Chip Humitz
Joe Lynch and Chip Humitz discuss the logistics of brand building. As a top marketing and branding strategist, Chip explains the key elements of brand building and how it relates to the transportation and logistics space.
About Chip HumitzChip Humitz is the Marketing and Strategy Director at LUDWIG+, a full-service marketing consultancy. Chip has worked in marketing and brand strategy for over 25 years. Chip has significant experience and expertise on both the client and agency side of the business. Chip has held various positions of increasing responsibility with top marketing, advertising, and branding agencies. Chip's experience on the client-side includes stints at top consumer brands including Heinz, Domino's Pizza, and Mahindra Automotive. Chip earned a Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Advertising and Marketing from Michigan State University.
LUDWIG+LUDWIG+ is a full-service, women-owned marketing consultancy based in Bingham Farms, MI. LUDWIG+ excels in mind-blowing digital technology, infectious social media, brilliant strategic planning, laser-focused media planning, efficient media buying, insightful analytics, and a wicked creative powerhouse.
Key Takeaways: The Logistics of Building a BrandBrand and Brand Positioning Defined
- A brand is much more than just a logo or tagline. A brand should create value in the mind of your audience or customer.
- A brand is a set of expectations, memories, stories, and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer's decision to choose one product or service over another.
- Your company's brand is an image or idea that lives in the mind of your customer.
- Chip shared the following quote about branding, "A brand is a living entity – and it is enriched or undermined cumulatively over time, the product of a thousand small gestures" - Michael Eisner, CEO Disney.
- Brand Positioning can be defined as the positioning strategy of the brand with the goal to create a unique impression in the minds of the customers and in the marketplace.
- Positioning refers to the place a brand resides in the mind of customers. That brand can be a company's products and services, or the company itself. It defines the sales and marketing approach used with customers and can even affect the content of business proposals.
- Brand positioning is typically built around one of the following attributes: price, experience, access, product, or service.
- A brand value proposition and branding position is developed based on three factors: 1.) what you do as a company, 2.) audience (customer) wants and needs, and 3.) competitive environment.
- The brand is the salesman that is there when the salesman isn't there.
The Logistics of Building a Brand
- Discovery Phase
- During the discovery phase, the brand strategists will work with your team and customers to deep dive the 1.) audience, 2.) brand, and 3.) competitive environment.
- Talk with customers to fully understand how your company is perceived
- Determine what makes your company special – customer's perspective
- Customer perspective of your company – what are you know for
- What does your ideal customer expect? Want?
- Be completely honest in this assessment
- Develop a vision of what you want your company to be
- The vision usually becomes evident during the discovery phase. The branding process articulates and amplifies the positive things that were already happening at the company
- Pick a niche and then fully invest to own that niche
- Know everything your ideal customer wants
- Get the internal team aligned to the vision
- Make sure the employees understand the vision and why it is important
- Align the sales and marketing messaging to the vision
- Update marketing materials, websites, and social media to reflect the new brand