We’ve spent a lot of time over the last few weeks conducting Brand Camps with a client that is getting ready to roll out a new brand. A Brand Camp is a diagonal cross-section of the staff with about 10-15 people in attendance. The Camps last about 1.5 hours, and in it, the company introduces what the new brand position will be.  Time is spent talking about what they should keep doing to reinforce the brand position. And brainstorming about what they should start and stop doing to make sure the brand position is authentic. All this before the new brand position becomes widely known and understood by the community.
It doesn’t hurt that this company already lives the brand position — so taking the time to do this right is going to set them on their new brand path firmly and completely.

Benefits of a Brand Camp

Brand Camp

photo credit Zach Dischner

Having the courage to have these kinds of conversations with every member of the staff does a couple of very critical things for the new brand position.

  1. First–every staff member has been invited to be an owner in the new position. This allows each staff person to make it their personal mission to live the brand in ways that can never happen if the brand is simply introduced and expected to be embraced.
  2. The company has the ability to focus on living their brand before the community fully expects it. This gives the company valuable time to make sure that everything is in alignment and that customers and potential customers will feel the brand position the moment they walk through the doors.
  3. This gives the company a head start on making sure that their policies and procedures are in line for living the brand. There’s nothing worse than telling the world what they should expect from your business and then having a policy or procedure block you from being able to deliver it.

When the company is ready for this brand to be fully consumed by the community, they’ll be set up for success simply because they took the time to meet with every employee and to invite them help make the new brand position entirely their own.

The New Brand Position

We can’t wait to be able to share this new position for the company with you, but we’ll all have to wait until it’s ready. Until then, consider how a Brand Camp might help your company succeed.

About the Author:

Tisha Oehmen

Tisha Oehmen is a professional brand strategist and a leader in the branding field. She has been named a member of the Global Guru’s Top 30 Brand Gurus. She is also the co-founder of Oregon-based Paradux Media Group and the best-selling author of the book, Finding Brand: The Brand Book Tutorial.

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