The brand identity should:

• Meet the purpose and objectives of the organization.
• Meet the needs of the target market for the brand.
• Define key brand characteristics to be communicated.
• Highlight the benefits of the products or services associated with the brand.

Some organizations start this process by completing a creative brief with details such as the organization’s vision, its target audience, the objectives of the brand identity and its key thought or idea. Some marketers use mood boards in addition to creative briefs. A mood board is a collection of images, materials and text that depict the brand concept. These tools help them define the brand identity and adjust it for new markets, if needed. Find examples of these online.

Want to learn more about how to appeal to the values and preferences of the target market by developing a strong international brand? Check out the FITTskills International Sales & Marketing online course.

Stand out from the crowd with a memorable brand name

The brand name provides potential international customers with information about the service or product and can help them form an immediate impression about the organization. Carefully selected brand names distinguish an organization’s service or product from a competitor’s. Also, it can send out a strong message about the organization’s marketing position or corporate personality.

Ideally, a brand name should be:

• Short and simple
• Easy to spell, pronounce and remember
• Pronounceable in only one way
• Indicative of the benefits of the product or service
• Easy to adapt to packaging and labelling requirements or to any form of advertising
• Non-offensive or negative
• Unlikely to become dated
• Legally available for use

International organizations take a variety of approaches to finding the right brand name. One approach is to simply invent a new word. Take Kodak for instance. Invented by founder George Eastman, the name Kodak (a word without a meaning) was deemed to be easy to pronounce and was non-offensive in the organization’s target markets.

Another strategy is to use a name that can be easily translated into different languages, such as Mr. Clean. Around the world, the iconic Mr. Clean character is known as Maestro Limpio (Mexico), Monsieur Propre (France) and many others.

The stakeholders involved in selecting the international brand name would benefit from the insights and guidance of individuals who are fluent in the international market’s language and culture. Found below is a list of the typical ways to select a brand name.

Similarly, these processes could be used to select an appropriate international logo, slogan, colours, numbers and imagery.

1. Research brand names in use

Determine the brand names currently in use in the target foreign market then evaluate their effectiveness.

2. Identify three to five product or service characteristics

Determine how the product or service should be represented to the target market. Then pinpoint the traits of the product or service that will distinguish it from competitors which will help convince consumers to purchase it over the competition.

3. Identify three to five organizational characteristics

Determine how the organizations represented to the target market. Identify the personality traits of the organization (e.g. efficient, unique and supportive) that would resonate with the target audience.

4. Create buzz words

Create a list of all the words and phrases associated with the characteristic or personality traits from steps two and three. Also, make sure the words and phrases on the list correspond with the offering if you want to incorporate that into the name.

5. Envision the brand name

Consider how the list of words and phrases generated would look if featured on a billboard sign or on the product’s packaging. Include possible graphic images and print typefaces for enhancing the appearance of these phrases. It might help to consider how these names would sound when spoken. Throughout this process, it will become easier to reduce the list of words and phrases down to only the most effective and captivating.

6. Test possible brand names

Once reduced to 10-15 names, test potential customers’ reactions through focus groups or surveys.

7. Check for availability of use

Last but not least, check whether the remaining brand names are available for use via trademark search. For a fee, advertising or marketing firms, or certain attorneys, can conduct this type of research. Another option is to submit a formal request for a trademark or service mark and wait to see whether it is approved.

The post Develop the perfect brand name for your business with these 7 simple steps appeared first on Trade Ready.

The alibi is broken, however, when Elaine and George can’t even provide Susan with the basic details of his job, such as what he imports.

This example conveys a simple idea: international trade jobs are important, but most people still struggle to describe or define them.

This makes it difficult for professionals to understand what knowledge and abilities they need to gain to get a job in the industry, and a challenge for businesses in terms of hiring and training for skills gaps within their current team-structures.

The challenge is therefore to define and standardize international trade skills, responsibilities and jobs based on a common level of industry competency.

By ensuring that trade professionals, educators, employers and others are all on the same page, everyone involved in international trade can work together to ensure a competent and competitive global trade workforce.

A global first in international trade standards

FITT’s International Competency Standards (ICS) project is proudly taking on this challenge and breaking new ground for the global business industry.

So far, the project has involved international secondary research analysis, online surveys, a series of cross-Canada focus groups, document reviews and one-on-one interviews, all with international trade experts from around the globe.

These expert professionals are all selected for their many years of hands-on practical experience, as well as their ability to contribute meaningful ideas to how their skills and occupations must be defined.

Because of these steps and the methodology behind them, the project is enabling international trade professionals to self-define their competencies, their sector, and eventually how others will perceive their work.

While occupational standards projects done in other sectors have used similar methodologies, the size of the international trade sector and the extraordinary passion and willingness to participate seen in international trade professionals all across North America differentiate the ICS project.

International trade represents more than sixty percent of Canada’s GDP, and one in five Canadian jobs are dependent on exports.

“One of the things I’ve learned from this project is the breadth of the industry,” says Calum Macdonald, Product Innovation Manager at Emerit, a consultancy firm hired by FITT to help complete the project.

There are so many roles, and it includes so many people and occupations.

Phil Mondor, Senior Vice President at Emerit, similarly expressed that even many of the global trade participants, all experts in their industries, had underestimated the size of the sector.

While its size offers some unique challenges, Phil was excited about the opportunity to “break new ground for a sector that hasn’t been standardized before,” and create competencies that will be “the first of their type anywhere in the world” in global trade.

A sense of appreciation and pride for global trade careers

Since the ICS project is designed to enable international trade professionals to define the competencies and occupations in their own sector, FITT and Emerit were counting on those involved in international trade to offer their opinions, experiences and ideas to help shape the field in which they work.

However, those involved in managing the project have been especially impressed by the passion and participation shown thus far.

“In all aspects of the project, participants have enjoyed discussing and debating various competency topics, despite their busyness,” says Calum.

Jay Gulati, President of Raysim Ventures Inc., says that participating in the Vancouver focus group was a wonderful two-way experience.

“I contributed to the group what I have learnt through my experiences, and learned from my fellow group members as well.”

Susan Vaughan, CITP®|FIBP® agrees. “It’s important for me as a CITP to have the opportunity, not only to play a role in establishing competency standards, but also to engage with like-minded and qualified individuals who share the same passion for trade and, in particular, helping others succeed in their international trade efforts,” she says.

“I was looking forward to sharing my thoughts, connecting with new people, and learning from them – I wasn’t disappointed.  I found the session to be very useful and engaging, and I feel that we had a very productive two days.”

Defining international trade professions is no longer a job for television writers and characters, but for international trade experts themselves.

Do you think you can contribute to this effort? Join your peers in this ground breaking project.

The post Global trade experts bring their passion for international business to define competency standards appeared first on Trade Ready.