CBDC Supports Entrepreneurship in Armenia
CBDC hosts students for an afternoon of ice cream and entrepreneurship
To a passerby, it might have looked like any group of teenagers enjoying Toscanini’s ice cream – in one corner, Natasha and Nune discussed the merits of pistachio vs. vanilla, while across the room, Edgar helped himself to seconds of blueberry sorbet. The difference became apparent, however, when someone explained that this was the first time that most of the students had ever tasted blueberry flavor – Armenia doesn’t have blueberries. The group of 12 students and 3 teachers visited the United States as part of the Cambridge-Yerevan Sister City Association (CYSCA), and the Cambridge Business Development Center hosted the students to teach them about entrepreneurship. Cambridge entrepreneur Gus Rancatore, owner of Toscanini’s Ice Cream and member of CBDC’s Mentored Growth Group, donated three different flavors so the students could participate in a marketing exercise. They were asked to act as a “focus group” and offer feedback about which flavor they liked best. After a vote revealed vanilla to be the overall favorite, students reflected on the way that their market research might impact the choices that they would make if they were to open an ice cream stand in Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia.
Cambridge Business Development Center (CBDC) is a not-for-profit dedicated to helping people start and grow successful and profitable businesses by providing mentoring and educational programs tailored to the ways entrepreneurs learn. CYSCA is a grass roots organization founded in 1986 by the Cambridge city hall and concerned Cambridge residents with the goal of supporting world peace through cultural exchange. CYSCA’s student exchange project is partially funded through the US Department of State, Bureau of Educational And Cultural Affairs.
Rev. Joanne Hartunian, Project Director for the Cambridge-Yerevan Sister City Program, said that the kids enjoyed their visit to CBDC. “The purpose of the exchange program is to teach kids about civil society and the value of democracy,” Hartunian explained. ”Part of civil society is the ability to conduct business and free enterprise. . . . The kids loved having ice cream samples. The exercise of thinking about reasons why you might have a particular flavor was a good one – it showed them that dreaming is possible, and that with the right knowledge, dreams can become reality.”
Toscanini’s ice cream got a big thumbs up from both the students and their teachers. “We have great ice cream in Armenia,” Karine Abgaryen, a teacher from school #190 in the southwest district of Yerevan, explained. “Toscanini’s is just as good as Armenian ice cream.” Some students allowed that it might be “even better!”
CBDC continues support of entrepreneurship in Armenia
CBDC is currently continuing its support of entrepreneurship in Armenia by hosting Narine Karinyan, a fellow from Armenia who has been awarded a 4-month grant to conduct independent research in the United States through the FSA Contemporary Issues Fellowship Program, sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, US Department of State. Ms. Karinyan will be conducting research on her project, “Business Start-Ups: Establishments and Development,” in addition to gaining hands-on experience working on special projects for CBDC. The FSA Contemporary Issues Fellowship Program is conducted as a merit-based open competition, focusing on assisting the development of higher education, market economies, rule of law and democratic institutions in NIS countries. Ms. Karinyan is an expert on Armenia’s economic development, with over 15 years of experience in the field of business and international development.
What is Branding?
By Jennifer Proia
You’ve probably heard a lot of buzzwords when it comes to creating a company “brand” that people will identify with and remember. But what does that really mean, and how do you do it? This article will help business owners understand the “ins and outs” of the branding and image development process, and how you can use the concept of branding to your advantage.
Definitions
An effective brand can be the reason customers choose one product or company over another. It acts as a shorthand reminder of all of the benefits, imagery, personality, and attributes of your product. It makes things specific – do you want a shoe or a Timberland boot? Do you want to go to an amusement park or Six Flags? These key definitions will help you understand what “branding” is, and why it is so important to business success:
1. “The Brand” is the philosophical and emotional “guts” of the company: Who you are, what you do, what you believe in, and why you are the company people must choose to do business with. Think of Nike, for example, and you think of their winning tagline “Just Do It”. It’s motivational, active, contemporary, powerful. That tagline, in combination with their “swoosh” logo and a clean blue/white color scheme, is branding – everything connects to something larger. Successful branding will get prospects to see a company as the only solution to fill a particular need. Other examples of strong brands are BMW, Volkswagen, The Gap, LancÙme, Ralph Lauren, Macintosh, and Intel.
2. “Branding” to be the process of making that whole come together. It is the act of creating and implementing the brand with consistency throughout all marketing, identity and PR efforts.
3. The “Corporate Identity” is simply the company’s “look and feel” as conveyed through the logo, stationery (letterhead, business cards, etc.), web site, marketing materials, trade show graphics, signage, etc. It reinforces the brand.
4. The “Corporate Image” is the perception the public has of the company (”public” meaning customers, prospects, the media, strategic partners, analysts, employees and other relevant groups). This image can be influenced (positively or negatively)! So do everything you can to make sure your company has a favorable image.
Using branding to your advantage
A helpful comment from www.brand.com: “Brand has been called the most powerful idea in the commercial world, yet few companies consciously create a brand identity. Executives should research their customers and find the top ranked reasons that customers buy their products rather than their competitors. Then, pound that message home in every ad, in every news release, in communications with employees and in every sales call and media interview. By consistent repetition of the most persuasive selling messages, customers will think of you and buy from you when they are deciding on whether to buy from you or your competitor.”
Designing (or redesigning) your logo
What happens if you’re just starting out, and don’t even have a logo yet? Or if you feel your company logo is not as strong as it could be? Finding the right graphic designer will make your job much easier. The right designer will work closely with you to “capture” the essence of your company in a unique and captivating way, and be a key strategic partner throughout the branding process.
Before the designer can do their job, the principals of the company have to do theirs. They are the ones who must determine what the brand is. Remember, the brand is the philosophical and emotional “guts” of the company – who you are, what you do, what you believe in, and why you are the company people must choose to do business with. This mainly includes your company name, tagline, and mission statement. These tangibles are essential to the work of the designer. So make sure the logo is designed out of the brand. Have a strategy.
Designing your marketing materials
Consistent, well-designed marketing materials are as critical as the logo in reinforcing the brand. First, decide what materials will best help you to reach your goals: a brochure, web site, catalog, direct mail piece, sales sheets, sales kits? Start an “idea file” and save examples of marketing materials that caught your eye. Show these “ideas” to your designer. It can also be helpful to save examples of what you DON’T like.
Once you know what marketing tools you want to create, work on hammering your brand with consistency through each and every piece. Whatever your chosen media, be consistent – the look, colors, copy, tone, messaging – everything. Otherwise your prospects will not remember the essence of who you are. Make it easy for them.
Budgetary considerations
What is your budget? How much can you afford to spend? Consider both design services and printing, if it’s a printed piece. Professional designers charge hourly, and will probably quote you a flat rate for each step of the process (design of the logo, design of the marketing piece, etc). You can also do it yourself or get a student to do it for a couple hundred dollars, but you do get what you pay for. Professional graphic design services are an investment, not an expense. After all, we’re talking about the future of your company!
About the author
Jennifer Proia is a Graphic Designer and the Principal of Fire Creative (www.firecreative.com), an award-winning graphic and web design studio in Cambridge. Jennifer works with businesses of all sizes to develop logos, branding, marketing collateral and web sites. Jennifer is also a faculty member in desktop publishing at the Boston Architectural Center and a guest speaker. She will be giving a workshop in logo development and branding on Thursday, April 11th from 12-1:30 pm at the CBDC.
She hopes you enjoyed and learned from this article.