B is for Brand

What is a brand? While there are many definitions, in simplest terms a brand is what differentiates one thing from another. For our purposes it is the identity of our organization. What comes to mind when you think of the Guild? Hopefully, what you think of is the people who make up our organization – whether that is fellow members, postholders, or committee. Who the Guild is was on display at last weekend’s Guild Conference & AGM and will again be on display at Who Do You Think You Are? Live in Birmingham later this week.

Who is the Guild? On a practical level (1) we are individual one-name researchers who have joined together to learn from each other and share our expertise with those who engage in family history and social history research, and (2) we operate as a charity and strive to educate not only our members but also the public. On an emotional level (1) we enjoy getting together with others who do this type of specialized study, (2) we provide help with methodology and technology, (3) we answer questions, (4) we teach others how to approach a one-name study and are enthusiastic supporters of anyone who takes one on, and (5) we identify new programs, such as the Members’ Website Project or the FamilySearch Initiative, to meet and exceed our members’ expectations.

Our brand is also the sum total of the experiences our members and the public have with the Guild. Our logo symbolizes our brand and it is important to be clear, concise and consistent – hence the use of our current logo and our colors (Guild blue and gold) on all our publicity, marketing, and references to the Guild. As a reminder our current logo can be found here at our Website (at the drop down menu – Resources – Publicity & Marketing – Guild Logos). Why not check to make sure you are using our current logo your newsletters, websites, and the like.

However, the most important consideration for our brand is that we continue to provide value to members and a positive experience to the public. We don’t intend to take our members for granted as we continue to earn our well-regarded reputation in the field of surname research and one-name studies.