NAID Briefing: Building A Brand By Actions, Not Logos

From the beginning, NAID has actively pursued opportunities to publish articles and give presentations on the topic of information destruction. The only problem was that nobody was interested. Worse than being turned down outright, they did not even return our calls.

You can imagine how nice it is now that they are calling us. And, it is not just the buying-group periodicals, like ARMA, AHIMA and ASIS, who are more than happy to print any competent article we submit. The interest is also from the Federal Trade Commission; the British Standards Institute; the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario and, as of early January, the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

At this point in this column, it is fair to ask whether NAID is really that well respected or if we are just in the right place at the right time. The answer is both.

There is a saying that "Success is when opportunity meets preparation." There is no doubt that right now there are many people and institutions looking for guidance on information destruction issues. That said, those same people and institutions also recognize a legitimate, authoritative, credible source when they see it. They turn to NAID because every fiber in its being and every beat of its pulse say to the world, we are serious about this subject, we know what we are talking about and we will tell you the truth.

NAID has built its brand on actions, not logos, and secure destruction companies can take a lesson.

The author of the book The Experience Economy writes that at this point in time companies don’t create a brand through logos and promises. They create a brand by being the brand. The brand isn’t a catch phrase; it is a way of doing business. It oozes from every pore of the business . . . the employees, the publications, the operating systems.

Whether your company’s "brand" is customer service, security, efficiency or an expertise in compliance, make sure that every employee knows exactly what the company stands for and give them the tools to act accordingly.