Brand fundamentals workshop at NUA

As a company we have strong links to Norwich University of the Arts (NUA), with several of us being alumnus, and it is fair to say that we have fond memories of our time there.

Given that, and the fact that its reputation has grown even further in the subsequent years, we were honoured and delighted to accept an invitation to run a brand workshop as part of the ‘Platform’ series of events for students.

Platform is run by the Ideas Factory – a NUA initiative which works to bridge the gap between academia and the workplace; whether that’s finding a job, freelancing, or starting a company.

Our workshop followed a presentation by Tim Youngman, Director of Marketing and Communications at Archant who led the audience through an enjoyable and authoritative exploration of ideas surrounding the importance of branding. Students were challenged to think more deeply about the influence of brand from business, cultural and sociological perspectives.

It was then our job to lead a ‘Brand Fundamentals’ workshop. Its an exercise that we take a lot of our clients through and is intended to lay the foundations for a brand strategy by establishing six core elements of a consistent and successful brand, namely: Mission, Vision, Essence, Personality, Target Audience, all leading to the creation of the Brand Positioning Statement.

When we undertake this process with a client, it certainly takes longer than the 45 mins that we had on the day! However, the audience were more than willing to keep up with the hectic pace as we challenged them to take a forensic look at their own brands. For some this was a product they were planning on launching, others had existing businesses, but for many it was an opportunity to consider their own ‘personal brand’ and how to market themselves to potential employers.

Our thanks to Beth Sowersby at the Ideas Factory for the invitation, and for the enthusiastic attention of the students on the day.