BRANDING: 101 (An in-depth look at what we like to call "Brandscaping")

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**WHAT IS 'BRAND', AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?**

Simply put, Brand, as it relates to a restaurant, is the personality of the place. A great restaurant is like a friend. You enjoy the place because you take pleasure in its personality. And any real personality has a variety of facets, quirks, and features.

Some restaurant brands are like familiar friends that you can see several times a week, and never get tired of. Some places are valued friends, but once a month is plenty. Some restaurants you can hang out with regardless of how you are dressed. At some places, you feel like you probably need to get dressed up for, at least a little, to feel like you belong there.

Another thing where restaurants are like real personalities is that they tend to be consistent, even if it’s consistently surprising. We all know people who have been our friends for so long, that we always know what they are going to do or say. Rather than making them boring, these long-time friends make us feel comfortable because we always know what to expect. We trust them. People who seem to change with every whim tend to make us uncomfortable. We are never sure what’s coming next, so we don’t go out of our way to see them. Restaurants can be like this too. Whatever a restaurant is supposed to be, it needs to be that way consistently. If it doesn’t, then it confuses people. That does not mean that restaurants and/or people should not ever change, but natural change occurs as an extension of their core personality. And that core personality, for a restaurant, is what we call their brand identity.

So the first thing a new restaurant venture should tackle is to be certain they have a clear idea of what Brand Identity they are striving to be. I say, “striving to be,” because in the final analysis, your customers are the ones who understand who you are. No matter what you think of yourself, its what your customers think of you that becomes your brand identity. It our job, to give them the right message that they can understand clearly, from the start. That’s where GHA Design Lab can help. You are formulating your dreams and aspirations for this new business venture. What we want to do is make sure your dream gets converted to a cohesive personality. And the way that personality gets communicated to the customer is in every aspect of the customer experience.

For example, here are some of the big categories that GHA Design Lab will help you communicate your message:

Logo & Signage
Building Design
Interior and Exterior Finishes
Furniture & Light Fixtures
Artwork & Décor
Menu: Format & Graphics
Tabletop, Plateware & Serviceware
To Go Packaging
Landscaping & interior plants
Music selection
Employee uniforms
Service Style
Training Manuals for employees

All of these areas, make up the total appearance of your restaurant. We will call this comprehensive list your Brandscape.

**HOW DO WE START 'BRANDSCAPING'?**

Before we get to all those physical aspects we listed above, we need to first dabble in the abstract for a bit. As we all know, its not easy to sum up someone’s personality with a simple list of physical characteristics. The same is true of a restaurant and its atmosphere. Lets look at it through these areas that Just-A-Burger seems to be headed.

A Great Burger Place
Casual but High Quality
Texas roots
Warm earthy materials
A Great Place for Friends and Families

In our initial discussions, these are the goals we heard expressed. We know there are probably more. This workbook is a great time to bring those goals to the table. Thorough upfront programming

(which is what Brandscaping is) saves time and ensures a quality process. So feel free to inject anything into this process that you have dreamed of or desired for this project. We will make it part of the discussion.

So here is the Discussion Phase, and the big reason for this workbook. The following pages of picture collages are a bit of a game, but it’s a very important game. We have arranged groups of pictures around the following goals for Just a Burger:

A Great Burger Place
Texas roots
Casual but High Quality
Warm earthy materials
A Great Place for Friends and Families

While these statements may seem pretty clear, our experience has taught us that we need to be much more specific before we move ahead. So we have re-stated them for the sake of our discussion. They are now:

There are lots of ways to say, “Great Burger!”

Which one is right for Just A Burger?
What do you want people to say about your burgers?
What makes your burgers unique?

There are lots of ways to say, “Texas.”

Traditional icons like Cowboys, Cacti, and Trucks.
More subtle expressions like certain color schemes, natural materials, and unassuming attitudes.
A Texas sense of humor.
A flavor profile that has Southwestern features like avocados and peppers.
Straight-forward, Ranch-house building materials and details.
A psychological connection to the outdoors.

There are lots of ways to say “Quality.”

Quality as Food Experts who use the best ingredients
Quality as Artisans or Connoisseurs of Hamburgers.
Quality of the Good Ol’ Days.
Quality of a proud family tradition

There are lots of ways to say, “The Warmth of Wood & Stone.”

Natural, Rough-hewn versus Clean & Precision made.
Historic Traditional detailing versus Simple & Contemporary.
Aged & Weathered versus Rich polished appearance.

There are lots of ways to say, “Our Kind of Customers!”

People who like to drop in anytime in any manner.
People who like to have a good time, and don’t mind enjoying themselves in public.
A place where kids can be kids.
A place where the customers are part of the atmosphere.
A place where the servers are having as much fun as the customers.

There are lots of ways to say, “Chair.”

The seating and other things that customers’ touch and feel, say a lot about your brand. Besides just being a place for someone to park themselves, furniture can tell a big part of your story.

Playing the Game

As you go through the picture collages for each category, think about the issues, and the various ways that each aspect of your restaurant can be handled. Use post-it notes or whatever you like, to make comments about your reactions to the various images. Negative comments are just as valuable as positive comments. Remember we are not “picking-out” stuff for your restaurant yet,. We are creating a cohesive personality. If something does not fit your gut-feel for Just-A-Burger, just say so.