Brand identity and image, PBL Task 4

Brand Identity and Image

Open Task 4

Trigger

Itella changes its name to Posti

As of January 1, 2015, Itella Corporation will change its company name to Posti Group Corporation. In future, Posti will serve both consumer and business customers under one service brand. The change will further improve customer experience and clarify the company’s identity as a Finnish postal, logistics and eCommerce services.

An Extraordinary General Meeting of Itella made the decision on changing the name of the group. As of January 1, 2015, the new name of Itella Corporation will be Posti Group Corporation.

“Posti is a traditional and respected Finnish brand that has served Finns with dignity for 375 years. We are proud of our roots and today we are building the new Posti as a modern, customer-oriented and high-quality service provider,” says Heikki Malinen, President and CEO of the group.

Finns have a strong emotional bond with Posti

With changing its name, Itella will abandon the use of two brands in Finland. Today, Itella operates in Finland under the name Posti for consumer customers and under the name Itella for business customers. As of next year, Posti will become the only brand of the company and serve both consumer and business customers.

“Finns have a very strong emotional and trusting relationship with Posti. Based on the results of target group research, the brand of the company needs to be clarified, and the name Posti was the superior alternative. More than 80% of consumers and entrepreneurs find the name Posti more suitable for the company. Under one name, we can offer our customers a more straightforward customer experience and range of services. The change will simplify business with Posti and our own operations.”

The name of the group was changed to Itella in 2007 for reasons related to internationalization. The group had expanded into eight other countries in addition to Finland, and a large part of the operations were other than mail operations. The name Posti was never abandoned; instead, it has been serving consumer customers in Finland all along.

According to Malinen, the model of two brands has not functioned as expected but has caused additional expenses and hindered the company’s attempt to brighten its service image.

Changing the name is part of the vision

Changing the name is part of the company’s new vision, reaching all the way to 2020. The change has been under preparation for a year on the company’s own initiative. The new name will strengthen the group’s identity as a mail, logistics and online store service provider. The group’s mail and logistics operations will focus on serving Finland and neighboring markets.

“I am very excited about this change of name and I hope that our customers will see this as a positive reform. Welcome to do business with us at Posti,” says Malinen.

The group’s logistics business operations abroad will, for the present, continue under the name Itella. OpusCapita, a company providing financial management outsourcing and automation services will continue with its own name as a subgroup of Posti Group Corporation, with strong internationalization as its objective.

Discussion

Itella changes its name to Posti

Unfamiliar Words

No unfamiliar words! :-)

Brainstorm “Problem”

Why company need rebranding?

How to create a strong brand?

How to create and to communicate a strong brand?

How does your brand become a strong brand?

How to deliver a strong brand?

How to communicate your brand?

How to communicate a brand?

How to build your brand?

How to create and communicate a strong brand?

How do you communicate with your costumers?

How you communicate your brand?                  

How to communicate your new brand?

What is a strong brand?

Problem

"What is a strong brand?"

Categorisation of brainstorming

Brainstorm “Learning Objectives”

- target group

- vision, reputation, meaning,

- implementation and communicating it

Learning objectives

LO1: How to build a (strong) brand?

LO2: How to communicate a brand?

LO3: How to maintain your brand?

Keywords

Rebranding                                   Strong brands                           Brand creation

Brand communication                   Repositioning

Personal study:

LO1: How to build a (strong) brand?

http://www.brandingmagazine.com/2012/10/27/how-to-build-a-strong-brand-in-7-steps/

LO2: How to communicate a brand?

10 ways to communicate a brand effectively

Delight your clients with engaging brands that hit all the sweet spots, with our ten pro tips

1 Hit the target

Knowing your target audience or customer can be the difference between your brand being effective and it tanking. Targeting the wrong audience can be fatal. Spend time researching the audience so you understand it fully: this will give you strong foundations, letting you communicate the brand both visually and in words. Focus groups are an excellent tactic, and also give the brand an early opportunity to start engaging with the public.

2 Research rivals

Knowing what’s already out there and who you’re up against is a great way to start a branding brief. Identify weaknesses and strengths in your competitors and the market to help you understand core aspects of how your brand may develop. Daily influences are an endless resource and help you know what’s happening in the industry, so look at your competitors’ websites for an insight.

3 Identify your core values

Branding is more than just a nicely designed logo and visual identity: it’s also about driving an idea or story. Home in on the brand’s core values and share them. What’s the meaning or purpose behind the brand? What personality do you want to share with your target audience? Look at what makes the brand unique and what it stands for, then amplify it.

4 Communicate a story

Brands today have the opportunity to communicate outside of the traditional channels. Consumers are much more aware of issues that surround them from day to day, whether it’s an environmental story or even a ‘rags to riches’ story. Knowing your brand’s story and telling it through your visual identity is just as important as selling your product or service.

5 Flexible designs

It’s vital to have a brand that can grow and evolve with time. A logo can be consistent and recognisable, but also have various treatments to keep it flexible. Will your brand translate from a website to a mobile platform? Does the logo work for an app icon or do you need a secondary logo or symbol? Asking these questions early in the design process will help you build a better brand in the future.

6 Keep it simple and direct

Consumers face thousands of messages every day, so often it’s best to keep it short, simple and to the point. If you can’t say it in a few words, is it worth saying? Some of the strongest brands today use a very simple visual identity system, whether it’s a limited colour palette, clean typography or a clear and easy-to-understand tone.

7 Create an aesthetic niche of your own

Look into the things that are generally associated with your product or service, as this will have an effect on how the brand is received. Brands need to stand out with a competitive edge. Think about unusual twists that you can put on the branding; it doesn’t have to focus on the product all the time. Think about who’s using it and how.

8 Bad ideas can lead to good ones

Don’t be afraid to experiment: even having a handful of bad ideas can lead to something great. Brainstorming and getting a mix of opinions will help you to look at the key objectives of the brand, expose any issues and recognise values that need to be communicated. Having a wall full of ideas and associated imagery to stand back from can really give a sense of direction and clarity.

9 Nail the details

Logos, straplines and core values are not the only elements of a brand. Can you recognise the brand without seeing the logo? Can you identify it through a typeface or a colour? Develop ideas and concepts that take a brand design further than the physical and digital space, such as how the brand sits in its environment, or how the people behind the brand dress and engage with their customers.

10 It isn’t finished

As a brand designer, you can design uniforms, set the tone and consider all the platforms, but the brand needs to continue to be reinforced after that. A good agency will continue helping the client to implement the brand and ensure it moves with the times.

http://www.creativebloq.com/branding/10-ways-communicate-brand-effectively-1137662

LO3: How to maintain your brand?

Be vigilant

Surf the Web for mentions of your brand. Every day. Tracking services can help. GoogleAlert, Trackur.com and Brandseye.com charge reasonable monthly fees. (Larger enterprises might look into meltwater.com.) Any public relations agency worth its salt should offer these trolling services as a matter of course.

Be active

If people are talking about your brand, jump in. You don’t have to maintain a Facebook page for your product, for instance (though it couldn’t hurt), but you should take the opportunity to get your message across. Assign someone to lead the charge and rebut negative comments publicly. Most Web denizens appreciate the response and are willing to give the benefit of the doubt to companies that constructively present their case.

Be honest

Given all the mud being slung at corporate America these days, honesty and clarity have never been more important. If you make a mistake, own up to it and demonstrate that you are taking steps to fix the problem once and for all. Remember: Giving customers what they paid for is nice. Demonstrating your commitment to quality and improvement will keep them coming back. And that’s what building a strong brand, in any age, is all about.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/15/marketing-google-twitter-entrepreneurs-sales-marketing-lewis.html

                                                   Close Task 4

Discussion

·         Define how you are, Know how you are speaking to, create your logo and tagline, and use multiple channels (Javier). Adding strong creative concepts (Alyson), and Mission and vision of the company (Olga). Importance of Research (Maria). Kellers brand equity model and brand response, another process (Rob). Equilibrium of quality and competitiveness (group). Environment and values or trends (Ada-Maria). Prices could vary between the people (Matt). Different pattern of brand maintaining (Ada-Maria) (Good for the point 3). Clear vs imagination.

·         Monolithic, Endorsed and branded (Alyson). Laswells model to spread the message (Rob). Direct, and simple message with flexible designs depending on the company (Javier). All the communication should start with the internal communication (Olga). Model of integrated communication: What the firm says, what the firm does, and what others say and do (Ada-Maria). Internet and relations with customers are trends now, also you can improve with this bloggers also could help image and the reviews for other consumers are taking more importance (Group).

·         Use of the feedback of your brand to make changes or continue with the same idea (Alyson). KFC example (Ada-Maria). Importance of the innovation, check the need of consumers, and comparison with the competitors (Olga). Research on the Markets (Javier), not always you have to be innovative, you need to know to be competitive (Rob). Importance of the brand with the Lidl example (Teacher). Listening to the customer, example of bakery shop (Group) and Mcdonalds (Rob). Examples of long lasting brands around the world.

Keywords

Rebranding, strong brand, brand identity models

Evaluation

Good level of the discussion. Everybody was involved. It started a little slow but then it get deeper and deeper, and with very good and interesting ideas. Good preparation and skills of the DL.