Today it was really interesting to read something about branding. Which made me think...

I used to do workshops on branding. And our branding back here at The Apprentice Academy is starting to get standardized - something I have been gently implementing for a couple of months.  The change is coming... we will get there. 

So today it was really interesting to read something about branding. Which made me think...

From the Linchpin Academy (like the name...) 

There is an  edited down a brilliant video that talks about BRAND.  

You will find the video here.

It is really well worth a watch. 

This video talks about lots of global brands which obviously have taken a colossal amount of money, time and effort to build the brand equity to where it is now.   

Couple of keys things to take away from the video were:

• Brand is an expectation you set and it's not something you own! 
• Expectation is set through a prospect's experience.
• Declaration of a promise or value is nothing more than words.  (saying you deliver great customer service isn't the same as experiencing great customer service)
• You have to pay to build a brand. You either pay with money or time. There are no shortcuts.

All the above is soooo true. 

Your customer MUST experience something which aligns with your story and your brand promise for it to become something they will tell people about. 

And you only have three things in life - money. time and energy. There are no shortcuts - what you pay with one you save with the other. 

There are no shortcuts to establishing a brand especially when you are in an established industry like we are at The Apprentice Academy. 

Apprenticeships are as old as the hills. But new modern apprenticeships like our digital and social media apprenticeships are brand new. But they do not make a brand. They start it.