For Business Report’s 40th anniversary edition, we asked nine community leaders and young professionals how Baton Rouge can fulfill its potential as an economically thriving midsized city. Below is an excerpt from Covalent Logic founder Stafford Wood, about rebranding Baton Rouge:
When a company comes to me and says they want to rebrand, it sometimes means they want a new logo. I often counsel that a new brand should be the result of a change in direction, a movement toward a new vision and a transition to a new purpose. Choosing a new mark, typography and colors does not give a company a new brand.
A brand is the perception of your company. It’s what makes someone “one of us” and what makes someone proud of buying from “us.” It’s the feeling you get when you talk about a company. It’s the agreement we have for what a company is. Nike is for winners. Apple is for creatives. Manda is for Louisiana kitchens.
Organizations, communities, and people have brand identities, too. The brand of Austin, Texas, used to be weird and a music city, but it has added tech. Las Vegas’ brand is tied to entertainment. New York’s to culture, arts and finance. Brooklyn’s brand has shifted from plumbers to DUMBO in my lifetime. When you travel somewhere and say where you are from, what do people know about this place?
A brand position represents the essence of the community and, as such, should guide all insider conversations and external promotion. We get to define what we talk about to each other and to the outside world. If successful, our words will define something that is desirable (by residents and prospective residents), distinctive (from the competition), deliverable (by the community) and durable over time.
So, what is Baton Rouge’s brand?
Read Wood’s full essay from the latest edition of Business Report. Send comments to editor@businessreport.com.
