This document provides guidance on early stage branding for technology companies seeking partners, investors, and licensees. It emphasizes the importance of aligning your brand with big picture visions like sustainability and food security, clearly defining the problem you solve, educating audiences on your solution, and making a strong business case showing benefits like cost savings and quality improvements. Specific tips include developing a clear value proposition for different target audiences, using blogs and LinkedIn to engage your network, keeping messaging simple, and crafting an elevator pitch that defines your product, customer pain, and unique benefit.

1. © Copyright 2009 Reality2 LLC Early Stage Branding The key to attracting partners, investors and licensees for USDA & NIFA CATP companies Farida Fotouhi [email_address]

2. This is your time

3. Energy Water Food

4. Fix the economy, fix health care, plus: The environment: preservation, remediation Health: people, livestock, & produce Reduce Ag dependence on cheap oil (quotes Michael Pollen) Sustainable Ag: environmental impact, productivity Food and water supply: safety, availability Reform of food system Alternative energy: a national security issue

5. Your world is bigger than you think

8. Your brand = the sum of experiences at every point of contact.

9. You have a brand whether you know it or not. Take control and make it work for you. “ What X stands for”

11. The Reality-Based branding and positioning triangle.

16. Align yourself with the big picture vision and be specific about the roadblock you remove.

18. ALIGN WITH BIG PICTURE SPECIFIC ROADBLOCK YOU REMOVE

19. NEW WAY OLD WAY EDUCATE (SIMPLE, CLEAR)

21. Paradigm shifters: educate! Own the solution as thought leader. Change perceptions and behavior.

22. EDUCATE: CHANGE PERCEPTIONS BE A THOUGHT LEADER

23. OWN THE SOLUTION AS THOUGHT LEADER

25. Make a good business case. Sustainability alone isn’t sustainable.

26. Businesses buy sustainability when it also fixes pain, adds value and impacts the bottom line. 1) Sustainability 2) Affordability 3) Quality

27. THE BUSINESS CASE THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

28. THE BUSINESS CASE + GREEN BENEFIT OLD WAY - NEW WAY: QUALITY OLD WAY - NEW WAY: SAVINGS OWNERSHIP OF SOLUTION (IP)

31. A value proposition for each target audience (within unified brand)

33. Early Stage Branding ™ : the key components. A branding strategy A clear market-focused value proposition Professional startup package (not home-made) Name/logo Website Brochure Presentation

34. How about social media? Rule of thumb for B2B: Blog and LinkedIn.

38. Courtesy of Robin Frank

39. Keep it simple.

40. You’ve developed a technological breakthrough.

41. Commercialization, branding and selling involve an entirely different skill set. Ours is better!

43. What is it you guys again? do

44. So what?

45. Your positioning statement can also be your elevator pitch.

46. The first sentence: define product, customer, and pain/need. We have a / we are a (category of product; name your space) for (type of customer; target segment) who (pain dissatisfaction: is dissatisfied with)

47. The second sentence: define benefit and uniqueness. Our product (main benefit) unlike (old or competitive way and disadvantage)

48. Third sentence: quick hook or summary for this audience. Here, your summary depends on the audience. General end user? Investor? Prospective licensor or partner?

49. Workshop: position this product!

50. The Wheel.

51. October 28, 2008 Early Stage Branding The key to attracting partners, investors and licensees for USDA & NIFA CATP companies. Farida Fotouhi [email_address]