I have the honor of speaking today at the 2011 Postsecondary Career & Technical Education Summer Conference, at which I'll be discussing It's a New Brand Day: Brand Building in the Day of the New... New Economy, New Business Environment, and New Media with educators, implementers, and trainers from our State's career technical institutions.

There are several core Brand Building principles that we'll explore, as well as some of the things going on in this Day of the New that impact our brands and our efforts in building them. So let's start with one of the impactors to our brand building...

We live in A LOT of clutter.

In today's world we're bombarded with ads, messages, products, services, campaigns, and efforts all aiming to stand out, to be noticed, and to be desired. In those efforts, a lot of the companies behind them have thrown ungodly amounts of money at advertising, marketing, and PR efforts that say, “Hey! Look at me! You'll like me!” But what a lot of them have learned is that it doesn't work. You can't do it. There’s never enough money to buy true desire, to make real connection, or to build authentic trust. Those things have to be earned, and you earn them by consistent action and behavior over time.

Before you can build your brand, you have to understand it, its values, its mission, its heart and reason for being. And then you have to let it drive you, consistently, in everything you do. Your brand tells you and your people how to act, be, and respond in virtually any-and-all situations. And that’s a lot bigger than the latest cutesy-tootsy ad campaign!

You want to build trust? Know who you are, what you're doing, and why you're doing it. Know intrinsically who you're talking to. Know that your actions and behavior are representing your core values and character. This is what builds the trust that cuts through the clutter.