Reghard Goussard, CEO of Artic Circle, writes “whenever I develop brand strategies for corporate companies or business-to-business brands, one question arises more than others: ‘do we need a brand?’” In this issue’s guest column, he sets points cleantechs towards ways to get branding right.

“Rather than defend our position as brand consultants, I always advise clients to turn to Kotler, the distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg Business School. Kotler nails it clearly: an effective corporate and/or B2B brand adds value and reduces risk. These are two messages that will resonate powerfully among cleantech companies, particularly those that are emerging out of early stage development and driving towards commercialisation. So with these in mind, let me take you on a short journey where I will seek to answer in my own way this question of “why brand?” based on our experience in this sector.

Accept clean and green is not a positioning

The concept of a green business is simply not a positioning factor. Responsibility and sustainability are well understood and increasingly front and centre to the strategies of major corporations.

Correspondingly, cleantech brands have to be built around bigger concepts than just being clean and green. You need to define why you exist and what you want to do. It may sound like a consumer question, but ask yourself ‘how do you want to change the world?’ But remember that other cleantech as well as mainstream brands also want to change the world. So the next question that begs to be asked is plain: how do you differentiate your cleantech brand?

Stand for something emotive and engaging – what is your essence

As a branding specialist I have seen some good ideas fail to translate into long-term viable businesses because they lack a core ‘brand essence’ to guide the company. Cleantech companies are perhaps at risk more than mature businesses because they are so focused on R&D that bring ‘brand’ later into the development cycle than they should. I firmly believe that cleantech brands need to step up to the branding plate much earlier to clearly define their core concept or core purpose. I recognise that this is not necessarily an easy thing for a science-based business to achieve. We come across examples of companies where the belief is that the technology itself is enough to engage investors, government or media. There needs to be more than this. In brand positioning workshops I often ask cleantech professionals to think about brands that they admire. Among those that are frequently cited is the telecoms giant, Orange. So what do you imagine is at the core of their brand?

It always provokes positive debate and keen interest because it is not success or power as one might imagine, or even connecting people, but ‘Optimism’.

Be unique through being you, build an identity

So my question to you is what is your “Optimism”? Answering this provides a valuable and rewarding platform to explore the primary challenge for every cleantech brand, namely defining your identity and bringing it to life as a brand. Not only is it essential to develop a clear and unique identity for differentiation, but also it will add value; it will root everything you do, from investor relations, to brand building communications, through to the look and feel of your website. It will create cohesion around your competencies and bring clarity to your approach. It will help define who you are and help you to engage with a wide audience base. You need to ask the question: do you want to be a Leader, the Charismatic Innovator or the Visionary Explorer? By adding this question to your Brand Blueprint, it will give you more focus and engagement.

Brands are naked again

The internet and social media have accelerated the way that information and opinion can be shared among audiences, all at the click of a mouse. Brands can no longer hide away in their specific category or industry. How your cleantech brand manifests in the digital space is particularly important. Accept that transparency and openness are the new mantras and build your brand from the bottom up with clarity and conviction. Remember, it’s not good enough to have a strong mission and vision statement, these are not concepts that consumers or stakeholders readily understand or engage with. You need to find compelling ways to engage with your audiences through storytelling, particularly if you are a cleantech that is emerging out of R&D into early-stage commercialisation. I believe that less mature brands can learn a lot from others, so take a hard look at effective corporate brand strategies inside and outside your category. GE is a one that many cleantech brands can relate to. Year on year, GE launches multinational campaigns that talk with authenticity to its audiences. It is successful because it finds lots of different and relevant ways for its many different audiences to engage with the organisation and its activities.

Concept driven, not product driven

I believe that many cleantechs could benefit by adopting concept and ideal driven approaches to branding. To sustain growth, a cleantech cannot just be about product. Strong conceptual ideas potentially offer a strong platform to engage with and connect to a wide target audience,
and reduce risk. Put bluntly, if you continuously use products as engagement factor your brand could run out of steam. Give all your stakeholders something emotive that they can engage with. If you don’t believe me, take a look at the brilliant new IBM “Watson campaign”. It is clear-sighted example of bringing the brand to life in an impactful and engaging manner. The campaign is rooted in the IBM Brand identity and core essence. Not for nothing does IBM carefully nurture its brand – according to Millward Brown’s annual Brandz survey, IBM is the second most valuable brand in the world. And it’s held this top position for many years.

Step up and lead

Branding represents an opportunity for cleantechs to add value by creating brand value. To achieve this, cleantechs should not wait until
their products / services reach maturity. Understanding the brand essence is essential – and it needs to be more than just a rational point of
differentiation; it needs to be an emotive point of engagement. Finally, cleantechs need to communicate strategically and be integrated at all possible touch points, with a particular focus on the digital space.

After the dip in cleantech venture funding in 2009 – and the modest return to growth in 2010 – all the evidence suggests that 2011 will be a stronger growth year. That’s welcome news – and here’s my prediction: the most promising stars of cleantech this year will be those that put brand at their core.”

Reghard Goussard is CEO of Artic Circle, brand consultancy partner to Greenpoint and our affiliate communications agency, Positive
Dialogue, in Africa. You can find out more by emailing reghard@arcticcircle.co.za