[Originally posted at 'Round the Square]

Back in December I posted an entry entitled, “What carbs can teach us about branding.” With the holiday feasts around the corner, I thought it would be good fun to walk through brand relationship strategies using snack isle brands as examples.

To briefly recap, businesses—for-profit and nonprofit alike—typically manage a family of products and programs, and the perceived relationships between those offerings and the “master” brand matters. That’s ultimately how credit and equity accrue in the right places.

With that in mind, snack isle mainstays Mars, Nabisco, Pepperidge Farms, and Entenmann’s provided a clear set of examples to help frame thinking around brand relationships, which exist on a continuum from product-focused to master brand-focused.

So what does this mean in the world of social media?

Social media provides marketers and brand stewards myriad new opportunities to engage those that matter most in meaningful, two-way dialogues. Some say the price you pay for this increased engagement is a loss of control. While you can’t control the conversations, you can work to control the brand context in which they take place.

Social media involves people just as much as programs and products. How you connect to and leverage the power of your people will play a huge role in your success online. And with brand diffusion a continuing threat, managing how your social media outposts are positioned verbally and visually is vital.

Continue reading at ‘Round the Square >>

[Originally posted at 'Round the Square]

With the holidays upon us it’s officially open season on carbohydrates. But instead of bemoaning inevitable holiday weight gain, let’s take a moment and see what our sugary friends in the snack isle can teach us about brand relationship strategies.

Most businesses manage a family of offerings, and the perceived relationship between those “sub” brands and the parent or “master” brand matters. From financial firms with multiple fund lineups to non-profit arts organizations in the performing, presenting, education, and retail businesses, a strategy for managing the relationships between parent and product brands—so that credit and equity accrue in the right places—is a must.

Continue reading at ‘Round the Square >>