360° Of Brand Strategy For A Changing World

Branding Strategy Insider and The Blake Project Proudly Present:

The Un-Conference: 360° of Brand Strategy for a Changing World

May 16-17, 2013

Andaz Hotel, San Diego, California

Limited to 100 Participants

Dedicated solely to the art and science of brand strategy and management, this two-day workshop will be unlike anything else you’ve ever experienced!

For two full days in May 2013, a small, exclusive group of marketers will gather together with legendary marketer John Sculley and the Senior Partners of the Blake Project to create a one-of-a-kind learning and networking experience dedicated to all aspects of building successful brands for the 21^st century.

Intensive and illuminating, this workshop will equip participants with the insight, tools and techniques required to release the full potential of their brands in a new era where consumers now drive and own the conversation about brands.

The Un-Conference: 360° of Brand Strategy for a Changing World

Over the past two decades, the specialized discipline of brand strategy and management has evolved significantly from an advertising function to a strategic business imperative for creating competitive advantage and greater financial value.

For nearly a decade, the Branding Strategy Insider blog has been recognized by brand marketers all over the world as their leading source of insight, inspiration and innovation, un-covering the ideas and techniques of the best thinkers and practitioners in the business who are driving innovation in all aspects of brand management for the 21^st century.

As an extension of this highly-valued brand education resource, The Blake Project and Branding Strategy Insider have designed a brand education experience unlike any you have ever attended. It’s not the typical conference format of talking heads and distance between you and the experts. These two days are interactive working days where you will take a deep-dive immersion on the most important aspects of creating innovative brand-building strategies – all presented in a unique and competitive team environment.

You will work side-by side with your pre-selected teammates. You will get to know them, learn from them, and with them. Through a blend of unique simulations, engaging and fun game elements and exercises, you will make critical decisions that result in consequences for your team, while gaining valuable insights you can take-away to aid and inspire you in building the future value of your brands.

And as in the marketplace – some will win, some will lose. All will learn.

The Blake Project Senior Partners will be your hosts and guides along with other notable experts in the world of brand marketing. The Un-Conference will be a unique and exclusive collaboration with colleagues and thought leaders you surely will not want to miss.

Registration is limited to only 100 participants, secure your seat today!

For two days, participants in the Un-Conference will explore useful ideas and best practices on critical topics of brand strategy and managment that impact marketing success in today’s ever changing marketplace:

 The five drivers of customer brand insistence

Learn how these critical factors move customers from brand awareness to brand preference and loyalty. We’ll explore and share examples of brand’s whose marketing successes are dependent on each of these key drivers.

Using market research to craft the most powerful brand position

Learn the most important criteria for developing a compelling brand position. You will also learn the importance of selecting the appropriate target customer segment, crafting value proposition statements and supporting your claims with proof points and “reasons to believe.”

Understanding Customer’s Motivations

Through projective research techniques, we’ll explore many different techniques for uncovering why brands matter to people, and give you hands –on experience working several of them.

Understanding the Customer Benefit Hierarchy

Learn the importance of laddering up from raw brand attributes, functional benefits to emotional, experiential and self-expressive benefits that form the basis of relevant brand differentation and a compelling value proposition.

The six most powerful sources of brand differentiation
In an era of commodization in most product categories, explore the five most powerful sources of brand differentiation that determine competitive advantage and marketoplace success.

Creating a “Category of One” Brand

This is the ultimate goal of any brand – to become a “category-of-one” with no competition, no peers, no substitutes. It is rare that a brand achieves this lofty goal. We’ll share insights and ideas on how this can be achieved, then you will be challenged to do this in a team competition.

Branding commodities

How many times have you heard someone say, “All of the brands in our category are undifferentiated. We are in a commodity category. Our brand can’t be differentiated.”?  This is a fun and energizing team competition that will demonstrate anything can be strongly branded/differentiated.

The Art of Brand Storytelling

The power of brands lies in their unique story. How that story is developed and expressed verbally and visually is critical to the invention or transformation of an enduring brand.

You’ll learn the necessary components that comprise a compelling brand story, the importance of brand archetypes as a foundation for brand messaging and communications, and how brand messaging platforms are created to guide creative executions in marketing communications.

Customer Touch Point Design

Brands must consistently deliver on their promise at every point of customer contact. In this segment, we’ll explore the methods to develop high ROI proof points for your brand’s promise at each current customer touch point as well as at new touch points.

The Art and Science of Brand Extensions

Leveraging brand equity to extend a brand into new product/service categories is a critical growth strategy for many brands today. In this segment, we’ll explore ideas for success including: brand asset mapping, how to develop these tools using market research, and innovative inbound and outbound brand licensing strategies.

Now is the time: Be the game changer for your brand 

“Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water or do you want a chance to change the world?”  — Steve Jobs to John Sculley in his successful effort to recruit John to Apple.

These two days are reserved for marketers who want to change the world by creating more value than ever before for those that are most important to their brand’s future. Working in small, intimate groups is the best way to help you get there. That’s why we have limited the Un-Conference Workshop to 100 people, 10 teams of ten, 10 tables and one room.

Who should attend:

• Marketing Oriented Leaders

• Advertising agency professionals (account executives and planners)

• Marketing professionals
(brand managers, product managers, directors, vice presidents, etc.)

• All marketers faced with brand strategy issues

• All professionals charged with brand building and management

Let’s work together for real impact!

Register for The Un-Conference: 360° of Brand Strategy for a Changing World Today.