How Can Digital Technology Support Brand Building?

Ask The Expert with Mike Reinhardt

Arguments are made regularly that a brand is an organization’s most valuable asset. A chief marketing officer of Coca-Cola once said that if the company lost all of its facilities and people, he could rebuild the com­pany – provided he retained the rights to the brand. He said he could leverage the brand into the financial resources needed to rebuild the company. That is the kind of power brands can have. While not all brands are as powerful as Coca-Cola, it is safe to say all aspire to that kind of lofty position.

Web technology and systems can provide significant value to organi­zations on many levels – from stra­tegic and mission-critical to tactical. The Web can also help build the brand. Web technology practitioners in collaboration with brand and marketing managers can contribute to brand growth.

A major part of the marketing and communications function relates to the development of messaging and campaigns. These efforts should reflect the organization’s unique brand promise and visual style. The goal is to create awareness and favorable impressions for brands in the minds of key target audiences. Increasingly, audiences rely on digital messages and resources to formulate their perception of the brand.

According to Alina Wheeler, the author of Designing Brand Identity, which is now in its fourth edition, there are many good ways to illus­trate the possibilities for Web con­tributions to brand and identity excellence.

In her book, Wheeler identifies organizations doing the best job in brand building and the key com­munications tools they are using. Wheeler says websites lead the list of top brand-building methods. And websites are no longer limited to the desktop at home or the office, but have migrated to wherever the con­sumer is, with an iPad or smart­phone at the ready, in the mall or on a hike. The same applies to other communication vehicles such as social media. In addition, the most creative organizations are also the most practical in many respects, notes Wheeler. They understand their audiences are increasingly looking to digitally packaged infor­mation and support services. “The way to support the brand with digital tools is to think of every touchpoint where you are communicating and evaluate if you can do it better and more cost effectively with electronic means. Be creative,” Wheeler stresses.

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