How To Create an Ecosystem That Drives High Value Brands

Today a strong brand can be a company’s most valuable asset.Companies who’ve done branding right have racked up massive brand valuations like Apple at $263 billion, Amazon at $254 billion,  Microsoft at $140 billion … and it’s not just tech brands.  Coca-cola weighs in at $64 billion, Louis Vuitton at $47 billion, Nike at $39 billion and Walmart at $29 billion.  And that’s only the top of the list.Building a brand is long term investment, but it’s one that can pay off handsomely.  As we’ve seen during the spate of retail bankruptcies during the past 4 years, even if the business fails, there is usually a buyer who is willing to acquire the companies intellectual property - in other words - it’s brand.But what does it take to create a brand that has the power - and value - of say Apple or Nike?In this episode I reached out to Alina Wheeler, author of the Designing Brand Identity.  The book, now it is fifth edition, has become the definitive resource for understanding all of the touch points that create the ecosystem necessary for building a high value power brand.Timestamps(3:45) What is a brand?(6:20) The importance of brand discipline(6:55) Getting on the Brand Train(12:04) Find your 'big idea'(17:20) Focus on you key message(17:55) 4 key questions to define your brand(18:58) Building trust (22:55) Getting content management under control(26:05) Creating your brand signature(27:38) Overcoming the biggest challengeBy the way, if you are looking to develop the kind of knitwear collections that consumer fall in love with the SPINEXPO is the fair for you.From trend information to technical innovation, SPINEXPO is  the primary exhibition for yarns and knitwear.  The fair provides well-edited forums featuring high quality products that are bursting with creativity.  To learn more, go to SPINEXPO.com.  You can also find a link in the show notes for this episode.And don’t forget to check out our new podcast website where you can find all of the previous episodes of A Seat at The Table podcast, the show notes,  plus lots of other useful information.You can find it at www.seat.fm.  USEFUL LINKSDesigning Brand Identity by Alina Wheeler:    On AmazonConnect with Alina Wheeler:    http://designingbrandidentity.info/Alina's Twitter:  https://twitter.com/alinawheelerAlina's Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/alinawheeler/?hl=enSPINEXPO:   www.spinexpo.comA Seat at The Table website:   https://seat.fmSEND US A MESSAGEVisit A Seat at The Table's website at https://seat.fm