Jim Paglia, President and CEO of Creating Brand That Stands/In’s & Out’s LLC, presented a half-day workshop, titled “Creating Brands That Stand: Being Purpose-Driven, Empathetic and Disruptive,’ for a crowd of nearly 100 local businesspeople and Elmhurst College students and faculty in the Founders Lounge of the Frick Center at the College on November 8. Click HERE to watch video from workshop.
Paglia’s presentation looked at the “coporate” behavoir of well-know businesses or organizations, from Nike to the March of Dime, that developed familiar brands that have stood the test of time, and how people interpret and experience that behavior. For example, customers at Walt Disney World theme parks and Universal Studios now expect experiences that will capture their imagination and their sense of adventure, respectively.
A brand should be purposeful—it should “explain why we do something, and why we believe it’s important,” Paglia stated. And the explanation should be persuasive, resting on behavior that is authentic, relevant and consistent. “You need to have direction; you need to know who you are and where you’re going.”
A successful brand also should be disruptive, but not destructive: “It should say to whoever you’re communicating to that ‘We’re not who you think we are.’ How can you separate yourself from others, and figure out a better way to do something?”
Finally, a successful brand needs to be empathetic to the people who experience the product or service. “It’s about them, not us,” Paglia stated. “Users should see themselves in what you say and the stories you tell.
“It comes down to the people, not the product,” Paglia said. “If you don’t relate to people, you don’t have a brand.”
The workshop was sponsored by Elmhurst College, Pan American Bank & Trust, the City of Elmhurst and Elmhurst College Commission, the Elmhurst Economic Development Commission, and the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry.