1.1 Branding

The purpose of this section is to define what branding is as it relates to statistical organizations.  It also describes the process to position, develop, review, confirm or redefine a brand.

1.1.1     What is branding?

A brand is much more than a logo (the badge an organization wears), a visual identity (the colour scheme and complementary theming across its products and web estate) or a tagline (its purpose, for example: data, evidence decisions). Branding is all of these things and more. It is how the organization is living its values and how it is presented to and perceived by the public.

Branding is the process by which products or services are distinguished from their competition. Branding permits an audience to develop associations (e.g. status, prestige) with these products or services; this eases the decision-making process and can lead to the generation of market leaders and dominators.

There is no single unifying definition of what branding or a brand is and although a number of definitions exist, with most following a similar thread, there are often subtle differences depending on the market environment (its pressures etc.) in any given country.

One consistency, however, is that a brand should cover the breadth of organization. It should be the golden thread that runs through all products and outputs, it should be closely linked to the vision and values, and it should resonate with all who encounter it (from staff to stakeholders).

The following definitions provide a useful way of understanding the many facets that will require consideration when approach branding, and may help to provide a route in to the challenge:

• A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers & to differentiate them from those of competition. (American Marketing Association, 2012. ‘AMA Dictionary’)

• A brand is more than a label employed to differentiate among the manufacturers of a product. It is a complex symbol that represents many things… The net result is a public image, a character or personality that may be more important for the overall status (and sales) of the brand than many technical facts about the product. (Gardner, B.V. and Levy, S.J. 1955. ‘The Product & the Brand’, Harvard Business Review, March/April)

A brand emerges as various “authors” tell stories that involve the brand. Four primary types of authors are involved: companies, the culture industries, intermediaries & customers. (Holt, D. B. 2004. ‘How Brands become Icons’, Boston: Harvard Business School Press)

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1.1.2     Why is branding important?

A mature brand is part of an organization’s DNA. It is the cohesive thread that runs through an organization’s strategies, objectives and core purpose. A strong, developed brand should be omnipresent and should represent the organization’s

• personality—how it interacts with its stakeholders
• identity—how others recognize it and the image it portrays
• reputation—how it is perceived and described by others.

To stakeholders, a successful and distinguished brand heralds quality and elicits trust. With that comes loyalty. An organization’s brand should evolve and adapt to organizational and environmental changes.

Branding plays a core role in an organization’s corporate communications. Well-developed branding reinforces what an organization says and does, while poorly developed branding can undermine or confuse an organization’s reputation.

Successful brand implementation will enable statistical organizations to maintain their reputation for independence and modernize their offerings, which will increase their value in a world with more data and increasing levels complexity.

A brand is important for statistical organizations because it

• builds trust, gives you credibility and will differentiate you from others who work in the same or similar field/business
• results in implicit reuse of your information by users
• demonstrates relevance
• bridges the gap between how others perceive you and how you live your values.

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1.1.3     What to consider when branding a statistical organization

One of the most important considerations when developing a brand is to do so holistically; this facilitates a smooth embedding process and ensures staff remain engaged with the defined values. Internal stakeholders remain as important as the perceptions of those outside the organization.

Crucially, there is also no preset time in which a brand needs to be re-developed.  While a brand should be under constant review to ensure it resonates and aligns to a statistical organization’s vision and values, there is nothing that dictates it must change at any given point in time.  Likewise, if the ongoing reviews determine that a brand remains viable, change should not take place just for the sake of change.

Branding and its review is not a ‘do it one’ task; it is ongoing and iterative.

The only other consideration is wheter a strategic re-branding – either wholesale or simply visual – could be helpful following a crisis or significant business change.  The alternative would be to place a significant focus of restoring the existing brand and its values, with the communication team playing a central role in this re-establishing process.

Figure 1 provides an overview of the considerations for branding a statistical organization.

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1.1.3.1 Position

Definition - define your desired brand

• At the most senior levels of the organization, define how the organization wants to be identified by society.
• Using thorough horizontal-scanning, identify where your organization holds a unique space in the market place, or agree the appetite for competing against others and the unique selling point of the statistical organization.
• Explore the vision, mission, values and corporate strategy.
• Elaborate the values (e.g., trust, impartiality, timeliness, quality, relevance), mission and position in society.
• Break down the brand into components such as visual, physical and behavioural. Think about how each component should look.

Assess - the actual brand

• Ask about how are we really doing. This could include considering visual identity, current values, mission, corporate strategy, physical components, behavioural components, staff consultation, etc.
• Conduct a gap analysis (gap between desired and actual).

Visual identity - Understand your perceived brand (reputation)

• Assess the public’s reaction to your brand components (visual identity; current values, mission and corporate strategy; physical, behavioural and external influences; competitors; and societal relevance). Consider consumer or public opinion research, environmental scans, and benchmarking information.
• Conduct a gap analysis (gap between actual and perceived brand).

1.1.3.2. Develop

• Develop visual identity (logo, language, brand guidelines, templates, audio, signage [e.g., for your building] and positioning statement that assesses the gaps between the actual and desired positions.

Test

• Test with internal and external audiences to confirm that branding is understood and meaningful, paying particular attention to ensuring the changes advance the organization from its actual to desired state.

1.1.3.3. Embed

• During the implementation phase, embed the brand in the communications strategy, marketing strategy, staff engagement and customer engagement.
• Ensure the brand is represented in every part of your organization, remembering that it is the ever-present ‘golden-thread’.

1.1.3.4 Evaluate (potential link to DIGICOM)

• Conduct surveys and environmental scans (measurements: media monitoring, media analysis, public engagement and levels of usage of data).
• If successful, the actual position replaces the desired one with the gaps filled.  It is now time to continuously review and address new and emerging gaps.

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