Image courtesy of edunconferences.org.uk

Just before Christmas Drew Buddie (@DigitalMaverick) asked me to speak at TEDx Orenda – an evening event he was organising in conjunction with BETT2010.

I had been talking about my brand protection conversation with ED Hardy COO, Robert Farrell, and Drew thought this would be a good topic to investigate further, especially given the increase in Facebook groups being set up by students about schools and teachers.

And so my investigation commenced.

Firstly I noticed the way people were talking about Ed Hardy on social networking sites and was alarmed by the way brand perceptions can change and spread so quickly across the globe. It reinforced that while you can protect certain aspects of your brand (IP, business name, copyright etc), you can’t control what people think or say about you. It shows the increasing importance of monitoring what is being said about your brand, to encourage 2-way engagement and utilise real time feedback to shape internal business decisions.

I decided to go back to basics. I phoned my mum and asked how she had created such a thriving school environment at my primary school before the days of social media and the internet.

She had trained as a school teacher in Glasgow before moving to Sydney in 1970.  She passionately fought school bureaucracy and government policy to ensure the children were put first.

After 10 years of  teaching at difficult schools in Sydney, and masterminding creative ways to circumnavigate ineffective rules and regulations, she moved to a rural school and took over as Assistant Principal.  She understood the importance of connecting the school with the community so she ‘threw open the doors’ and did everything she could to engage parents and surrounding businesses. This included moving the Mothers Club meetings to the evenings and following them with Wine & Cheese events, hosting Pet Shows, Art & Craft Fairs, Dress Up Days, arranging excursions and bringing her horse to school for the kids to ride.

Before long an excited ‘collaborative’ buzz was created and people throughout the state said the school ‘shone like a beacon’. She constantly had visitors who wanted to get ideas for their own schools.

I believe there is no such thing as brand protection for the aspects of branding that you can’t control or police. All we can do is influence, communicate our vision, and reduce any gaps between what we say, and what we do.

If we build our brands (company or personal) with the essential ingredients of authenticity, integrity, transparency, passion and playfulness, it can’t help but inspire and attract ambassadors which results in a brand that protects itself.

Feel free to have a look at my slides from the event below, and as always, I would love to hear from you if you have any feedback or questions.