Envisia
Adela Jansen
Board Member
What is the branding process?
Branding or rebranding is an investment in the future, and I believe the process is as important as the outcome. As you go through it, you rediscover yourself, learn, and mature. It’s not an easy and quick process because it’s about strategy, direction, alignment, and depends on many factors, but it can certainly be a pleasant and beneficial one, if done with professionals. And the expectation of such an exercise is to create a virtuous circle because it can be viewed from various perspectives. For example, for the management team of an organization, including board members, it would be to feel more comfortable with reaffirming the purpose of our business in a complex and competitive world. Because we’re talking about aligning our vision, mission, and values. For internal stakeholders, such as employees, it’s about the pride of joining a company. Why should they stay in that company, and why would they want to continue being its ambassadors? And for external stakeholders, it’s about the perception of the added value we offer to be real and consistent with the actions and ultimately the behavior of the company. Being an investment in the future, branding or rebranding contributes to increased resilience and adaptability of the business, which is recognized by partners, investors as a sign of stability, strength, long-term viability. In an era of sustainability, we already see many elements where values and what you represent, business models matter, but also in fierce competition for resources, some differentiation elements but also the promise you make through this branding or rebranding process can provide confidence, credibility in the solidity of the business and through the exposure you accept when promising excellence.
What expectations should you have from a branding process?
As I said, it’s a process of knowledge and discovery that deserves to be traversed. Branding isn’t just about a logo, words, colors, which certainly matter because they need to be easily recognized and easily remembered. But above all these, I believe they must be supported by facts and behaviors. So, to rediscover more about ourselves who trigger it, about those involved through the perspectives or arguments given during the branding or rebranding process, which can sometimes be unexpected, about reviewing past achievements that trigger these reactions, and here I can think of the pride with which we look at them but also new things we can visualize in this process, and about the potential of those businesses that create motivations and aspirations for both internal and external stakeholders who have expectations and needs. Considering a rebranding process, I think it’s useful, it can also be pleasant with a professional partner. A brand has an influence on increasing customer confidence, differentiating in an increasingly competitive environment, and implicitly in the value of the company. If I were to summarize, I would say that the rebranding process is a long-term promise.
What are the benefits of branding for stakeholders?
Branding and rebranding are serious business. It’s as you have it in your slogan, and I really liked this parallel. I’ve participated in such exercises, including with you at INOVEO. In these rebranding exercises done by two organizations, where I was in the company of strong, personality-driven people, representing a variety of stakeholders. The process and the result obtained were at the desired quality level. And I knew you from the market by reputation, professionalism, the quality of a warm person with whom it’s a pleasure to interact. You knew how to guide us with a gentle firmness, which was very important in a game, as I said, a serious game that we all fulfilled. Then I liked the total involvement, humor, intelligence, teamwork in a pleasant, constructive way in which we went through both individual interviews, where you collected our unique perspectives, interactive workshops for aligning vision and objectives, presenting the final result that we embraced not only because it was our work but also because it was what we will represent from now on.
Now, from the perspective of a board member with roles and responsibilities for the benefit of the company as peacemakers and contributors to the well-being of the business, with care for all stakeholders involved, with a role in organizational culture, with attention to our own reputation, I believe that an investment in branding or rebranding and in what we must do post-branding makes sense. Specifically, that everything we promise in this serious game of rediscovery, learning, development must include them all thoroughly in the business strategy, in governance, but also together with the executive team, with the people in the organization, to find them in everything we do. To ensure that the agreed-upon vision, mission, values are part of our daily policies and procedures. You can think about rebranding from any angle, at any stage in the life of a company that may be in its growth, transformation, or even in the selling process where the brand has an inherent value that investors look at, analyze, are attracted to, and consider when making an offer. So, a properly conducted rebranding process and followed up after its completion, I believe, has tangible results in business.
