{"id":8612,"date":"2012-02-04T17:09:41","date_gmt":"2012-02-05T00:09:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/?p=8612"},"modified":"2012-02-04T17:09:42","modified_gmt":"2012-02-05T00:09:42","slug":"the-value-of-brands-and-what-project-leaders-can-learn-from-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svapm.org\/?p=8612","title":{"rendered":"The value of brands and what project leaders can learn from them"},"content":{"rendered":"

– what would it take to differentiate yourself and your project from others? What would the value be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

To most project managers and professionals my guess is that the word \u2018brand\u2019 evokes a certain sense of \u2018marketing non-sense\u2019 and \u2018showman-ship\u2019. Why would a project or even worse a project leader need a \u2018brand\u2019?<\/p>\n

As it turns out, the project management world has an opportunity to learn from our product and brand management colleagues. The value and equity we can derive from \u2018marketing\u2019 our project using a brand can help set it apart from others and help get our project prioritized and noticed.<\/p>\n

MIT Sloan\u2019s \u2013 Management Review recently put some focus on this in an article titled \u201cWhy Every Project Needs a Brand (and how to get one). In reference to the project brand they wrote, \u201cBroadly speaking, a brand can be defined as a unique value proposition expressed in a relevant and differentiated way such that it creates preference and loyalty among key audiences. So why is project<\/em> branding important? Because your project can suffer in the absence of a compelling brand.[i]<\/a> \u201c<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>(source: .http:\/\/theclosetentrepreneur.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n

So, what are those key pieces of information that project leaders can learn to leverage so your suffer in the absence of a compelling brand? Here are a few to start with, if you have others that you would like to share, feel free.<\/p>\n

Project Naming<\/strong>: this is the brand management process of deciding what a product will be called. A project manager can think of her project as a product, considering the stakeholders and the project members. Naming a project or product is a critical part of the branding process, it will help everyone involved to identify with the vision of the project and to be consciously reminded of the future outcome and benefit of the project When naming a project you must take into account the many uses of your name in documents and dialogue and ensure that it is a name that helps people to \u2018get it\u2019 easily.<\/p>\n

The process of naming your project should be done deliberately and by involving your team members, ensuring that it is something they will be energized and inspired by.<\/p>\n

Some key steps include specifying the objectives of the branding, developing the project name itself, evaluating names submitted by the team, and choosing a final name.<\/p>\n

When brainstorming about a project name, the following ideas might be useful:<\/p>\n