Kalmia Records Blog

Obviously your introduction bio should vary according to what group you are addressing. An introduction in front of the Securities and Exchange Commission would be different than the bio introduction used for a speaker about to give a high school commencement address, even though it is the same speaker presenting. But another consideration is how long your bio should be for a particular audience. Different audiences who are listening to you in different formats need different lengths of a bio.

I was delivering a media training teleseminar recently and had emailed the bio off of my web site that is appropriate to public relations people who deal with media training clients. It seemed like I had done my homework, right?

Wrong!

The bio I sent was perfectly fine for someone to READ SILENTLY on a web page, but it was much, much too long to be read by the moderator aloud at the beginning of the teleseminar. I realized my error right before the teleseminar was too begin when I saw the long bio to be use and figured out it would take about 5 minutes to read aloud.

5 minutes is way to long to read someone’s bio when the teleseminar is only an hour long. It was too late for me to get a new bio to the moderator introducing me and too much for me to ask her to shorten it on the spot. She dutifully plowed through the entire bio. When she was done, I almost felt like falling asleep.

Fortunately, I recovered once I was able to hop in with the meat of the seminar. But the point is I shouldn’t have to “recover” in any presentation, and neither should you.

With proper planning, you can time every aspect of your presentation, including the introduction, to flow properly and with the right length. With a teleseminar I would recommend you keep an introductory bio to 30 seconds60 seconds tops!

How long is your introduction? There is only one way to find out. Read it out loud in a conversational tone of voice and time it. If it’s too long, chop away until you get it right.

Powerful brands are built, not born. A quick perusal of global marketing
consultancy Interbrand’s fifth annual ranking of the world’s top 100 brands clearly
demonstrates this fact. Released last summer, Interbrand’s listing illustrates the
value of having a disciplined and methodical approach to brand building. According
to Interbrand, the most valuable brands “focused ruthlessly on every detail of their
brands, honing simple, cohesive, [consistent] identities.”

That’s a great insight, but where does that leave the small or medium-sized
organization? Most do not have the resources to mount a comprehensive global
branding campaign. Are there any methods employed by the “big boys (and girls)”
that they could apply to their branding efforts?

Fortunately, the answer to this question is yes. Simply put, for branding success
think: B.U.I.L.D. B.U.I.L.D. stands for Big, Unrelenting, Intelligence, Love and Daring.
Read on to learn more about this concept.

B = Big

The best brands are big — and I don’t mean in resources. Rather, they take up a lot
of “head space” by making an impact. When you encounter a big brand, you
immediately know what it stands for.

Take the restaurant chain Cheeseburger Cheeseburger. Now that’s a big brand.
This fast-growing franchise’s focus is on serving good cheeseburgers the old
fashioned way. This concept is reinforced in everything from the décor of their
restaurants (fifties diner) to their menu (four different burger sizes with lots of
cheese and topping options).

Millions of people have embraced Cheeseburger Cheeseburger’s unique, fun-loving
brand. New restaurants are opening regularly and Entrepreneur Magazine ranked
Cheeseburger Cheeseburger as America’s number-one full-service burger franchise
in 2003.

U = Unrelenting

Successful brands are unrelenting in their consistency. According to Interbrand,
large companies achieve consistency by operating “as a single [brand] everywhere in
the world.” For example, the bank HSBC communicates the same effective message
everywhere it operates: “The world’s local bank.”

Organizations of all sizes can achieve consistency by ensuring that they present a
uniform image to all of their customers or constituents. Logos, letterhead, Web
sites and other collateral materials should be similar. In addition, organizations
should engage in activities that reinforce their brand. To use an extreme example,
a not-for-profit specializing in Everglades clean-up should devote 90 percent of its
efforts to this activity. People and potential donors will be confused if the
organization suddenly begins touting itself as a healthcare insurance advocate.

I = Intelligence

To remain on top, powerhouse brands have to be intelligent. This is especially
important in today’s high-technology world. One example of an intelligent brand is
Coke, which Interbrand ranked number-one in overall brand value.

Coke established its brand through traditional television and print (newspaper,
magazine) advertising. Now, Coca-Cola has decreased its traditional advertising
spending and moved toward new on-line and entertainment communications
channels - partly through product placement.

Smaller organizations can practice intelligent branding by exploiting new trends in
how people consume information. For example, a mid-sized public relations firm
wishing to reinforce its reputation for innovation and intelligent analysis might
launch a blog or weekly podcast.

L = Love

Customers appreciate and reward brands that care about the product or service they
produce. Much has been made of Apple’s canny use of MP3 technology to establish
itself as a global leader in on-line music. However, another pillar of Apple’s success
is the fact that the company clearly loves making innovative and quality wares.
Everything from the design to the packaging of Apple’s products is well conceived.

To establish a great brand, organizations should love what they produce and care
about their customers or constituents. Nothing will undermine a brand’s value
more than a poorly developed product or service. In addition, organizations should
be quick to correct problems whenever they arise.

D = Daring

Top-flight brands have to be daring — within reason. If aligned with an
organization’s overall goals, risk-taking can be very beneficial. BMW is one
example. The company wanted to reinforce its brand value with customers that are
increasingly tuning out advertising. It picked an unlikely solution: short Internet
films. The films, which began appearing in 2001, featured BMW cars and were
produced by top directors like John Woo. BMW’s risk was rewarded by an 8 percent
rise in its brand value between 2004 and 2005, as measured by Interbrand.

Organizations should consider taking calculated risks to reinforce or reignite their
brands. This might mean partnering with an organization in a different industry to
achieve shared objectives. Being open to a little risk may reap great rewards.

Building great brands requires know-how, creativity and a little luck. However, with
perseverance and discipline, organizations of all sizes can achieve branding
success.

(c) 2006 Fard Johnmar

Fard Johnmar is founder of Envision Solutions, L.L.C., a full-service healthcare
marketing communications consulting firm. Envision Solutions provides
innovative products and services to not-for-profit and for-profit
organizations. Envision Solutions’ goal is to make our clients more efficient
and successful. For more information about Envision Solutions please visit
our Web
site.