Target Your Brand

Library Journal

Target Your Brand

By Beth Dempsey -- 8/15/2004

Build an identity that works in the age of the superstore

As bookstores and the Internet march forward, the library community continues to question and forecast its role in society. Innovative libraries nationwide have seized the opportunity to reinvent themselves, bringing a new level of excitement to the industry. Yet puzzlement remains on what strategies, what roles will work in communities where alternatives are so readily available. A cue from corporate America is to deal with a changing competitive structure by more effectively managing the brand the library holds in the community. A slippery concept that's often confused and misused, a brand is the definition of your institution that exists in the mind of the customer, says Chris Pulleyn, chief executive officer of Buck & Pulleyn, a Rochester, NY–based agency specializing in brand strategy. Your library's brand is the space you've captured in the minds of customers—it's all the things that come to mind, all the expectations they have, when they hear the word library. The Borders lesson "There's home, office, and a third place," says Jenie Dahlmann, the Borders' corporate communications manager. Borders wants to be that third place. "It's a place where you can relax and explore…where you can stay in a comfortable, community atmosphere. Everything we do in the store fosters that." Borders excels in creating what could be anyone's third place; everything about the environment says, "Stay awhile." The light is flattering, the colors are warm and modern, and the merchandise mix is interesting and stimulating, without being overwhelming. Customers are invited to sit on benches in the store's wide aisles, examining media of all types, with no pressure to buy…like a library. Lines are blurring as alternatives appear for what has traditionally been the sole domain of the library. Indeed, Dahlmann says, elements of Borders' "Stay and explore" strategy have been inspired by libraries. Informal lectures on a variety of topical issues round out a monthly programming schedule that includes book signings, poetry readings, and book discussion groups. Cafés include wireless connections for businesspeople in transit. But these bookstores are certainly not the only competitor to traditional library service: the Internet has become so firmly ingrained as America's default research tool that the New York Times proclaimed, "Google has become a verb, a way of life, and a new add-on for the brain." Brand promises Is a brand that exists in the mind of the customer out of our reach? The entire discipline of brand management has sprung up around this concept, providing a methodology for shaping that mental image and leveraging it to gain a competitive edge. Good brand management is the crux of the business model, driving the strategy behind the experience you provide the customer. It begins with understanding what your institution currently means to customers (brand identity) and what you want it to mean (brand aspiration). While plenty of organizations know how they want to be viewed, what mental space they want to capture, staying true to the brand aspiration in every aspect of the customer experience—from graphics to service to collection—is what separates those that succeed from those that are merely ambitious. The brand aspiration is the benchmark against which all outreach is measured. Most libraries have a mission statement. If they're brand driven, the mission statement puts into words how the brand aspiration will be delivered. It makes what Pulleyn calls a "brand promise" to the customer. Web presence, programming, policies, services, collection, and expectations of staff are the ways in which the promise is either kept or broken. Think Target To see the power of an effective strategy, consider the outrageously successful Target brand. Target stepped out of the pack of retail also-rans when it spotted an opportunity in the market to make discount shopping better than it was. It could capture a segment of customers who had found discounters lacking. Target made a promise to customers to make discount shopping more stylish, more efficient, more pleasant…cool. That brand—captured in its slogan "Expect more, pay less" and now firmly embedded in the minds of customers—is driven through all aspects of the Target retail experience. The merchandise mix is consistently stylish, with low-rent products from high-rent designers displayed within a traditional discount store structure. The appeal is decidedly youthful (a nod to the market that's the ultimate arbiter of what's cool and what's not), yet, more traditional styles and products are also available to ensure that a wide variety of needs are met. Keeping the aim at youth also allows Target a continuing source of fresh customers and freedom from the threat of an aging customer base—a particularly pertinent issue in the library world. The service at Target is structured like a discount store—primarily self-serve—but it is exceptionally efficient, with processes that make returns and checkout faster. Again, the customer can "expect more" in a "pay less" framework. Target has defied what had been the natural laws of discounters: it has infiltrated the world of high style, with magazine coverage that places Target merchandise in the seasonal "must-haves" columns, and expanded its customer base to include those who had never before set foot in a discount store. Target has made discount shopping cool. But is it "branded"? Brand management is often narrowly and inappropriately defined as the development of a consistent look and logo, but that definition misses the power of a real brand strategy. Would Target have the dominance it enjoys in the marketplace if it relied solely upon its signature red and white bull's-eye? American corporate history is littered with good-looking failures. Three elements make Target an effective brand—careful selection of the market niche, the promise to the customer, and the delivery on the promise in every customer interaction. At Buck & Pulleyn, they avoid using brand as a verb. Pulleyn says, "Branding is done to a cow. We try to always refer to a brand strategy or to brand management to keep the whole process top of mind." Pulleyn refers to libraries as "experience brands," meaning the brand is experienced by all the senses. As at a Starbucks or Target, the customer is immersed in the brand, making it easy to break the promise to the customer if a single element provides a conflicting message. The moral of the story then is to view every interaction with the customer as an opportunity to seal the brand. Conversely, if bobbled or inconsistent, every interaction can be a threat to the brand. A signature design But, what about the visuals? We are a people who judge books by their covers, which makes graphic design a powerful tool for your brand. The elements of a good design strategy are fairly simple. Choose a scheme that fits your brand aspiration and use it consistently. Over time, this will marry one look to the brand image. More importantly, it sends a single message; it tells your customers that all elements of the library are aiming at the same goal. Consistency of design comes in developing a palette that includes a small variety of typefaces, layouts, and colors. Starbucks' design strategy is a model of consistency in action. Store interiors, packaging, and advertising are variations on a theme—a coffee-driven theme. Customers have been taught to spot Starbucks' packaging and Starbucks' stores at a distance because of their consistent design. More important, of course, is the consistency of the coffee experience that will follow. Translated to a library environment that means signs, handouts, brochures, newsletters, library cards, web sites—everything that can carry a physical imprint of the brand, should. The lure of continually refreshing yourself and your staff with a new look is powerful, but it is also a threat to the brand image you're building. Establish the palette and stick with it. When assigning the creation of a graphic, whether with an outside firm, through a freelancer, or internally, make sure the designer understands the rules—what elements can be varied, what must always be the same. A good place for design variation is when particular customers are being targeted. When you develop the design palette consider variations within the scheme that allow you to subbrand its departments. For example, a whimsical version of your design scheme can be developed for children's programs. Calling on the cavalry A distinctive and consistent look adds the polish that reminds customers they're in the hands of pros, an important consideration in a competitive environment. One look inside a Barnes & Noble shows the kind of design sophistication libraries are up against. Good design comes from good design firms—an investment that can establish both the look and a structure that carries the brand image forward. Keeping a professional firm on call for all the library's design needs rarely sits well with boards and budgets. If that is out of reach, consider bringing in the pros to develop design templates (for multiple media and multiple uses) that will be used by internal graphics staff or freelancers. Buoy that strategy with an annual design "checkup" to be sure the tone and execution are not straying or substandard. If that's still too rich, Pulleyn suggests contacting a local design school and running a contest to establish the library's design scheme. Establish contest rules that support the library's needs and be sure the students understand the brand aspiration. Where to start? Pulleyn says brand strategy starts with a comprehensive analysis of the environment, including the competition; the library's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and vulnerabilities; and, most important, an understanding of the library's current brand—what customers think now. This analysis is the foundation for a successful plan and where to invest if you have limited dollars. With about $20,000, a library can expect an experienced outside firm to handle this kind of market analysis and deliver the guts of an effective brand strategy: recommendations for brand positioning, key messages, personality, tone and feel (the elements that will drive the design scheme), and a broad-strokes marketing plan. Handled with care, this one-time investment will guide the development of a new identity or secure one that's already working. Why bother? Few libraries beg for business. In an industry where institutions are chronically understaffed, why invest in a strategy that will likely bring in more business? Brand is about identity, about clearly defining value and contribution to the community. Good brand management provides the answers before the questions are raised—whether those questions come from staff or taxpayers or board members. It aligns staff and aims the organization toward a single goal. More poignant, consider what's lost without a careful cultivation of a brand that's relevant to the community. The associations with the word library are powerful and emotional—equal access to information as a fundamental democratic value, civic pride in having a solid resource, an intelligent and economical choice. The ability to secure those feelings for at least another generation is within reach. Author Information Beth Dempsey (beth@bethdempsey.com) is principal of Dempsey Communications Group, a firm specializing in strategic communications for knowledge organizations How To Make a Strong Brand Life used to be so simple: A brand was a name, like Coke or IBM. But the science of brand management simply defines a process for owning a space in the psyche of the customer. FIND YOUR BRAND. What is the space you want and are able to own in your community? Don't hang your hat on a service or a product—they're easy to replace. Think big but maintain credibility. Also, it has to be unique and valuable. That requires understanding the community you serve. DEFINE IT. What does your identity look and feel like? What does it do? Consider the Borders brand of the "Third Place." If Borders wants to be the place its customers go when they aren't at home or work, then they must encourage them to stay and explore. What needs to happen in the store to foster that? GIVE IT A LOOK. Look at your library's logo, its printed pieces, and signage. What about its display cases? Is there a consistent look and what does it say about the library's identity? The simple, modern lines of the Salt Lake Public Library logo, inspired by books on a shelf, blend traditional library service in a modern context. The lines are repeated in all the library's printed pieces, with a consistent layout and typeface. Customers can quickly identify a mailing from the library by its look. Your library's look is its signature—make it compelling and make it consistent. (For inspiration, take a stroll through Starbucks. Look at the packaging and signage and count the number of times you see the company's logo.) EXECUTE IT. To build ownership of an identity, the brand messages need to be consistent in the collection, staff, programming, service, web site, advertising and PR, and even buildings. In both Salt Lake and San José, the public libraries' brands of "community gathering place" are translated through the structures, with comfortable areas for gathering and access to food and drink. But before you undertake structural changes, realize that the collection and staff are the primary carriers of the brand. If your library aspires to be a community place but the collection caters to a small core of users, then it's not a community place. (In San José, use of the library tripled over a decade just through changes to the collection in language and media and greater emphasis on youth and children.) Likewise, staff need to be included in brand translation. Talk with them, train them, allow staff to help define the service that makes the brand alive in human interaction. LIVE IT. Building a brand identity takes discipline and a commitment over time. Don't let your library's focus on its identity fade. David Aaker, author of Managing Brand Equity and Building Strong Brands (Free Pr.), recommends charging someone with brand oversight, to ensure it drives the entire organization. When the Brand Leaves the Building Publications, library programs held offsite, brochures, all are opportunities to leverage the brand beyond the walls of the library. Good examples of how to do it abound, but the ultimate traveling brand translation is perhaps the New York Public Library Desk Reference. Now in its fourth edition, the book has introduced the NYPL to millions worldwide. It's a model of effective brand strategy. It married the prestige of its name to the convenience of a desk reference to address an opening in the market for an NYPL reference service "to go." The product reinforces the library's service to two groups of users: researchers and leisure users. Reviews consistently point to the ability of the book to address quickly virtually any reference question succinctly and accurately while providing a nearly endless amount of fascinating trivia that can be perused for pleasure. The packaging carries NYPL's signature lions, making it impossible to mistake the ownership of content. Gardiner's List Most library publications and programs can be used to elevate or secure the institution's brand. Consider Gardiner Public Library, a one-building system serving an inland-Maine community. The library positions itself as the community resource for reading and has gained worldwide attention for a small publication it produces called Who Reads What?It was begun by now-retired director Glenna Nowell as a way to spread reading interest throughout the stacks, with less dependence on the best sellers table. Nowell noticed that when celebrity interviews happened to include a book recommendation, there was demand. There was obvious interest in the information, yet no one was collecting it. She began to write to celebrities, asking them to recommend a favorite book to her patrons. They wrote back, and she began publishing the recommendations annually. When the Associated Press caught on, Who Reads What? became an annual press opportunity, with the Gardiner list written about worldwide. This innovation supports and spreads the Gardiner brand of "community reading resource"—what greater evidence of being the center of the reading universe than having celebrities answer your query about their favorite books? Though design changes have occurred throughout the nearly 20 years it's been published, the list continues to carry the library's design signature—a pencil drawing of the library itself—a beautiful, vintage building. Rules of thumb for letting the brand out of the building: be sure the program or publication takes the brand message with it in both purpose and execution; stamp it with the library's design signature.