Live Your Brand — Be a Part of Your Community

Posted on May 31, 2007
Filed Under Brand Elements, Brand Integrity, Branding, Christopher Kirk, External Branding, Visual Branding |

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It is a sign of healthy brand implementation when a company actually lives out their brand. What use is a brand if you don’t maintain it through your company actions or if you don’t publicly implement it in your community? When you have a brand set, implementing it in how your company operates, how you engage clients, and how you gain exposure in the community will determine its effectiveness.

I pass a State Farm Insurance agent’s office every day as I take my kids to school. State Farm’s tag line is, “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.” What caught my attention about this particular agent was her roadside marquee. For the nine months that I drove by her office last year, I can only remember once when her message was about her actual product and a special she was offering. Every other time, she has used her marquee to show her involvement as a citizen of her community.

Here are a few examples. When the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament was taking place, she would cheer for the schools in our area that were still competing and encourage those who were eliminated, all through her marquee. When the tragedy of the shootings at Virginia Tech happened, she sent her condolences to those affected. When Dr. Jerry Falwell, a famous television evangelist who’s ministry is based in our area, passed away, she had a message of comfort to those close to him and to the institutions influenced by him. Again, this was all done through her marquee.

Granted, this is a small way to live out your brand, and it does take more than a roadside marquee to have an effective brand in your community. But this State Farm agent used a resource that was available to her in order to accomplish living out her brand. She is acting out being a “Good Neighbor,” just as her brand states.

What opportunities or resources do you have available to you? Maybe it’s a Little League team, a non-profit event, a website, a roadside marquee, a bumper sticker, a business card, a book that you wrote, a kiosk or a product display. Whatever is available to you, opportunities and resources need to be exploited to live your brand out in the community.

The State Farm agent had a tag line that made it easy to live out her brand and engage the community she is in. Perhaps all of our tag lines should be so integrated so we can live out our brands.

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