Invest in a brand in the right way and it will clear a path to business growth.
As savvy investors, Private Equity firm Acacia Group build the value of the businesses they get involved in. Their aim is to enrich all stakeholders in the business - colleagues, customers, communities - not just their return.
Building brand value depends on unsentimental analysis and judicious interventions which starts with answering three fundamental strategic questions identified by McKinsey – ‘who we are’, ‘how we operate’ and ‘how we grow’.
At the simplest level brand does mean name and logo. You have to stand out in the marketplace. But more significantly, brand means engaging with stakeholders in a way which is compelling, authentic and distinctive. You have to provide something that people want and stand for something that matters - the promise of superior value.
And that’s where Chromatic can help. All too often, businesses have a good sense of their capabilities, but lack a clear definition of their value. We help businesses to better understand the dynamics of their markets and the demands of their customers. We use that insight to identify what makes the business special and appealing - the story it has to tell. And from there we create and develop a unique identity which evokes the proposition; and we design collateral, content and channels which connect the brand to its audiences. In short, we advise clients on what to stand for, how to stand out and where to stand up - to build profile, support growth and bring colleagues together.
It’s very well understood that intangibles represent the bulk of most business’s value. In turn, reputation and relationships represent significant intangible assets. To paraphrase McKinsey, if you want to grow you have to work out how to operate efficiently, and you first need to figure out who you are and what you need to be known for.
So the more a business invests in what their brand stands for, the easier it is for people to get behind it and support its success – including investors.
Brand strength has a direct correlation with business value.
