What Every CEO Should Know About Branding
We were fortunate to have branding guru Kelly O’Keefe spend the afternoon with a group of CEOs in Charlottesville last week. In addition to building several successful companies (and one failure, which he spoke about candidly), Kelly taught for years at the VCU Brandcenter, helping build its reputation as one of the nation’s premier graduate advertising schools.
Our members sometimes note that learning sessions aren’t always geared to CEOs. They’ve done the 101, 201, and 301 level classes – and have the scars to prove it. Give me 401, or graduate-level content, please! Kelly delivered. For VACEOs folks who couldn’t make it, we recorded the presentation and will make it available in VACEOs Connect.
Kelly’s masterclass for CEOs was too rich to summarize in full, but here are the five core strategies he shared that build the power of brand conviction.
- Clarify Focus
- Simplify Operations
- Unify Culture
- Fortify Loyalty
- Amplify Voice
We noticed that the first three are internal, operational strategies that have nothing to do with marketing or advertising. They are about running a great business.
Kelly showed us that branding is more about what you do than what you say. Think about that as you walk around your organization this week. Your brand is how you – and often your lowest-paid employees – show up for customers every day.
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