In 2008, I had a pretty trippy experience. I was invited to fly to the practice round of The Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia. And while I was there, I bought and Ice Cream Sandwich.
If you know much about The Masters, you know it is one of the most prestigious athletic events in existence. The members of August National take great pride in creating an atmosphere that is defined by excellence and exclusivity (the good kind). I lie not, even the pine needles under the trees in between the fairways were manicured. I didn't see trash on the ground...ANYWHERE. But what was most intriguing to me, especially with all of the media coverage, was the lack of outside corporate branding...ANYWHERE.
If memory serves, The Masters had 4 major corporate sponsors that year. I seem to recall Mercedes, VISA, maybe IBM and Pepsi? But you didn't see their logos...ANYWHERE. They were of course listed on signage and, I have no doubt, were extremely well represented during the television commercial breaks. But EVERYTHING at Augusta said "The Masters". The burgers, the hot dogs, the apparel, everything down to, you guessed it, the wrappers on the Ice Cream Sandwiches.
How big of a deal is your brand to you? Your initial answer would I'm sure be "It's a BIG deal." But if a customer were to visit your office or you made a visit to a customer location, would that customer conclude their interaction feeling like you brand was indeed a big deal to you?
Think about it this way. Let's say you weren't a golfer or had never even heard of golf. One visit to The Masters would not only impress upon you the importance of the sport, it would forever emblazon on your mind that the Masters' branding may actually be the branding for the entire sport of golf.
At Stephen Leckenby, Inc. our goal is to help you build your brand in such a way that your local community will DEFINE your industry BY YOUR brand. From business cards to billboards, from SEO to CEO, from electronic to aesthetic, let's show the world just how big of a deal your brand really is....to you AND to them.