using brand to facilitate growth

Using Brand to Facilitate Growth District Leader Training

August 2015

Presented by

Morag Mathieson DTM

www.toastmasters.org

Connection to Toastmasters International?


Like many others, Toastmasters International is a GLOBAL brand. It is present in 135 countries. Some brands have a strong visual image, others a memorable tagline, whilst others make a powerful emotional connection. A brand is: an exclusive or desirable idea embodied in and expressed through products, people, services and experiences.

About brands


The Toastmasters International brand can trace its heritage back to 1924 when Dr. Ralph C. Smedley started groups where people practiced speaking skills in a supportive, informal atmosphere to help them gain the confidence and competence to lead in life. Sound familiar? Today our brand has a vision to empower people to achieve their full potential and realize their dreams. It has the same heart and desire as Dr. Smedley had, although today we might express it a little differently. In August 2011 Toastmasters International launched a refresh of the brand introducing an updated logo, fresh palette of colors and the tagline “Where Leaders Are Made” to reflect a renewed focus on leadership in the program. It also expressed the core values Integrity, Respect, Service and Excellence.

Toastmasters International Brand


I wasn’t born a leader. They were all around me though. In the community, at work, at school. Leaders were everywhere. They were the heads of families, coaches of teams, business leaders, mentors, organizational decision-makers. I admired these leaders. They influenced who I was and who I was becoming. Whatever they did professionally or how they became what they were, I aspired to walk in their footsteps. And, so, I committed myself to becoming one. Finally, it came to me. It wasn’t just what leaders knew that enabled them to lead. They had a voice. They could tell their story. They could listen and answer. They didn’t just accomplish, they communicated. So I set out to find my voice. Learn to process information on my toes. I needed to learn to listen. Learn to give feedback — and accept it. I needed to organize, plan, deliver, follow up. I needed a place where all the ingredients were there, and someone would guide me along the way. I found that place. I found a community of learners and the path to leadership. I am a leader — and I was made

Brand Positioning Statement


The brand and you

When we think of our brand we may envision many things. At the refresh of the brand, the brand positioning statement was released to help us understand the space our organization wants to occupy in the minds of our existing or potential members. Our brand is more than colors, fonts, logos and taglines. It reflects our values, our heritage. It reflects what is exclusive and desirable about our organization, its people, products, services and experiences. Your story reflects the strength of the brand and is testament to what being part of this organization can do for a person.


Read: the Brand Positioning Statement

Ask yourself: How does it resonate with me?

Answer: What makes Toastmasters special for me?

The brand and you


A recent study by global marketing specialists Millward Brown showed that for a brand to maximize its growth potential it has to: •  deliver a brand experience that is meaningfully different from

others in its field.

•  use all available mechanisms to promote the brand

•  keep it consistent across all media and geographic locations The whole article “How Brands Drive Value Growth” is available here http://www.millwardbrown.com/docs/default-source/insight-documents/articles-and-reports/MillwardBrown_ValueDrivers.pdf

Maximising Growth using the Brand


1.  You & Your Team v  Know your purpose v  Speak with one voice v  Every contact is a moment of truth

2.  Be Consistent in Communication v  Know the standards & meet them

3.  Extend the Opportunity of a Strong Brand v  Increase market penetration v  Widen your reach

Top Tips


Your team includes committee chairs, club builders and club coaches, mentors and sponsors.

The whole team needs to be clear about the purpose of the brand.

v  Consider what our brand has to offer v  Write your own elevator pitch (15 – 30 second speech) explaining what

Toastmasters International actually does. Get your team to do it too. v  Describe how the Toastmasters program has helped you, what you

achieved and what the impact has been on you. What makes it great? Now you know what you have to offer when you meet people who might be persuaded to join a club or start a club.

You and your team can speak with one voice!

Top Tips 1: You & Your Team


We present the brand whenever we connect with existing and potential customers. Each connection is a moment of truth for your customer. It’s a moment when they form an opinion about the brand – good or bad! v  You reinforce the brand and its values with every contact. v  Negative and positive impressions can have a big impact. v  Impacts can translate across cities, countries, continents. v  Toastmasters is a global brand and a mobile family. v  What happens in one district may impact another district’s efforts to grow

new clubs or increase membership.

Moments of Truth


Aim: to engage & create anticipation for the launch meeting v  Have a standard process and standardised packs across your district v  Find out the mission and values of the company. How do these connect

with our mission and values? Find the common ground. v  Understand their needs and remember they matter v  Anticipate the questions they might want you to answer v  Prepare packs for meeting leads:

v  Letter of introduction v  Flyers – use range of promotional flyers from WHQ v  Features, Values, Benefits Chart v  Information sheet about meetings locally & costs

Preparing to meet Corporate Clients


Marketing Brochures

http://www.toastmasters.org/Shop/Marketing/Brochures


Communicating the brand with clarity and consistency makes our brand stronger. Our organization’s standards with regards to using the brand 1.  Governing Documents policy and protocol 4.0 Intellectual Property 2.  Leadership Central has the visual brand guidelines, logos, templates

for use http://www.toastmasters.org/Leadership-Central/Logos-Images-and-Templates

When you are preparing membership campaigns, corporate promotions, open house events or other activities in your club growth strategy you can find ready prepared templates and flyers on the Toastmasters website which are brand compliant and free to use. You can also prepare customized marketing materials and request approval from WHQ for use.

Top Tip 2: Be Consistent in Communication


Check: Logos, Images and Templates section of the website to find graphic elements

Submit: Sample and Trademark Use Request to WHQ

Questions: [email protected]

http://www.toastmasters.org/Leadership-Central/Logos-Images-and-Templates

Customized Materials & Questions


Standards for communication via websites are also set out in Policy 4.0 in the Governing Documents. While you, as CGDs, are not directly involved with the website you may direct customers to it. Look at your district website: v  Does the visual impact accurately comply with standards? v  Is it congruent with the TI site? Do they look like they belong to

the same family? District websites should be congruent from Nevada to Norway to New Zealand.

v  Are you proud to direct potential customers to your website? v  Does it offer a positive moment of truth to your customers?

District Website


Top Tip 3: Extend the Opportunity of a Strong Brand

Ask: Who else could benefit from what we have to offer? Universities? For students? For Alumni? For their MBA program?

Identify: Are there key sectors where you have experience? Perhaps you already have clubs in several banks. Could you have more? Are there banking corporations with no Toastmasters clubs in your district?

Locate: Are there specific community groups who could benefit from this strong brand? For example areas of high unemployment? What kinds of initiatives are being funded by government or agencies or companies as social enterprises?


Look: at the map of your district from your marketing plan. Where are the Toastmasters’ deserts? How could you approach starting from scratch in those areas?

Identify: isolated clubs. How could you build up areas around them? This makes them easier to manage, includes them more in the district and helps them benefit from being part of our global brand

Consult: list of corporate clubs. Which of them are key employers in your district but they don’t already have Toastmasters clubs in your cities? Build on the strength of what already exists in other locations of their companies.

Widen your Geographical Reach


The greatest strength of our brand comes from people having the same positive experience again and again, where they encounter the core values at play, see the organization as credible because of what you do.

v Be clear about your purpose – you and your whole team v Be consistent in your communication v Extend the opportunity for others to benefit from the

Toastmasters Program.

Think Global, Act Local, Serve Passionately and Carpe Diem!

Using Brand to Facilitate Growth


Presenter

Morag Mathieson DTM

Email: [email protected]

Skype: mathiesonsgermany

Telephone: +4991336044822 +491704176108


Morag was born in Scotland and lived in various parts of the UK before relocating to Germany in 2006.

A pharmacy graduate, she worked in clinical practice for some years before moving into specialist education roles and leadership positions in the healthcare sector. Her MBA studies led her to focus particularly on human resources strategy, learning development and creative management. Since then she has specialised in professional development and leadership skills training.

Morag joined Erlangen Toastmasters in 2006. She was an officer of district 59 from 2009 - 2014 and served as District Secretary, Division Governor, Lieutenant Governor Education and Training and in 2012 – 2013 as District Governor, leading District 59 to become the number 1 district in the world for the first time. In 2014 – 2015 she was Region 11 Advisor, serving Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Biography