SPECIAL NOTES:

Running A Brand Management Workshop

Why a workshop?
Quite simply, a workshop is a great way of working. Properly organized and run, a workshop
has all of the following benefits:
A break from the normal routine of work: allowing participants to step outside their usual
roles and perspectives and to take a fresh look at the issue on hand.
The dynamics of a workshop help to build consensus, understanding and commitment to a
plan of action for the issue being discussed.
A workshop is highly participative: everyone has a chance to contribute, and have their say.
One of the consequences of this is that people are drawn together into a stronger and more
cohesive team (in addition to achieving the specific objectives of the workshop).
Workshops are also time effective. Although people may claim that they cannot afford a day
out the office, in reality it will be some of their most productive time.
The group interaction and hot-house atmosphere create sparks of creativity that can highlight
new options, new alternatives, that wouldnt be uncovered by a more sedate or solitary
approach.
Because of all these benefits, when properly run, a workshop can be very productive time, and
enjoyable and rewarding for the participants too.

When to use workshops

Because of the benefits outlined above, workshops are best used when:
1. The issue demands new and creative thinking
2. A team of people are involved
3. Rapid consensus is required
Within the brand management process there are three occasions when this is particularly useful:
Understanding your current brand
Defining your desired brand
Exploring the behavior required to live the desired brand
In your own brand management work you may well find other occasions too when it is worth
getting your team together for a half-day, or a day, to workshop an issue. These SPECIAL
NOTES will help make your workshops a success.

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Who should participate?

If a workshop is being undertaken as part of a brand management process it makes sense that
the key team members involved in the whole process should attend the workshop.
However, there are three points to note when selecting participants:
1. The ideal number is 6-8 participants. Less than 6, and the momentum and buzz is
difficult to build. Beyond 8 and each new participant seems to make it doubly difficult
to reach a consensus!
2. In a company that has an open and egalitarian culture the participants can be drawn
from any level in the company. However, if your company is hierarchical in nature
you will need to give thought to the impact of this on who should be selected for the
workshop. Involving a senior manager, his direct reports, and their direct reports, may
not work well if the more junior members of the team feel unable to play a full role. (If
its unavoidable, there is guidance on how to deal with this, in the facilitation notes,
below).
3. If you have third-parties involved in the brand management process (from outside the
company) careful thought needs to be given to including them in the workshop. If
they are trusted partners they can play an important role, but if not their presence
could inhibit an honest and frank discussion. It is also worth considering a third-party
in the role of facilitator (see notes below on this role).
Getting the right mix of participants is a critical factor in the success of the workshop, and so
these points are worth careful consideration.

Preparatory work / schedule

Workshops are most effective when there is plenty of stimulus for the participants. This
includes material to get them thinking in advance of the workshop, as well as many different
types of material that can be used during the workshop.
Here are examples of the types of stimulus you might consider for the three types of workshops
mentioned earlier:
Existing published materials on the desired brand
Notes from senior management interviews
Results of employee focus groups or surveys
Competitive analysis
Technology and consumer trends analysis
Desired brand statement
Recordings of actual customer service calls
Best in category analysis
Anecdotes and illustrations of relevant (and aspirational) brand behavior from your own
and other categories
Video of retail outlets
Preparing these types of stimulus can be a time consuming and resource intensive exercise, but
can also have a significant impact on the quality of the workshop output.
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The stimulus you can make available will depend on your own particular situation, the progress
that you have made through the brand management process, the resources that you have
available, and your creativity in identifying thought-provoking material.

Setting up / managing the day

As well as stimulus materials the preparation for a successful workshop needs to address the
following points:

Choice of venue
It often tempting, for reasons of cost savings and convenience, to run the workshop in the office.
In some cases this is the only option, but it is not ideal. It is much more likely that participants
will sneak out to check emails or make calls, and be distracted by colleagues poking their
heads round the corner of the door with just a quick question
It is much better to run the workshop at a new and convenient location out of the office. This
minimizes the chance of distraction and encourages the attitude that the day will be a different
way of working.
Ideally the venue should be just large enough to accommodate:
A workshop table, around which everyone can sit comfortably and where most of the
action will take place. There should also be space enough around this table for groups
to work at flipcharts.
A separate comfy area with sofa and armchairs, where people can relax and have a
change of focus.
A refreshments corner with water, coffee, tea, etc available whenever required.
The venue should feel airy and comfortable (plenty of natural light is good), but be no larger
than is needed to accommodate the points above. Too large and participants may feel a little
lost.
In addition, it is useful to be able to stick up flipcharts all around the room (the output from a
workshop can often be enormous, and the best place for it during the day is up around the
room).

Preparing the venue

If you are responsible for preparing the venue the key points to check are that:
refreshments are constantly available.
the workshop table has plenty of pens, paper and water.
there are 2-3 flipcharts with plenty of paper and pens, and the means to stick up
completed flipcharts around the walls of the room.
you know how to control the room, (for example: in terms of any lighting, heating, air
conditioning, etc).
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A typical agenda
A typical workshop schedule would run for one day, but this can be adapted to suit the situation:
for example, if you are combining the workshop with other activities, or perhaps dealing with
more than one issue, and running it over 2 days.
The workshop should, naturally enough, start with a brief welcome session and finish with a
wrap-up. The other components of the day that you will use to build up your own agenda will
be:

Participant presentations
Brainstorming sessions
Break-out groups
Evaluation sessions

The overall flow of the day can be thought of as a diamond:

FOCUS
on the workshop objective

EXPLORATION
of ideas and options

FOCUS
on evaluation & selection

In addition to managing these activities, which will form the core of the day, an experienced
facilitator will have some appropriate warm-up activities and creative thinking tasks to energize
and re-energize the group if necessary.

The role of the facilitator

The role of the facilitator is critical to the success of the workshop, and in some ways it is similar
to the role of a moderator in a focus group. (See our SPECIAL NOTES: Conducting Your Own
Brand Management Research.)
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The facilitator must have the authority to be able to control the participant group and manage
the day. This does not mean that the facilitator has to be the most senior person in the room,
far from it, (most participants understand that they are playing a role, and should defer to the
facilitator) but the facilitator does need the personal qualities required to manage the situation.
It is NOT the role of the facilitator to take a side or to push for a particular solution. The
facilitator should not contribute ideas or suggestions, except in order to encourage discussion.
The reason this is so important is because the facilitator controls the day, if they are seen to be
trying to control the outcomes as well, there is a real danger that participants will feel cheated,
and simply stop participating.
The dictionary definition of a facilitator is someone who makes progress easier and this is a
good principle to keep in mind when preparing as a facilitator for a workshop.
The approach of the facilitator should be:
Informal: equality of participants and creative energy are difficult to cultivate in a very
formal, hierarchical environment.
Enthusiastic: energy is essential to create the forward momentum of a successful
workshop.
Controlled: there is a need to keep control, more on this below in Managing the
activities of the day.
Sensitive (to the group dynamics): ensuring that everyone is happy and contributing.

Setting the ground rules

At the start of the day it is the role of the facilitator to bring everyone to order (unless there is a
host who does this) and to set out the ground rules for the day.
The basics that need to be covered are:
Phones off: This can be a difficult point, and may be worth communicating in advance of
the workshop. If phones are ringing regularly, and people are constantly popping out
the workshop can fall apart all together. Depending on the culture of the company it may
be necessary for people to keep phones on, but this is far from ideal and should be
resisted. (At the very least phones should be on silent and participants should be asked
to leave the room to take calls.)
Everyone is equal: this is one of the absolute essentials (and can be one of the things
that make workshops so much fun). Everyone needs to understand that everyone is
equal, everyones ideas are equally important. If this isnt the case the workshop can
decline into a farce where big chief speaks, everyone agrees.
Think it / Say it: every idea is welcome: Participants should be encouraged to remove
any self-censorship of their ideas. This is the starting point for an enthusiastic and
creative day.
When setting these ground rules it is also worth running through the logistics for the day, in
terms of timing, lunch arrangements, etc, to put everyone at ease.

Overall, managing the day

In addition to bringing everyone to order, and laying the ground rules, the facilitator manages
the day as a whole and the activities at each point. To do this well requires a great deal of
energy and enthusiasm it is an exhausting task!
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Some of the key tasks are:

Introducing each activity, and getting it started.
Recording the discussion, and key outcomes.
Controlling the pace of the day deciding when activities are exhausted, when to move
on to the next topic, when it may be necessary to divert from the agenda, (for example, if
falling energy levels indicate that a break or change of focus is needed, even if one is not
scheduled).
Summarizing and gaining consensus on points of discussion.
There will be times when every single point needs to be written up on the flipcharts (during an
idea generation session for example) and when the role is really to help the group come to a
consensus, and record that consensus, together with the main threads of thinking that led up to
it.

Managing the different activities of the day

It is also important to note that depending on the type of activity, the facilitator needs to
emphasize different points:
Participant presentations: it is often useful to have participants make short presentations.
These can be prepared in advance as a stimulus to a group activity (bringing the issues front of
mind) or they may be the result of a group break out session. In either case they should not be
detailed. They should hit the key issues and conclusions, and should last no more than 10
minutes. At these times the facilitators focus needs to be on maintaining control. You are
giving up the floor to the presenter, but they need to understand that they have a limited time
period and task. If they divert from the task, or run over the time period they need to be brought
back to the agenda, (in a polite and friendly manner of course). Where a participant is preparing
a presentation in advance it is ideal, if possible, to get a copy to review and comment on before
the workshop, to ensure it meets these needs in terms of length and style.
Brainstorming: the objective of any brainstorming is to generate as many ideas as possible, in
as short a period of time as possible. Evaluation comes later. In setting up a brainstorming the
facilitator should emphasize that everyone is equal, all ideas are welcome, think it / say it, and
that there should be no criticism or negative views expressed, until the evaluation stage. The
initial brainstorming question should be written up clearly for all to see, as a focus for the
activity. In running the session it is enthusiasm, energy and dynamism which are most
important. (Moving around the room, suggesting wild answers to encourage participation,
tearing off flipcharts and getting them up on the walls can all be part of the role.)
Break-out groups: dividing the workshop into 2 or 3 smaller groups for a particular task has a
number of advantages:
1. It energizes everyone, (each participant realized that, as a member of a very small
group, they must focus and work to produce a result).
2. It can help overcome the problems of poor group dynamics (breaking particular groups
up, or bringing them together, as a result of what you have observed in the main
sessions).
3. It is an effective way of changing the focus, breaking-up the activities, and creating new
roles for the participants, which contributes to the overall success of the day.

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In setting up break-out groups, the facilitator must focus on being absolutely clear in explaining
the task, how to tackle it, and how much time is available.
The groups can either be formed around the main table, or in separate rooms, if they are
available. Once the task has been set up the facilitators role is to encourage people into
groups, make sure that they have the materials that they need (flipcharts and pens for their
feedback presentation) and work around the groups to make sure again that everyone is clear
about the task, to offer encouragement and ideas, and to make sure that each group is getting
its ideas down on paper.
Evaluation sessions: there will be times during the day which are more reflective, and where
the objective is to narrow down alternatives, to start reaching towards a consensus. It is often a
good idea to have a brief break before these sessions, especially if they are preceded by a very
boisterous and noisy brainstorming session.
One of the techniques for achieving group consensus is called red dotting or power dotting. It
works like this:
All the options / alternatives should be up around the walls on flipchart paper (if youve
had a good brainstorming session there should be dozens, or hundreds of options!)
Each participant is given 5 red dots (stationary stores stock these little sticky-backed
markers, or post-it notes will work too, or simply give every participant a marker pen,
and tell them they have 5 votes).
All participants are given 5-10 minutes to get up on their feet, wander around the room
and place their stickers or votes on the 5 alternatives they think are best.
This is a great way of starting towards a group consensus. It gets everyone up and around the
room, its very egalitarian (ever bodys dot is equal) and once completed it creates a very clear
visual record of the groups collective view, as the basis for further discussion.

Encouraging participation & creativity

Encouraging participation and creativity is central to the facilitators role. This requires a
balance of enthusiasm, the ability to put people at ease and at the same time to maintain the
authority to keep control of the day.
Here are some key behaviors that will help achieve this:
Start each activity with plenty of open-ended questions. (An open-ended question is
one you cannot answer yes or no).
o DONT ASK: Do you like this?
o DO ASK: What do you think of this? Why? What are the implications of what
youre saying?
If one person is dominating, say: Thank you, now Id like to hear from the rest of the
group
If one person is not contributing say: John, we havent heard from you yet on this topic,
what are your thoughts?
DO use eye contact and body language (a raised hand perhaps) when someone has
spoken enough, or you want more from someone else.
DONT be rude or show that you are irritated in any way.
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DO be aware of the energy levels of the group. If they are dropping then either move on
to another topic, take a break, or find some other way of getting the energy levels back
up.
DO record as much as possible on flip charts, and record points word-for-word as they
are spoken (quick and clear writing is important). Putting them up around the room
creates additional stimulus and a record of the progress made through the day.

Use of stimulus materials

Preparing, and effectively using, a range of stimulus materials can be the difference between a
good workshop and an absolutely fantastic workshop. Stimulus materials come in all forms, and
can include short presentations, wall displays, short audio/video clips and materials that can be
placed in the middle of the table (brochures, advertising tear sheets, products, etc).

Outputs and follow-up

At the end of the day everyone should be exhausted, the room should be a mess and the walls
should be thick with flipcharts.
It is important, as the last task of the day, that the facilitator (or in some cases the host) briefly
summarize the day and explain the next steps. This should take about 5-10 minutes: including
thanks for everyones participation, a brief outline of the outcomes and an explanation of the
next steps.
The next steps usually involve the following:
1. Write up and circulation of the outcomes of the workshop, in the form of a workshop
report
2. Further input from the group on the workshop report, with any suggested amendments
or refinements
3. Production of the final report and the plan of action required to take the initiatives
forward.
In the workshop report it is worth having a section, usually an appendix, where the text from the
flipcharts is reproduced exactly word-for-word as it was produced on the day. The text can look
very broken and bitty (because that is how it was noted down) however it is often a valuable
reference to the participants, reminding them of the thinking that was produced. This Appendix
should also include the results of the red dot exercises (using asterisks is one simple way of
doing this). This is also demonstration, should you need one, that the summary and
conclusions in the body of the report are based solidly on the raw output from the day itself.
It is usually the team leader that takes on these follow-up activities and drives them forward
(allocating individual responsibilities as necessary) with the team moving back into the
conventional way of working with individual responsibilities, objectives and timelines to their
work.

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This is an illustration of a workshop, and how it might run, based on experience of facilitating
many workshops

CASE STUDY: Benevolent Bank defines its current brand

Frank is a rising star at the Benevolent Bank. He went through the management development
program, and is now working as an assistant to the CEO. In this role he has been asked to
organize a brand management workshop to help us understand our brand.

Who should participate?

The CEO has invited the senior management team, eight people in all, plus the CEO and Frank
as the facilitator.

Preparatory work
Frank has set the date for the workshop four weeks in advance, so there is time to do some
preparatory work. He prepares a list of tasks that looks like this:
1. Gather up all the existing written material about the brand (there are bits in the annual
report, the company website and some old internal memos that talk about our brand).
2. Gather up any existing research that expresses the attitudes and values that any
stakeholders have about the brand.
3. Set up some kind of brand framework, that will help structure the workshop thinking
about their brand.
4. Undertake 1-to-1 interviews with some of the senior management.
5. Undertake 1-to-1 interviews with customers as they leave a bank branch, which he
plans to video (hell take a colleague along with a hand-held digital camera, and explain
to the customers that it is just for internal use, most people are happy to share their
opinions!)
6. Film a short video of one of the bank branches, taken during a busy lunch-time
7. Record a call to the banks telephone hotline making an enquiry about one of their
investment products.
8. Undertake some initial research on key competitor, consumer and technology trends
facing the banking industry.
He produces a short report that he circulates 10 days in advance of the workshop. It includes a
summary of the existing written materials, the existing research, and a short introduction to
brands as a collection of perceptions. Finally, it outlines the objective of the workshop, which
he agrees with his CEO is:
to get a better understanding of the strength of our current brand,
in the context of the trends facing the industry.
Frank saves the other material - the result of his own interviews and other research - to use on
the workshop day. Some of it is pretty powerful stuff, with some fairly blunt opinions expressed.
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He thinks it is probably best not to put it in the report now, and feels it will make a strong impact
on the day.

Setting up / managing the day

This is the agenda that Frank sets up for the workshop, in agreement with his CEO. Its a
9.30am start, with lunch scheduled for 1.00pm and a finish at 4.30pm (to give everyone a
chance to get back to their desks for an hour):
Morning activities
Welcome & objectives
Ground rules, and schedule for the day

Duration
10 mins
10 mins

Presentation: The next 10 years of banking key trends

Brainstorming Session: Banking trends, opportunities & threats
Red Dotting: to prioritize key trends for the bank

10 mins
30 mins
10 mins

Presentation: Understanding brands, and their value

Brainstorming Session: Identify / prioritize stakeholder groups

10 mins
15 mins

Presentation: Quotes from 1-to-1 interviews (managers & Customers)

Brainstorming Session: The truth about our current brand, for customers
Red Dotting: to prioritize and rank the output

10 mins
90 mins
10 mins

Morning wrap up

5 mins

Lunch
Afternoon activities
Review of the morning
Breakout Groups: The truth about our current brand (for other stakeholders)
Group 1 Presentation & discussion: employee perceptions
Group 2 Presentation & discussion: media perceptions
Red Dotting: to prioritize and rank the output

10 mins
30 mins
15 mins
15 mins
10 mins

Break

10 mins

Review of banking trends

Evaluation Session: Our current brand strengths and weaknesses

5 mins
25 mins

Discussion Session: Next steps & roles (towards defining the desired brand)
Wrap Up

20 mins
10 mins

Before the day starts Frank puts the existing brand documents up on one wall, near the coffee
table, so that as participants arrive and get themselves a drink they have a chance to look at the
existing documentation, and the conversation starts from there.
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The CEO gathers everyone together, welcomes everyone and sets the objective for the day (he
says that we are in Franks hands for the day thereby giving Frank his blessing and added
authority to manage the day). The CEO explains that there will be some short presentations,
as stimulus to the thinking, but that the success of the day really depends on the collective
experience and expertise in the room, and everyone participating fully.
Frank takes a few minutes to lay out the ground-rules. He then introduces the COO, to make a
10 minute presentation on banking trends. The presentation is not designed to cover everything
in detail just to provide food for thought and the COO quickly hits the main points, using quotes
from industry figures and publications to give added credibility.
The brainstorming session on this first topic carries on from the presentation. Franks role now
is to encourage as many ideas as possible (minimizing the debate around each idea) and to
capture all the ideas on flipcharts. He writes furiously, rips of the flipcharts and gets them up on
the wall, and carries on writing. (An assistant would have been a great idea at this point!) At
the end of the session he explains red dotting and there is a quieter time, as people reflect on
all the flipcharts around the walls, walk around the room looking at the material, and each
decide how to vote using their dots.
This dotting session has brought the adrenalin levels down in the room, and once it is done the
group opinion is clear for all to see on the walls (one of the main benefits of red dotting!)
There is a short discussion of the implications, the CEO says a few words to summarize, and
Frank is on to the next presentation.
The message of this 15 minute presentation is we all know brands are valuable, but how do we
think and talk about brands? Heres a framework to do just that. It sets up a quick brainstorm
(actually this one is more like a simple group discussion) on the key stakeholders, and how to
prioritize them. There is some discussion about whether they should be segmenting up the
customer-base, to create separate stakeholder groups (current account holders, private banking
clients, credit card holders, etc) but in the end they decide the simplest thing to do is group all
customers together, and they also identity several other stakeholder groups, with employees
and the media identified as the most important.
First a quick break, then they are into the presentation on the results of the 1-to-1 interviews.
Frank keeps it quick, but doesnt hold back. Hes selected the best quotes from both the
managers and customers, and there are some blunt messages about their experience of
Benevolent Bank and the feelings and emotions that creates. (Frank made it clear to the
interviewees that everything was confidential before they spoke, so there are no names
mentioned). He also plays back his call to the banks hotline including the time spent on
hold and he can see the frustration on the faces of the team. This is all stimulus to the next
brainstorming session: The truth about our current brand, for customers. The team
brainstorms each element of the brand framework, with all the ideas going up on the wall as
before (Frank has to remind them occasionally that it is current not desired brand that they are
talking about!). Soon the walls are covered with the teams thoughts on the perceptions of
customers: about the heritage of the company, its attitudes and values, and the quality of its
services. There are a lot of very honest opinions, and it is not all pretty reading! Finally they
red dot what they think are the most truthful to the current brand, as it exists in consumers
minds, and the CEO wraps up a successful morning session.

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The lunch is set up in a side room, buffet style. Around the walls of the room Frank has stuck
up a variety of quotes and brief book extracts on the value of brands, the role of corporate
branding, and what makes a strong brand. They keep everyone interested, and generate plenty
of discussion.
After lunch Frank introduces a slightly different format: breakout groups. These are ideal right
now, as everyone is a little tired and breaking into smaller groups ensures that everyone has to
perk up, there is nowhere to hide!
The break-out groups work at either end of the workshop table, each group stood around a
flipchart as they brainstorm the ideas. Frank bounces back and forth between the two groups,
as one group brainstorms media perceptions and one group brainstorms employee perceptions.
At the end of the session each group briefly presents their findings to the other.
After a quick break, and with the workshop running towards its conclusion, they work again as a
large group to reflect on the current brands strengths and weaknesses. They do this after a
quick review of the banking trends covered earlier. They review all the material they have
produced in the day (which is now laid out over the floor too, as they ran out of wall space) and
do a final dotting exercise, this time with red dots for weaknesses and green dots for strengths.
There is some further discussion of these results, which flows into next steps (and roles) to take
the team towards defining their desired brand.

These notes are the final section of Managing Your Total Brand,
our comprehensive brand management Manual.

For more details visit www.buildingbrands.com

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