There's Marketing, And There's Branding

Last week, I got to meet ultracool uber-billionaire Richard Branson. Actually, he simply paid for the fab swanky party that Chicago-based security solution provider Todd Gabel (co-founder of Nexum) dragged me to after I captured him and his partner David Lesser on video for a Fast Growth Focus segment.

HEATHER CLANCY Can be reached via e-mail at hclancy@cmp.com.

I got within five feet of Mr. Branson (or is it Lord?), but I was too chicken to walk up and introduce myself. But I did spend a lot of time talking to Gabel's peers, who were all members of the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO), a 6,000-member association that is essentially a peer-to-peer informational and educational network. The event I attended was intended to fete the reopening of Virgin Atlantic's Chicago flight presence.

Earlier in the day, I attended the spring meeting of the Information Technology Alliance (ITA), which is likewise an organization dedicated to peer-to-peer sharing—of best practices and even business referrals. It was there that I had one of the those "aha" (or in my case, "duh") moments, an epiphany about the very real difference between branding your company and marketing a specific product or service.

The Virgin party, for example, was a classic branding event, replete with the requisite video of Branson making a spectacle of himself around the world. In a sense, being a member of either the EO or the ITA is also a branding strategy. Even though the membership investment might not actually yield a sale—Gabel says that's not the point of him working with EO, where he is in charge of membership—it's a wonderful opportunity to establish your company name with peers in your community who later might be able to influence business.

Branding isn't about giving away T-shirts with your logo on it. It's about creating an experience or emotion that is memorable enough to talk about—or to recommend. When I walked into Nexum's office last week, I walked through the reception area straight into their on-premise bar and rec room, complete with pool table, where both Lesser and Gabel were relaxing after a long day. Sure, that was done to make an impression on me. That room, which is also right next to the company's on-site training facility, is part of the Nexum branding experience. During class breaks, students are encouraged to unwind—alcohol optional. The rest of the office is much what you'd expect from a solution provider paying rent in downtown Chicago. I'm sure that room helps make Nexum's employees think twice before leaving.

Another solution provider I know, eMazzanti Technologies in Hoboken, N.J., always supports the local baseball team with a skybox, where it entertains both clients and vendors—by the way, it has figured out how to use MDF to help with this. More recently, it has rebranded itself as a "green" solution provider, attracting attention from American University and MIT along the way.

Do you have both a branding and marketing strategy? CRN Editor Heather Clancy welcomes letters at hclancy@cmp.com.