You're not a marketing company so why are you called ON-Brand Partners?

It’s not uncommon for people to see the name ON-Brand Partners and think that we’re a marketing company. After all, anytime the word ‘Brand‘ is used, most people straight away think of advertising campaigns, promotions or packaging – something the marketing department usually looks after.
 
While ON-Brand Partners isn’t a marketing company, we do have brands at our very heart. And most importantly, what those brands promise.

All organisations have a brand, whether it be for a product or a service, that promises their customers something. That promise could be anything from better service, to better quality, to lower prices, to cool new products, to the biggest range and so on.  Most organisations then spend significant marketing dollars promoting that brand promise to their customers.
 
And when you make a promise to your customers, your organisation needs to live up to that promise because customers are more aware and demanding than ever. And if you don’t live up to it, the means by which they can punish you are infinitely greater and more powerful than ever before. Yes social media in particular has become the great megaphone of a generation, who either want to publicly punish, or reward you. And that strongly influences future transactions/purchases from that brand.
 
Therefore your brand is the most important asset you have, and everything about it must be managed well if it is to survive the disruptive forces that typify today’s commercial world.
 
“Our brand is what people say about us when we are not in the room.”
Jeff Bezos, Founder and Chairman, Amazon.com
 
And how do people judge a brand? Well it’s not whether they necessarily like your advertising or not, but a broader combination of all the interactions people have with every person/touchpoint/product from the organisation behind the brand, which influences their perceptions. So every organisation needs to make sure that every touchpoint delivers a consistent experience that matches what is promised.
 
Matching (or exceeding) customer expectations is what being ‘on-brand’ is all about.
 
And ultimately, the ability to be ‘on-brand’ is a reflection of the culture an organisation has, that allows it to consistently meet it’s promises, or not.
 
So back to why we are called ON-Brand Partners. It’s because ultimately we help organisations build the ‘right’ culture to support their brand promise and create the desired customer experience. A culture that allows them to consistently deliver the customer and product experience they need to in a fast changing world. And we do this by getting people engaged and aligned around:

• what their organisation/brand stands for
• where it is headed
• how value is delivered for customers, and
• their role in delivering the required experience

 
Our approach to culture change ensures it’s not just the marketing department that is that the guardian of the brand but critically, every person that works for the organisation. Essentially everybody becomes ’on-brand’.
 
This way customers will think and talk positively about your brand, and keep coming back for more. The very reason for your existence.

Grant Costello
ON-Brand Partners
[email protected]

Also see: ON-Brand Off-Brand: It's the (customer) experience that counts