Know-How Exchange : Strategy

Good responses all. Please keep them coming!!

I must say the encouragement to go with my intuition is good to hear. My intuition says to separate the two areas. But then, it might be possible to re-package some of the brand consulting to fit more with the edgier brand.

Thanks again, all. I'm listening and taking notes.

T.

Thomas,

Value offered, target groups as you say yourself is different so why force it into one brand which will run the risk of inconsistency.
That's why I would say why not one company- two or three brands offered?
I do not quite follow your mixed feelings about different offerings to handle. You can see it quite often with both small and big companies, both B2C and B2B.
If you find it so difficult for yourself cannot you delegate some of the duties to be performed?

Adam

Yes, go with a single unified entity. Why take the time, cost and effort to create to different companies?

One company with multiple divisions would work, no need to hand out two different cards.

Create a new organizational hierarchy with the right people focused within the divisions. You can have overlap for shared resources but this is the way to go.

Imagine that you have 3 separate companies that you've just acquired. You're thinking of merging them. Would you?

What's the benefit to the client having them under one umbrella?

What's the benefit of the organization of having them under one umbrella?

What's the benefit to the shareholders having them under one umbrella?

Hey Thomas, (Beware of the "Artist in a Suit")

just remember it get's better (smile) after you light the match and throw it on the gasoline...thats what Cortez did "burn your ships" if you want to win because after this battle there's no turning back, there's no retreating.

Whatever decision you make ---YOU--- ultimately have to live with it! In my research the most successful people take responsibility. In our world people blame others when things don't work out but they take all the credit when they do work out.

WHY DO I CHOOSE INTUITION?...because Women do!...

and they make up the biggest purchasing body in the whole entire world. Historically that's what artist do, that's what screen writers do, that's what singer/songwriters do, that's what Hollywood movie producers, inventors and they are some of the highest paid body of workers in the entire world. It was Benjamin Franklins intuitive ability that made him such a marvelous Business man, Marketer, Writer, Philospher, Ambassador, Scientist, Newspaper Tycoon, Postmaster General, Mastermind Networker, Inventor, Artist, Author and way to many other masters to name here. You are the leader of the company...it's your job to launch them, jet propel them and Hyperspace them into the future and if you create your future you will have one (smile). Whatever you decide to do Thomas make sure you can answer this question when it's all said and done...

"Do you Got Creative EDGE?".

Take the leap...Johann Wolfgang von Goethe said "Whatever you can do or dream you can, ---begin it.--- Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it!


I hope this pushes you over the edge...Is there anything else I can do for you?

Your Servant, Deremiah *CPE (the Artist in a Suit)


PS
the myth is that a lot of traditional marketing methods are working...furthermore the truth is there ---CHANGING--- all the time. Learn to love change. You either lean very hard toward making decisions based on your IQ or you lean hard in the direction of making decisions based on your EQ...which one do you use regularly? That's the one you'll be more confident using most of the time and in this day & age and even in all other ages prior to now those men and women who were most successful learned to use their intuition...Thomas you feel the way you feel for a reason. In our culture we mask our feelings by laughing when we know we're hurting. How often do you ignore your feelings? Or take pain killers to ignore the pain? I do in deed apologize for the digression here but not for the content. You see my friend Chet Holmes In his latest book "The Ultimate Sales Machine" said the statistics concerning business and the latest events of our current economy are staggering. the truth is something is clearly not working and I think it's because we're not listening to our feelings. Here is what he wrote...

A corporation fails every 3 minutes

A directorship changes every 32 seconds

A company changes control every 15 minutes

96 percent of all companies fail within 10 years

26,000 new products and brands are introduced every year

16 percent to 30 percent of consumers change brand loyalty in one evening of watching commercials

74 percent of consumers buy outside their favorite brands

29 percent of consumers do not read a newspaper

thanks all.. we are talking and dialoguing.. leaning toward having one brand and placing the consulting under that brand. We'll probably have to take a hit on the "edgy" side and try to modulate that with one on one meetings when we push the consulting.

Still listening to your responses.. will close the thread in a day or so.

thanks again,

T

The inputs have been really rich so far.....

Thomas, One way to handle this situation could be to split the businesses into three (music & design should perhaps be separate), and that you retain the CEO role for one of the companies-one where operationally you are most useful. Get someone in, from outside or within to head the other two businesses. You can play a non-executive, active advisory role and create a suitable designation.
Also, there won't be too many clients who would overlap into two of the three business offerings of yours-brand consulting, design and music. Therefore, your likely awkwardness of handing out multiple business cards is a theoretical possibility but not so significant that you base your decision on this factor.

The second way is that you look at the brand consulting and design as one single entity, a "one stop shop for all brand needs", retain your CEO role and play a non-executive role in the other entity i.e music. The issue you could face here is of resolving potential conflict of 'corporate' values within your consulting and design teams. (But then in advertising agencies, rational suits have co-existed with crazy creatives).
So you have two entities in this scenario.

Vigyan

I'm by no means an expert, but I thought I'd throw in my gut reaction here.

Brand design is just one part of brand consulting. Music branding is another part of brand consulting. Seems to me that these components easily fit under the brand consulting umbrella.

Brand consulting could be creating a brand, expanding it, defining it, etc. Design and music are methods to do that. There may be different personalities and projects involved, but if you all serve the same purpose (branding), why not keep them under the same company? Just my 2 cents.... good luck!