Introducing a new episode on scaling companies, today focusing on the perspective of brand strategy, featuring Ezequiel Abramzon!
Ezequiel Abramzon, founder and consultant at LALO, is an expert with over 30 years of experience in creativity, branding, and innovation. His track record includes developing iconic brands like Disney, Marvel, and Star Wars while working as a global creative leader at Disney. He has collaborated with the best brands in the world, participating in the launch of films, theme parks, products, and services.
“What are the keys to creating a distinctive and memorable brand in a saturated and competitive market? This is a crucial question to drive the growth of companies today.” we discussed in this episode.
For Ezequiel, building a brand is one of the most important things an organization can do. Living in what he called "the Branding revolution,” he considered it essential to attract customers’ attention with solid, creative branding and campaigns that create valuable experiences for people.
Ezequiel maintains that the quality of the content should not be sacrificed to obtain short-term results since this makes it difficult to understand what we do. According to him, this is the result of a lack of strategy.
For Ezequiel, the three (3) ideas or brand strategies that work to scale companies are:
1. Brand Mentality: For Ezequiel, the "Brand Mindset" is crucial since it allows entrepreneurs to place their brand at the heart of their company. “It is essential to place the consumer at the center of the brand and the brand at the center of the business,” he said. For him, most companies do it the other way around, placing the product at the center, then the company, and finally the consumer. This perspective must be reversed.
2. Brand Strategy: This involves making a series of decisions to influence how people perceive the brand. To build an effective brand strategy, Ezequiel asks five key questions:
- Why does exist our brand? (Purpose)
- To whom do we serve? (Customers)
- Where do we compete? (Market category or subcategory)
- What makes us stand out? (Differential value compared to the competition)
- How are we going to grow? (A brand experience we want to create)
Answering these questions, he says, allows founders and managers to assess whether the strategies are appropriate. The brand strategy is essential to organize and align all brand communications and actions, which in turn helps to make better decisions and be more efficient.
3. Correct Execution of the Brand Strategy: Many companies develop a strategy but fail to execute it. It is only possible to invest time and effort in its creation if we put it into practice. We must implement what we have planned. This implies making decisions that facilitate execution in the short term and generate results in the medium and long time.
Now, let's take a look at the two (2) negative experiences or symptoms in the strongest scale-ups in the B2B world, according to Ezequiel:
1. Copy the Leader of a Rival Company: The worst thing a brand (and its leadership) can do is imitate the leader of another organization in all aspects, be it on the web, in the value proposition, etc. "This will only position us as followers, and people will realize that we are not original," he considered.
2. Egocentrism in Marketing: Constantly talking about the brand itself, with phrases like "we can" or "we do," is a severe mistake. Instead, Ezequiel suggested addressing the client using language that establishes emotional rapport and speaking directly to them as if they were the only ones.
Finally, as a pending action in terms of brand strategy, Ezequiel wants to implement or test the following:
1. Write a Book: His objective is to articulate a book on creating and developing brands aimed at entrepreneurs. This book will be accompanied by a podcast that will reinforce the topics covered in the book.
With his vast experience and knowledge, Ezequiel has become a benchmark in branding and brand creation. Their ideas and strategies are critical to standing out in a saturated market and achieving sustainable growth in today's branding era.
The Zebra 3, 2, 1 podcast provides an opportunity to learn from experienced business leaders like de Ezequiel Abramzon and gain valuable insights on building a strong corporate value. Listeners can expect practical tips and effective strategies for fostering a solid corporate culture and a unified corporate vision.
At Alto, we are passionate about helping companies scale with technology and analyzing how other factors can aid in scaling organizations. Stay tuned for upcoming episodes.
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