Branding in Knowledge Management Solutions
- Eyal Peer
- Feb 1, 2006
- 3 min read
Brands all constantly surround us.
A brand is a marketing term referring to the external characteristics of an organization, product, or service that distinguish them from their competitors. These characteristics may include name ("Yoplait"), slogan (Coca-Cola's "Taste of Life"), trademark (Cellcom's star), color (McDonald's yellow), or design (Apple's iMac computers).
"brand" sometimes refers to consumers' attitudes and feelings toward the company or product. These attitudes and feelings are sometimes called "brand values." The marketer's goal is to associate positive values with the brand, such as quality, luxury, "fun," or good value for money. However, due to commercial failure, consumers may have negative attitudes toward a particular brand.
In a world where products are becoming similar, the work environment is becoming more competitive, and the pace of change is rapid and constant, branding a product or company and differentiating it from other competitors in the market is necessary for improving companies' competitive position and business success.
Therefore, it is only natural that branding is also used in knowledge management solutions, which are products the organization uses. For example, an organizational portal is a product for internal organizational customers. Like other products, there is a need to "sell" it to users; therefore, its branding can be an excellent tool for marketing it. The topic of branding is gaining momentum in the world of knowledge management. Here are some examples:
First, choosing a name for the knowledge management solution is becoming central, like choosing a product name. Although organizations that establish an internet solution (portal, community, or website) often settle for generic names such as "The Organizational Portal," "Knowledge Management System," or "Information System," there is a growing trend where organizations look for creative names for their sites. One common way to find an attractive, interesting, and appealing name is through a name suggestion competition among employees. Organizations activate their employees' creativity through this competition and advertise and publicize the new site, community, or portal.
Second, the knowledge management solution's visual signs (colors, symbols, design) also play a central role in its branding process. For example, certain solutions sometimes have unique icons created for them, which over time become the symbol of the solution and are completely identified with knowledge management activity. For example, in implementing a lessons-learned process in one of the organizations in Israel, they decided to add a field of "Have you already visited the insights repository?" within the project planning form template. Adding the insights repository icon next to the field immediately associated the field with the knowledge management solution. It made employees understand that the repository is integral to the regular work process.
In the same way, when a particular site receives a distinctive design (whether through icons or unique colors), people can be easily directed to new information on the site. For example, when sending an email to all employees about a new procedure or guideline, designing the email in the site's colors, and also signing the email with the site's icon, employees understand that this information is linked to the information appearing on the site. Through these methods, the knowledge management solution becomes a daily and routine part of daily work and is embedded among employees.
Marketing professionals have long understood the importance of branding their products in embedding their use and consumption. Competitions for the "best brand" have been held in Israel and worldwide for several years. Recently, Orange's brand won as the best brand in the field of communications because Orange's marketers were able to create an advertising campaign with unique colors, fonts, and Look & Feel that made consumers identify an Orange advertisement even if the brand name did not appear in it at all!
This important insight has also recently benefited the world of knowledge management, and many organizations are investing significant efforts in branding their knowledge management solutions.
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