Are you about to start a rebranding effort for your company or non-profit? A branding workshop is a first step that some executives and marketing professionals overlook or undervalue when beginning a rebranding effort.
During a branding workshop, an experienced facilitator leads structured sessions and brainstorming activities to help reveal the group’s current view of the organization, in addition to identifying existing and future challenges, and developing a vision for the future of the company. The moderator leads individuals to complete exercises prior to discussing the results as a group—collaborating in an effort to make the brand stronger. A branding workshop can vary in length from several hours to several days and is a way to engage key leadership when starting a rebranding endeavor.
The benefits of including a workshop as part of the branding process can help build momentum for the brand.
The workshops are not inexpensive when you consider how much time members of your key leadership team will be engaged. The benefits of including a workshop as part of the branding process, however, can help build momentum for the brand and should be taken seriously by the leadership team as an important investment in the future of your company.
At Trillion, we’ve seen firsthand how branding workshops can help get leadership and management excited by creating a sense of inclusion and participation for your key stakeholders in the brand.
Below are five benefits of a branding workshop meant to inspire you to start the branding process the right way:
1. Provide an Opportunity for All Voices to be Heard
A branding workshop is the coming together of the leadership and management of your company to provide important insights and make decisions regarding your brand—it’s important to provide them with a platform to voice their thoughts and opinions. There will be opinions that are more constructive than others, more valuable than others, or more respectable than others, and a branding workshop facilitator can help extract those thoughts about your company which can help shape its future.
2. Get Leadership in One Place to Share Opinions
It’s not uncommon for leadership teams to be spread out among different cities or locations. Getting them in one place, face-to-face, is a critical component of a successful branding workshop. Even though it’s possible to conduct a video conference, having leadership share their thoughts and opinions and having real-time interactions will lead to a more productive and efficient session. Meeting in person allows the team to read body language and not hide behind the phone or technology. Things move in a nimble fashion and results are quick when all are participating and focused.
3. Get Everyone on the Same Page
It’s nearly impossible to get leadership and management on the same page if they are not focused on the task at hand. A benefit of having a branding workshop, led by an experienced facilitator, is that the leadership team can have an in-depth conversation about the brand and react to one another’s ideas immediately. While opinions will vary, a consensus will form and the team will be able to make informed decisions about the future direction of the brand.
4. Extrapolate Internal Vocabulary and Phrases
Inevitably, key terminology will percolate to the top of the conversation. And while much of the conversation will include vocabulary specific to your industry or sector, key adjectives will begin to emerge that make your brand sparkle. A branding workshop is an excellent way to extract key attributes that distinguish your brand from your competitors, and it will help establish the bedrock of your brand language.
5. Begin to Build the Foundation for Brand Strategy
A branding workshop takes time and commitment; however, it will help make the connections between the intangible and the tangible representations of your brand. The process will inspire and define your unique value proposition and help you find the tools and preliminary vocabulary that can be incorporated into your brand strategy. A brand strategy may not be immediately produced during a branding workshop, but the foundation will be created. Once it is all of the verbal and visual identity and marketing materials will reflect back upon it.
“But a Branding Workshop is Too Time Consuming!”
If you’re thinking about rebranding or refreshing your brand, a branding workshop can be a critical exercise that will help lead you to success. This will take time and effort but the ROI will benefit your employees, your customers and prospects and, importantly, the brand. If you’re wondering if a branding workshop is right for your organization, give us a call at 908.219.4703 and we can help you decide if it’s just what your brand needs to succeed.
