Jay Miletsky

During the years I’ve worked with various brands and brand managers, and have studied other brands to see how they’ve been developed, I’ve spotted some mistakes that brand managers make on a regular basis, which can often be the difference between failure and success:

1. Relying too much on data and research: Let me make this clear: I’m a big believer in research, statistics, data, focus groups, etc. I think research can give you insight into the minds and movement of any audience, and brand managers and marketers should use this information as they make their decisions. But good brand managers should also have a sixth sense when it comes to their brand and what’s best for it, and be able to make certain decisions even in the face of conflicting statistical data – not based on common sense, but based on raw, gut instinct. Brand management isn’t accounting – it’s not always just about looking at the numbers. It’s creativity. It’s sociology. It’s psychology. There may not be only one right answer, and brand managers need to know when to go against the grain.
2. Being reactive instead of proactive: Being reactive is really just playing it safe. Too often, brand managers wait it out to see what their competition does before taking any action of their own. Or they’ll balk at trying something new because nobody else in their industry has done it yet. One brand manager told me that he doesn’t like to be the first to do something because, as he explained, “the first pioneers through the canyons were the ones who ended up with arrows in their back. The next ones through knew which roads to avoid.” I guess that’s true[el]but it’s also true that first one to find the treasure chest gets all the gold. The next ones just find an empty box.
3. Going for the quick buck rather than the long-term gain: Brand-building is as much a time investment as it is a financial investment – but brand managers are often under the gun at the office, with mandates coming from higher-ups to make things happen faster. It’s understandable that this will prompt the brand manager to attempt to accelerate results. But if there is one fight the brand manager must take on, this is it. Going for the quick buck and marketing for short-term results might in fact yield short-term results, but those results will be a far cry from the much greater results that can be achieved with a longer-term brand-building strategy.
4. Not setting firm goals: No, this does not contradict the preceding bullet. Goals are absolutely necessary; they just can’t be too short-term or unrealistic. The importance of firm goals can’t be stressed strongly enough, since numeric goals are the only way to determine whether the best, most cost-effective strategies are being used.
5. Not taking their own branding guide seriously enough: Don’t get me wrong: I believe people in branding and marketing – on the client and agency side – can ignore certain mandates established by the guide as long as they maintain consistency in key areas and stay within the spirit of the brand. That being said, though, it drives me nuts when a brand manager makes some flippant comment like, “It doesn’t matter if the color is off by a shade or two. Nobody will notice.” Yes they will! And if they don’t right away, they certainly will when a full year and five print runs later the color is five or six shades off. Don’t screw with consistency – it’s a brand’s best friend.

Every brand manager is bound to make mistakes and will need to retrace their steps at some point to get back on track. To be honest, I give any brand manager a lot of credit – there’s a lot of weight on their shoulders, and very often they’re flying in a fog as they try to move the brand forward. But avoiding the pitfalls outlined here will go a long way toward keeping everyone moving in the right direction.