Obtaining Senior Management Support

Viewpoint by Scott Davis, Senior Partner

Most senior executives still put brand building in the marketing bucket, see it as a discretionary expense (meaning it will get cut first when quarterly results are missed), and view it as something the creatives will handle. In reality, executives have to see brand building as a holistic, customer-centered approach that is directly linked/tied to their bottom line. If they treat, manage, and operationalize their brand, in accordance with the powerful asset that it is, then there is a high likelihood they will reap the rewards that come with it, such as premium pricing, protection against price wars, preferential treatment within the channel, and greater new product success, among others.

Bottom line, the true leaders of brand building have to be the CEO and his/her executive team, for it is only this group that can set the tone for the company, enforce whether or not the company truly has a brand-based culture, determine whether resources and dollars put against the brand are investments or expenses, and finally motivate employees to bring the brand to life everyday, across every internal and external interaction they have.