The Branded for Success book was written in 2007 by my wife and 2 of our colleagues. It’s purpose was to highlight my wife’s graphic design talent that could be leveraged for a business to get a successful brand. It has allowed the three authors to gain authority as branding experts since they are published authors on the subject.
Understanding of branding has grown and evolved over the last 18 years. The principles in this book are still applicable but some updating is necessary. This chapter asks the question on how you know if you are branding properly. Using our content transformation services, we will evaluate it to see that it is not outdated and irrelevant. This is our opportunity to update and supplement with necessary content that may have been missed when it was originally offered.
Since the book was written from a design perspective, this topic is important. But design should be determined after the foundational brand elements are completed first. We will add new content as necessary before we prepare for it’s new delivery. Since the repurposed content will be used for premium access content, I will provide summaries of the original text and the repurposed text. Also, we may revise the chapter divisions, since this will not be repurposed into another printed book.
Summary of chapter 8 of the original text:
You know you are branding properly when people recognize you, your logo, your products, or your slogans without needing an introduction. At events like seminars and conferences, if attendees recognize your face from your photos or your brand elements, that’s a clear sign your branding is working.
A strong example of effective branding is Wendy Robbins. We captured her dynamic personality through a custom design featuring her logo creatively embedded across various elements, including a backdrop of money, a luxury car, and a scenic road. Each piece was meticulously crafted to reflect her flamboyant and lively image. Even though the final design was a composite of multiple images, it appeared seamless and natural. It perfectly mirroring Wendy’s real-life persona. Because her branding consistently aligned with her true personality across visual designs, live appearances, and audio content, people came to know and expect that vibrancy from her.
When your branding authentically represents who you are and people recognize and remember you for it, you know you’re doing it right.
Summary of the corresponding repurposed text:
To know if you’re branding properly, the key indicator is recognition. People should instantly associate your name, logo, tagline, or unique identity with your brand. Like major companies such as Apple or Nike, strong branding means being recognizable even without a full logo.
Effective branding goes beyond visuals. It’s about creating a consistent and memorable presence across all touch points. Real-world examples like Gary Vaynerchuk and Marie Forleo show how aligning your brand’s visuals, messaging, and tone with your personality or company values builds strong brand identity. Consistency in logos, colors, tone, and content style across platforms is crucial.
To measure branding success, track recognition, engagement, visibility, client loyalty, and referrals. Ultimately, strong branding builds familiarity and trust, ensuring you stay top of mind when customers or clients need what you offer.
Observations:
Very little of the content was changes for the most part. This was a shorter chapter. In the rewrite, we expanded some concepts and clearly defined what to look for when your brand is working successfully. Also there was the usual updating of brand examples from previous clients’ brands to more nationally recognized brands. When I finish the re-write, it may be best to provide both.
Final Thoughts:
This is a prime example of content that does not need to be updated per se. It needed expanding and further defining of concepts. Of course we updated terminology to be more to the present. Depending on how old your content is, if the concept itself still works, you may need to make these types of minimal adjustments.