Raise the branding bar

Step 1: what do you want to get out of having a clearer, sharper and stronger brand? Step 2: how are you perceived today – both internally and externally? And where are the gaps between the two? Step 3: where are the opportunities in the market to strengthen the brand? (market, competitive and customer segmentation analysis). Step 4: what is a realistic, authentic and compelling vision for your brand? Test some scenarios. Step 5: Piloting, then implmentation, including a brand campaign.

“In general, I would advise against changing too often,” he says. “It is important that the DNA of the brand stays the same while it evolves over the years. Of course, sometimes it can be necessary to get the fundamentals changed – i.e. if the company is about to go bust or the company has a new ambitious strategy to outcompete the market.”

To make a brand come alive, people all over the organisation need to breathe and live it, says Mr Valskov. “Making sure that it is aligned across countries, cultures, etc., can be tricky. It requires a powerful global steer through advisories, cascading sessions, discussions and constant internal mass communication, beating the drum to make sure people internalise what the company is about and how they can contribute.

“People are not robots where with a plug-and-play mindset you can expect them to understand and commit to a certain idea. It requires real skills to establish global alignment and often top executives actually get disconnected from their staff because they are powering ahead while the entire organisation is still sitting in the tunnel with no line of sight.”