Lesson In Branding From The Big Guys
The journey continues and branding was at the fore for me this week.
I had been working on my brand and asking these questions:
How do you feel about your brand?
How do other people feel about your brand?
How do you see my brand?
What values do you relate to me and my brand. So many questions!
No I didn’t have all the answers. Then last Saturday morning when we arrived at Rainbow Bay Beach we were greeted with a sea of purple yoga mats, banners and a finishing post all with the word ROXY shining forth. Every yoga mat had ROXY printed 3 times on the side of the mat.
There were a huge number of people young women milling around waiting to participate in some event. When I enquired to see if i could play and get a schwag bag I was told I had to have registered online. It was too late.
Here comes the lesson……..
The brand Roxy is a surf wear and accessories company for women. It is one of the main sponsors of the Roxy Pro World Championship Surfing circuit which was on at the time. It’s big time for Coolangatta and with the men’s Quicksilver Pro as well brings millions of dollars into the local community every year.
The major sponsor Samsung Galaxy, known for phones, tablets, etc was about champions, not a phone in sight in all the signage.The message was we support the best in the world.
So what’s the lesson for me?
I tend to focus on the colors, the design, the fonts which is all okay and necessary, along with creating the mood and the style.
This is where the answers to the questions above come in.
It’s about the feelings, emotions, how others perceive your brand, how you feel about your brand.
The values people associate with your brand. These can be many and varied, positive or negative. Yes we would like them all to be positive, that is not always the case.
The values I like to see associated with my brand and thinking about what people tell they see, are: insightful, intuitive, inspiring, colorful, energetic, fun, full of love, honest, transparent, heart centered, making a difference, courageous, strong, creative, artistic. abundance, bold…….
Added values from my Facebook post
Layer of learning through love, UPLIFTED, so uplifting, adventurous, warmth, care, trust, service, layered love, joy, happy, light, nurtured, full of love, bright. artsy,beauty, radiant, positive.feel good…….
Have I missed any or (being bold would you challenge any of those from your perspective?) I would love to hear from you in the comments
This week has been a cycle of learning and a fresh awareness about my brand, Not always comfortable. Having an accountability partner is a lifesaver. Otherwise I might have given up!
My lessons from the change:
It’s okay to reflect and reboot when your heart tells you that you are not on the right path! Yes that happened for me a couple of times this week. Then I drew the Inner Peace card 3 days in a row!
- If you document the journey nothing is wasted. Important to keep good records and files so you can find them.I had a couple of times where I lost my cool as I couldn’t locate my notes!
- Sometimes you have to step away from the formal course work and listen to what you heart is telling you and take the necessary action to be true to yourself.
- If people think you change your mind too often, don’t worry! Better to change your mind than stay on the wrong path.
The Branding Challenge
When your heart feels uncomfortable with how things are going you must stop.
- Look at who your ideal client is
- Your products and services
- Ask who am I in my business and what do I stand for?
These three, your ideal client, what you offer,and who you be have to sing together like a great trio, in perfect harmony.
If it is not in harmony you have to go back and reengineer so it is not out of tune.
This is take 3 of my branding board. I feel I am getting closer to the feeling, style my brand reflects. I forgot to add in my products, so there will be take 4.
5 step process for generating income- update.
What I have found as I shared last week this process is very intense and taking double the amount of time I allocated. I am planning this week to be further down the track with my selling plan. I will also be offering discovery sessions for my Your Heart’s Desire Program .
I have been doing short interviews as part of this process. thanks to those who volunteered. If any of you reading this would like to answer the 3 question I am asking , just say so in the comments.
This is what I put out on facebook and in The Heart Whisper Circle:
This might be you or someone you know.
I am doing some Market Research and I am looking for Heart Centered Entrepreneurs to interview. These are people who doing well or okay, but they want more. They have dreams they would like to pursue. Currently they are blocked, or have had a challenge that stopped them. They now want clarity around what their next step is to move forward to live their Heart’s Desire. They are ready to get clear. change and prosper.
Interviews are confidential, will take place on Skype (20 mins) or written. There will be a Suzie bonus for each interviewee
all my love
Listening to the whispers of your heart brings ♥MoreCOLOR ♥ More LOVE ♥ More ABUNDANCE ♥ AND TRANSFORMS YOUR LIFE. ♥
Get you own set of Heart Whisper Oracle cards here
Suzie, I am so excited about what you are doing!!! There is a very strong vibration of deep energy that is now integrated using color, font, words and all tied to the chakra energy! Love, love, love the heart with all the words….that distills into the lovely compassion of your approach to people. We feel that energy deeply from you! It is coming through strongly, it is not so much that you are changing….lots of people change….but it is an integrating, a distilling of what you are. Hugs and love!
Me too Elsie, Love those words: very strong vibration of deep energy and that you see the chakra energy. Thank you for how you saw the heart. I love that my energy is coming through- I rarely feel it, so love that you feel it. Another client says that I integrate mind, body and spirit and love how you have expressed it. My heart is singing , thank you love and hugs to you xxoo
Once again, how nice to be on my own rebranding journey when you are too. I get a lot from your updates — so helpful.
I don’t think anything is missing from your beautiful tag cloud. Just wondering why Creative is smaller than I would think it would be, because, sister, you embody Creative for me.
xoxox
Sue
Love we are sharing this journey Sue. Think that I maybe have needed to put Creative in more than once- don’t know how tugul works. See you next week for part 4. might be my final one for now. love Suzie xxoo
Hi Suzie, As many of the other commenters have said, I am grateful that you are sharing your process in joy, honesty and vulnerability. So many of us are approaching the same questions, and looking to step into ‘bigger shoes’ and more into our own magnificence and joy. I’d be happy to be a volunteer for a short conversation about any of this, if you still need volunteers, and we can meet in a time zone shared by NYC and Australia! Love & blessings on your journey, Reba
Hi Reba,
Yes I would love to have a short conversation, I will message you. Thank for you positive feedback , it makes my heart sing that so many of my readers are being inspired. Love and hugs, love what you are doing xxoo
I Love the idea of a branding board Suzie! Very you 🙂 The colours…everything!
And I agree with everyone here, your journey is now part of our journey too.
The coming week we jump on skype for sure, I have my hands full with work and Haaniya’s final exams…hence the delay.
Will email you.
Lots of love,
Z~
Yes Zeenat the branding board is a joy for me, I love that my journey is now your journey, excited to see what you do. You will be so excited by my upcoming post and look forward to skyping, has been so long Love Suzie xxoo
Thanks for sharing this insightful and inspiring post, Suzie. It is also my experience that true change requires patience and a willingness to make adjustments along the way.
So true Marianne and this week has brought a major shift that says it was worth the shifts and the patience xxoo
I feel like I’m part of your journey of evolution as a person and a business, Suzie. I’ve really enjoyed reading the posts in this series. I think bold and colorful are absolutely part of your brand. Thanks for sharing your “branding board.” I’d never seen anything like that! It’s making me think. My blog is one color cause I just can’t manage to choose a second one!!!! I’m so different than you in that way.
Sandra I love that you are part of this journey with me. When I made my brand board I saw my earlier textile business which was so colourful and full of rainbows. I think your blog reflects your brand and I see it as pastel, and maybe more than one xxoo
Suzie, I can relate on some level because I’m going through that process now. In fact your example has inspired me to create something that’s visual so I take what’s in my mind and put it on paper, just as I teach in my goal-setting class. I love your colors and they are YOU. Your artwork, scarves, etc. have always been bold, but not harsh.
I missed your other posts, so will go back and read to see how your process is evolving.
Hi Yvonne, Hope you enjoyed the 2 earlier posts, part 4 coming tomorrow. Thank you for your feedback on my artwork. I am stepping back into the bold mode with joy
Your rebranding journey turns out to be what all our journeys are Suzie…becoming more of who we truly are. Love the questions you ask of yourself. 🙂
This is so true Elle, Today i was asked ” What is you biggest business dream for your business? My reply has rocked me as I have to make another shift: My biggest dream is to complete my book, be speaking to thousands, make that millions online and around the world, with my Heart Whisper Paintings as my backdrop. Sharing my story of saving my life through really learning to love myself and showing others how to do the same through listening to the whispers of their heart and living their heart’s desire This will create ripples of change and bring more love and peace to the world. 🙂 Thought you would appreciate this
I’m new to the idea of a branding board. I like the idea of your color selections and fonts. But, what really caught my attention were the questions you posed for yourself. I found myself struggling to answer them myself. Will be setting some time aside to work on these. Thanks for sharing your personal re-branding process. It’s very insightful.
Hi Joyce, I love that this is helping you, yes the process of rebranding continues to be a challenge for me as I get to my true heart’s desire. Ask your peeps for help as i did on my Facebook page yesterday.
Thanks for sharing your re-branding process. I love the three reminders in the Branding Challenge. Whether just starting out or in business for a long time, I agree that it’s so important to ask yourself these three questions and make sure they are all in harmony. I recently met with a branding expert for a quick consultation and she provide me with some many insights around my “branding lexicon” i.e., the language I use when I talk about my services and business. It was so helpful. But I think the most important thing is to “Be True to Yourself” as you say. Good stuff!
Hi Jennifer, I think you final words, Be True To Yourself are so important and I am amazed at how off track one can get from that with this process. Today i have written out my dream for my business, after being asked what was my biggest dream for my business and that flow from my heart, a few more changes coming. xxoo
I have been mulling this over, thinking about it, asking quietly and feeling it through….it is still a work in progress for me. I am in awe of the approach you have taken and the creative effort you are pursuing to land on your beautiful brand. Thank you for the inspiration!
Welcome Teresa, I love that you are inspired. I think branding is always a work in progress, Always evolving 🙂
I love that you are sharing your rebranding journey, Suzie! Your board is very impressive and of course, the colors are just so YOU. I have a digital version of a brand board set up on powerpoint because it allows me to easily play with colors and images, but it’s not as detailed as yours and you’ve definitely inspired me to look at a couple of untapped areas. Thanks so much and really enjoying this series!
Thanks Marty, Yes I have this set up in my Keynote so I can keep building as the journey grows. I am happy that you are finding the series useful xxoo