Matt Heinz over on iMedia Connection has posted this article about building brand buzz. He starts off talking about brand police and notes that “the very concept of brand police is flawed and implies that we’re failing to effectively create and build a sustainable brand within our organizations (let alone leverage it).”

I disagree. There’s a difference between creating a brand experience or being a brand evangelist (which is what Heinz refers to in his United Airlines examples) and being one of the “brand police.” The article concludes with Heinz imploring the reader to “make sure the concept of brand police is thought of as a very short-term strategy, with an eye toward the long-term plan of creating an entire organization policing, reinforcing and strengthening its collective asset.”

Having “brand police” and creating a corporate culture in which everyone is a brand advocate is not mutually exclusive. On the contrary, I would argue that the role of the marketing gendarmes becomes even more important the larger the company grows and the more mature the brand becomes.

An infinite variety of brand questions will inevitably arise as new company initiatives are brainstormed and undertaken. Who is to make the call as to whether this or that detail is the correct one for the brand, anyone or everyone in the company? Nope. That way lies brand anarchy. Final responsibility for keeping the DNA of the brand healthy and vital has to rest with brand marketing, i.e. the “brand police.”

Take a well-established brand like Nickelodeon. One of the tenets of their brand is to never call themselves cool; that’s for the kids to determine, not them. But think about the massive volume of collateral, presentations, paperwork and such that flows through the Nick organization. A bit of overzealousness while preparing a PowerPoint, a bit of self-referential coolness … and the brand DNA experiences another bit of erosion.

Or think about an emerging brand. Everyone in the organization is scrambling at the speed of business to get some positive cash flow happening. It’s awfully easy for someone to strike a deal or embark on a tactic that’s 180 degrees removed from what the brand marketers established up front … and the brand DNA experiences another bit of erosion.

In countless examples anyone can well imagine, it’s the “brand police” who need to be involved at crucial checkpoints in the business process to make sure that the brand personality is expressed correctly, and that the overall brand is being built up for long-term growth and not eroded for short-term myopia.

To put it another way: The well-defined and smartly communicated brand is like a well-written movie, play or television series. The employees, the brand advocates, are the cast and crew. The brand marketers are the scriptwriters. All are working together to present a complete, cohesive whole to the public.

It’s okay to go off script occasionally, but make a habit of it and you wind up with an episode of House that’s looks like an episode of Scrubs.

Takeaway for marketers: Academy Awards and Tonys and Emmys are great, but it all starts with a solid script.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 at 6:00 am and is filed under Marketing Stuff, Marketing Takeaways.