Brand O'Connor? and other thoughts on seamless branding.

 The graph below from the Business Resource Centre shows an astronomic increase of the phrase “branding” a key element for Public Relations as stressed not only by lecturers and academics, such as Clifton and L'Etang but increasingly by the masses.  Companies, sports clubs, political parties and even countries are now seeing themselves as brands. This weeks guest lecturer Mike Crossman from EMC Consulting took this relatively new idea even further into the future, discussing the idea of the seamless brand. 

To put this idea into a human perspective lets consider myself, Amy Lauren O'Connor, as a brand. In PR terms my brand is what I am trying to portray to the masses or selective audiences to create a reputation. So to portray myself as an intellectual, fun loving and ambitious student I work hard, enjoy many sports and activities such as skiing and always try to promote these qualities to my audience. To make myself a seamless brand however more details must be added, using Mike's theory of seamless branding I have the basics right but have I layered on the experience?? He used the example of the common 404 error page and how some companies such as River Island use this page to promote their brand and others miss out on this opportunity by using an unspecific template. Now, I don't have a website but it doesn't mean I cant apply this same theory of using a negative (such as a 404) and stamp a personal and positive brand to it. This is why I have created a simply bounce back message to emails that I am unable to reply to, thus adding some personality and enhancing the professional reputation I am trying to promote. 

So the idea of creating a seamless brand is simple, get the basics really right, then layer on the experience . The implementation raises a few issues. To demonstrate a key issue I am going to continue from a previous blog and use the example of my workplace Chilli White Bournemouth. Chilli can be described as a brand, it promotes a high end club and bar experience targeted for a fun yet classy night out. When comparing it to clubs such as The Ministry of Sound however we begin to see the brand is not as seamless as it could be. The Ministry of sound it is all about the music experience, CDs, festivals, fragrance and dvd workout videos. Along with these products, franchises such as the Ministry of Sound Digital Radio which broadcasts daily live shows we can see why it is the publics number one choice of venue. How could a small nightclub compete with this huge corporations. The funding is simply not there and this is a key issue with creating a seamless brand, not everyone can afford to design an iphone app or host a radio show. I argue however that without a pot full of cash at your disposal your imagination and creativity must come into play. For example a really interesting blog on music and events in the Bournemouth would draw people to the brand. In addition the brand could be more visible online with social media, for example a successful twitter page. A final idea is simply being open to change, as we can see the Ministry of Sound brand has expanded at every opportunity to make itself seamless so weather its moving with new social media or bringing out new products we must remember to promote the core values of a brand and add to the experience at every available opportunity.