Living Your Brand“Your brand is NOT your logo,” I gently explained to a client. “It’s everything you do from how you act, to what offerings you provide, to what you say when you’re on the phone with a customer or prospect. You have to back your new brand with appropriate changes within your organization that will show your constituents alignment between your brand promise and your actions.” Ironically—or should I say fortuitously—I then took a trip to Florida to meet with that nonprofit organization’s board to discuss their branding project. I was staying at a hotel that I’ve been to six times before, an AmeriSuites that was feeling its age. The rooms were ratty and the service was suffering. I was greeted by the friendly, smiling faces of the staff, who explained that just yesterday the AmeriSuites had cut over into the new Hyatt Place. The lobby, while still undergoing some construction, was warm, stylish, and innovative. The staff was helpful and seemed genuinely happy that I had arrived. They processed my check-in in less than a minute and thoughtfully handed me a package that had been shipped there for me. Still, I was familiar enough with the hotel to reserve judgment until I saw the rooms. I expected the same dull, rundown experience. The brand promise of the new Hyatt Place is that guests would find themselves surrounded by comfort, options, technology, and taste. And that’s exactly what I found when I swung open the door of my room. 
While the room was the same size as in the AmeriSuites days, it had been redesigned to open up the floor plan. Everything was new from the carpeting to the signature Hyatt Grand Bed. A 42-inch flat panel, high-definition TV was an unexpected surprise, and the free Wi-Fi and the complementary breakfast, while expected, were still welcomed. The other touches—granite countertops, high-end plumbing fixtures, and more—were inviting and stylish. You get the point, I’m sure. If the logo out front was all that had changed, the Hyatt Place brand promise would have fallen flat. You can’t “trick” your stakeholders by showing them a new corporate identity and leave it at that.
By the way, I was able to use the Hyatt Place example with the board members of the organization the next day and they finally understood that revealing their new brand was more than unveiling a freshened up logo. Phew!
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As I pulled into the hotel parking lot, I noticed a large crane putting the finishing touches on a new sign out front: the hotel had transformed into a Hyatt Place. Aside from the new logo gracing the outside of the building, the property looked familiar and while I was impressed and intrigued by the contemporary logo out front, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I stepped through the revolving door.
