By John Mathes, Director of Brand Strategy | NewGround

Sputtering. Hesitation. Inefficiency. Loss of power. All are symptoms of an automobile engine when it needs a tune-up. Sometimes you sense it, sometimes you feel it. Most often, the Check Engine warning light appears, but you have no idea what it means or what to do about it until you take the car to your mechanic. And sadly, many people ignore the warning light until the symptoms become severe enough to warrant immediate and sometimes costly attention.

Maintaining your organization’s brand sometimes follows the same path. There are signals that indicate something is amiss or not synced up correctly. These signals can be subtle and easy to miss. Or, just like the Check Engine light, they can be ignored. But that never turns out well – for your car or your brand.

Not many people would trade their car for another one because the Check Engine light was on. A tune-up by a qualified repair shop should enable your vehicle to return to its previous efficient and smooth-running condition. Your organization’s brand can be handled the same way by seeking an experienced brand development organization to review and adjust it.

Most often, a brand loses the ability to express its differentiation. Not having a clear, concise, and easy-to-understand brand position results in being lost in a sea of sameness from all the other competitors operating in the same space. The building blocks of differentiation are there, they’ve just been forgotten, ignored, or are misfiring. The brand needs a tune-up.

NewGround’s Brand Strategy Blueprint returns your brand to its high-efficiency mode. It examines your marketing communications and the total consumer experience you deliver to determine if your brand is standing apart from the crowd. Is your brand promise clear? Are messages consistent? Is personality evident? Tonality correct? Is imagery appropriate? Can all your associates express how your institution is different in a few short but concise words?

Any of these checkpoints (and others) can throw your brand out of tune. Any of them can cause your Check Brand light to illuminate. The question is, do you see it? Or worse, are you ignoring it?

Don’t delay any longer. Ask NewGround’s qualified brand mechanic, John Mathes, to inspect your brand. He’s been tuning financial brands for a long time and can deliver an affordable and executable plan to return your brand to its most efficient state.

Contact John at: jmathes@newground.com or 314.956.2858