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Are You Branded?

Last year I was part of a Strategic Planning program for PIC a Non-Profit. The experience emphasized to me the vital importance of "Branding"

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Who doesn't recognize.... the words "Plop Plop Fizz Fizz" , "G r r r-eat" or Snap,Crackle and Pop?

How about Symbols? Do these even need an explanation? dove ribbon

Large company's and organizations spend many thousands of dollars on Marketing and Branding. Company's aspire to the level of recognition that happens when Consumers associate their brand with a product! Think about Kleenex, Q-tips,or Band Aid! These "Brands" are universal.

In the world of Non-Profits or Organizations that rely on Fund Raising and Donations... establishing a strong Brand is vital. Philanthropists are more likely to dig deep for an Easter Seals a Salvation Army or The Heart Association than they are for a PIC....(a what?)

Take a look around you at Local Businesses or Service providers. Are there any that really stand out? Any you really notice or remember. How about other Real Estate Agents? How About You?

Here are a few here in Concord New Hampshire that I feel are particularly effective:

Sam Cooper Paving: Sometime ago I did a Blog about the Purple Truck that belonged to Sam Cooper It's Not a Figment...The Purple Truck Exists! . That truck is statring to be noticed around town and I have also noticed that his on site signs are now lettered in Purple!

D.McLeods Florist: McLeods has been a Concord NH tradition since 1902. They are seen all over town making their deliveries in this wonderful van....when you see the van.. McLeods you think D.McLeods!

Now what does this make you think of?... coffee sign Coffee anyone? No mistaking this Brand!

This is my bank. The First Colebrook Bank but around here they are known as the Moose Bank.. Bank Logo If someone says"the Moose Bank"...you know who they mean. Why a Moose? I haven't a clue!

Meet Carol Jordan! Carol's Ice Cream Carol is a loan officer for First Horizon Loans. Carol is well known in the Realtor community because of her innovative and creative ideas for marketing Herself. This picture is from last Summer when Carol hired an Ice Cream Truck to drive all over Concord NH to the RE Offices she does business with. It was FREE Ice Cream For All!

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As Realtors we all brand ourselves with the National Brand..the Realtor Logo. But how do you single yourself out from the crowd? How do you create your own memorable Brand?

I personally have several things I do to try and "stand out" I have a Keeler Famiy Realtors Sign On My Car! car logo I do a Bi-monthly Newsletter with market statistics, area trends, local sales figures and a few related articles.... bulliten I also throw in interesting web sites as I come across them!

my buletin

My newest "gimmick" (I got the idea from AR a while back) I have Candy Bar Covers( Hersheys Dark of course) with my name, logo and contact information to give out with my Buyer Packet or Seller Packet...

"There is No Stress That Chocolate Cannot handle" candy Not Perfect but getting there!

I'm still trying to come up with the "perfect" brand.

How about you?.... How do you Brand yourself?.... Are You Branded?

A new, New Hampshire Legend

It's All About The Purple Truck

New Hampshire Sunday Morning-#1

I Had To Give A Lesson Today!!

The Moral Of The Story Is...

Welcome to Keeler Family Realtors**A Family Business For 30 Years

*No Matter Where I Look....I See Green*

** About Pittsfield NH, Merrimack County**

Shaker Village***Canterbury New Hampshire

Canterbury New Hampshire

Our First "FREE" Presentation-Condominiums and Condominium Associations

CONDOMINIUMS AND A GREEN FRIENDLY FUTURE

Merrimack County***April Events**Watch This Space

NEW HAMPSHIRE HAPPENINGS -WATCH THIS SPOT

Concord, New Hampshire-A Village in City Clothing

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Joan Mirantz - Joni is a Realtor® with Keeler Family Realtors, a locally owned, Customer Service oriented Firm.
Joan Publishes a monthly Newsletter "Food For Thought" under the pen name Realtor Sherpa.
(Joan also answers to Miz Maven and Miss Joni.)

Joan works in Buyer and Seller Representation with concentrations in the Merrimack Valley Area and towns surrounding Concord NH - the Capital City.
"I love what I do, and it shows in how I do it"

www.yourrealtor.biz

Posted by Joan Mirantz- Concord New Hampshire Realtor on 07/31/2007 06:46 PM

Comments (51)

branding, marketing, brand, philanthropists, pic, concord nh, purple truck, mcleods florist, white mountain coffee, moose bank, keeler family realtors

Originally posted at: Concord NH~Joni~Merrimack County : Are You Branded?

This post has been included in New Hampshire Information Merrimack County, NH Information Concord, NH Information

51 Comments on Are You Branded?

JUL

2007

Joan, I loved this post !! Some very innovative marketing ideas here. Carol's idea of hiring an ice cream truck is fantastic and your chocolate bar wrappers look very spiffy . ((-:

Another post for my bookmarks and this one rated a 5 . Thanks for taking the time to put this together .

Thanks Jo...I've had to hide the chocolate bars from my dear husband!...they do look pretty spiffy don't they!

I like the tatoo, but I think I am just a bit too old for that! I guess I will go with the chocolate -- that is a great idea! Branding is important. I think the purple truck is a good branding idea -- it certainly caught your attention!

Boy, it sure did! I'll save a bar for you Joan!

What a fabulous post Joan. You darn near covered it all. I especially love the REALTOR Branding. I am proud of it and wish others would be even a little. I got in trouble with the Rain gods , at least they pretty much ignore me about featuring a post from a young man that I felt was totally disrespectful, my opinion alone it seems. Anyway,you have the same sort of passion as I do. I have a very profound respect for you Joan, I recite your name often. You are also a very special lady and I am personally proud to have met you here!

Most Sincerely,

William

PS, How do you the running list of your posts? Create it once and then just keep adding. I really like that idea!

What nice comments William. Thanks for stopping by.

I know the post you were referring to...in fact I think I remember agreeing with you ..to a point. I think it all boils down to attitudes and expectations and lets not forget knowledge! It is OUR job to project the image...it is NAR's job to promote US

(I just copy and paste from the previous list-I got the original from my Summary page-then add the last new one,highlight all and click on that dot alignment thingy on the bar above)

Well I guess that just goes to show you can learn something new everyday. I am working on something but not too sure what I want to do exactly. When it finally hits me I will share it with you.

Joan - Branding is definitely something that some of us don't take as seriously as we should. I know I'm guilty of it. I like to think that my personality is my brand, but if someone doesn't get to meet me then they would never have the opportunity to make that decision!

Thanks for prompting me to go to the drawing board and put my thinking cap on. I promise to buckle down and think of something!

BTW - not to sound crass - but I'm wondering about the tramp stamp.....LOL (Not an original term!!!)

Hey Maureen...do let me know! We are all here to supply input. That's for sure!

Carol...I really never thought about it until I got involved in the non-profit world! People really need to know who you are!If you want to stand out from the crowd that is...

Oh the tatoo...that was wishful thinking!

AUG

2007

Just came back from a conference in Phoenix where I attended a seminar on branding. It sure made me realize that I don't have a brand...but IZ'm worjing on it!

Joan. I remember the post about the purple truck! I am not "branded" either, love your chocolate idea but I know mine would melt somewhere. Something I'd need to think about! Thanks for a great post.

Marlene...I'm sure the conference got you revved up. It really is a way to help yourself "stand out".After all not everyone can be July's "Top Producer"

Carole...I was thinking of..."Joni...this smiles for you". What do you think? Too corney?

Joan, this is great stuff. I love the candy bar. When we decided to open a company, we focused on the logo, but have done little to identify ourselves otherwise- I'm going to work on that today. THANK YOU!

Hi Laurie..this seems to have gotten a lot of people revved up. That was the whole idea! I'm glad...go for it! Kind of nice not having to go back and forth huh!

Hi Joan, that's a very nice collection of branding examples you put together. Quick question re your branded chocolate bars... are you also giving them out at special events like open houses? Just curious about the cost vs. effectiveness. The look great BTW!

Hi Marti...to be honest I just started using them and haven't used them in an open house yet!

The cost in the packets isn't bad cause you can get big boxes of Hersheys bars at wholesale clubs like Sams...I do my own printing(2 to a sheet)

I wouldn't think Open houses would bee too bad...they are so under attended!

I think their greates value is that they will be remembered...no one remembers a key chain!

Joan, congratulations on your featured blog! I did a little research on your hometown of Concord, NH, where Samuel Morse, inventor of the telegraph, once lived. What I found has nothing to do with branding, unless we consider Met Life stamping its brand on Concord. Be sure to read the text at the bottom of the Daily Monitor clipping!

MIke...they made many historical goofs like that in the 60's(the biggest regret ...the railroad station).As did so many other towns. Wanting to be "modern" Now...they are trying to re-create the ambiance!

Joan, very easy reading, and great examples of branding! By the way, I LOVE your "hot mama" photo. It made me start reading with a smile already on my face.

AUG

2007

This is a great post. I find it hard to create an image and stick with it. I know branding needs to be a consistent message to the consumer. Deciding on the message and image is the hard part for me.

Thanks Margaret..I got the "Tatoo" from a site called Image Chef

Try it it's lots of fun!

That's the hardest part Lori!...coming up with the Brand. But when it's right....it clicks. You'll know it!

AUG

2007

before i left sw florida in lehigh a large group of Realtors referred to me as "the suit guy." as you can imagine it's very casual for many in sw fla but i still feel business attire includes suits and ties.

I love that Jay...do you have that on your Business cards? You should use that term I your Blog title! Google would love it!

AUG

2007

I have been trying to think of a brand for the past couple of weeks. Great to see you write about the topic.

Steve...nice to see you. It really is hard to find one. Your company one is very good!

How about Steve "from the Big D"Lauver!

AUG

2007

Joan, I bought a magnet for my car but it's pretty boring. I need some great branding on it...ideas?

Hey, I'm almost view #800, awesome blog!

I agree that having a brand is of vital importance to being a successful business.

I am concerned though with the ease with which I try to reinvent the wheel when it comes to marketing and branding..... I can spend way too much time "tweaking" a publication to be just perfect before I will use it. Then almost immediately I decide I don't like something about it and back to the drawing board. Do any of you have any suggestions on how to release that iron fisted control that I seem to be hanging on to?

My wife is certain that I am simply scared to go out an meet people. Instead she feels I hide behind fixing everything just so.... I must admit that I think that she is somewhat accurate. I have been lurking here on the site so I apologize in advance if my post is not timely.

Best,

Scott Cowan

Hi Sue...I like your Don't Argu line! I think you should play on that!

Scott... Perhaps you should use the compulsion to be perfect to your advantage. make a list of daily to-do's and make sure to finish all of them every day...make one of them 2 hors of personal contact!

I'm working on this very thing. The difficulty lies in electing a 'look' that I'll still like as much next season. The commitment is difficult...

AUG

2007

Jennifer...after reading your profile you seem to enjoy appealing to young adults! I would play up that enthsiasm to your benefit! And really stress it!

AUG

2007

Joan, I have read some of your other posts and you are so creative! I really love this post! I do know I need to come up with something... Will think about it. I have also noticed that you are so kind and helpful to others. Puts a smile on my face!

AUG

2007

Why Thank you Candy....what a nice thing to say. Feel free to run any ideas by me if you want my 2cents!

AUG

2007

Excellent post. Once you know your target markets your branding should be the next thing you give careful attention to.

Thanks Joan!

This is GREAT. I am in the middle of doing some really out of the box thinking on branding as well. Once you get in the mind set you start rolling with it. Also, having someone else to play your ideas off of helps too! They might mention something that makes something click!

Hi Karen...well in this Market these are the things we should be spending our "freer time" on! I totally agree...

Erika...if you're looking for "bouncing space"...this is the place to do it. You will definately get some honest feedback! Thanks for commenting!

SEP

2007

This is a great conversation starter post and I look forward to more bouncing (of ideas, that is).

I love the chocolate idea! Thank you!!

I was just thinking about this... What will make me different from others....... WHY would some one want me to sell their home...... Now I know ... I need to BRAND myself...... GREAT IDEA>>> I LOVE THE CANDY BAR IDEA>>>>>>

Congratulations on being selected for Blogger's Choice Spotlight with this post! This is an important question...and something that real estate agents often don't take a lot of time to think through. The butterfly is an image that I have used for many years, but we also have our corporate logo.

Hello Michelle...thanks for stopping by. I'll be sure to post any new ideas...if you do the same!

Hello ???I love the candy bars too...that's the problem. I have to stop keeping them at home!

You're welcome Karen...I love the chocolate too(please see aboveLOL)

Hi Lola...thanks so much for the award! What a very pleasant surprise...

Joan Congratulations -- I am glad that the spotlight caught this very nice blog. Branding is so very important -- maybe I will have to reconsider the tatoo!

Hey Joan only your best friends would see it! Thanks for commenting!

FEB

2008

Do the First Colebrook Bank cards have the moose logo on them? Thanks. henri40404@yahoo.fr

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