Over the past year or so
the importance of building and managing a company’s brand image has been
increasing among executives. Much like social media, it takes time for newer
concepts to catch on and be embraced. Of course, consultants and branding firms
have long argued for the implementation of brand identity using brand jargon to
describe their stock and trade.
Now, you hear CEO’s
referring to ‘brands’ in their market space, and not just the dot com technology
firms, but consumer companies such as Marriott who refer to their hotels and
resorts as the Marriott family of brands.
Curiously the printing
industry is usually a slow adopter of contemporary concepts and trends.
Historically the print media industry has fought innovations such as
eMarketing, eBooks, iNews and of course, digital printing. This is not
difficult to understand why: they have their turf to protect, but here’s the
thing. The longer you fight innovation the more your brand image is at risk.
That’s why the leaders
of any industry, including the print-media industry, are holding back at their
own peril and losing ground within their market. A quick check of today’s
leaders demonstrate their top image and position came as a result of
innovation, not taking a wait and see approach.