Greg Mosley, is giving students a session about branding and corporate image.

On July 13, Greg Mosley gave a session about branding and corporate image. He said, ” Building a brand is different from marketing.”

Branding is the expression of the essential truth or value of an organization, product, or service. But marketing is actively promoting a product or service. It is a tool for pushing consumers.

Mosley used selling tomatoes as an example of branding. Mosley says,” There are different people selling tomatoes at a farmer’s market. The smart guy at the end cuts up his best tomatoes into pieces. And he goes, ‘Try my tomatoes.’ He also brings his homemade spaghetti sauce, and puts them in sample cups. You taste it and say, ‘this is the most delicious tomato I’ve ever had!’ Then he says, ‘I know right! Would you like my recipe?’ He starts to move towards something different from buying my tomatoes. “

Branding turns people into fans, advocates, even leads them to spread the word about the great products. Mosley gave another example about food. He expressed his love towards “Mother Bear’s Pizza”. Mosley said, “Don’t get the round one, get that square one with extra sauce on the top. You walk out in pain because you keep eating it. It’s dangerous. “

Mosley pointed out the 5 principles of cultural branding:

• Map the cultural orthodoxy: determine what the accepted cultural norms in marketing or product.
• Locate the cultural opportunity: challenge old attitudes.
• Target the crowdculture: speak to their wants and needs (even hopes and dreams).
• Diffuse the new ideology: Transition from traditional media.
• Innovate continually, using cultural falshpoints: Don’t quit.

Mosley used Chipotle as a “Diffuse the new ideology” example. They made videos as a cultural branding method.

At the end of  the session, Mosley gave students several advice:

• Keep an eye on the culture of those you wish to reach.
• The challenge for branding is just to identify a customer, but to identify with a customer.
• You have to understand the culture. You have to understand what we are saying. It’s gonna require a little insight, you need to decide, what is it that makes you you.
• Don’t be a phony. Don’t be a quitter.