It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…a team of highly-specialized orthopedic surgeons!

When Butler Health System asked us to promote the super hero-like skills of their orthopedic specialists, we dubbed the doctors “Ortho Force” and the campaign took off. Tactics like TV spots, outdoor boards, print ads, online banner advertising and Google AdWords drive users to the new Ortho Force website. The site highlights the skills and personality of each member of Ortho Force, proving that these seven unique docs make an unstoppable team.

Can they solve your bone and joint issues? Absolutely. Are they more powerful than a locomotive, faster than a speeding bullet, and able to leap tall buildings at a single bound? Hey, you never know.

When I first imagined my wedding, I chose what I thought was a unique theme – a sort of “rustic Tuscan” feel with rich colors. But as I struggled to choose “rustic” invitations and “rustic” centerpieces, something didn’t feel right. After a friend told me she was genuinely surprised by my chosen theme, it clicked – sure my wedding was different, but it wasn’t really me.

The problem was that I chose a theme just to be different, not because it reflected my style or personality – my “personal brand.” Rustic just isn’t my thing – I hate the color brown and refuse to be in touch with nature. As a result of the theme being off the mark, there was a lack of consistency with the event details, and my friends and family (the target audience) were getting mixed messages.

We all know that Challenger Brands need to be different to challenge market leaders, but that doesn’t need to mean losing sight of the overall brand message. Just like my original choice for a “rustic Tuscan” wedding theme didn’t fit my personal brand, Challengers shouldn’t execute a campaign only because it says something different. If your campaign message is too far from your company’s core values, you won’t be able to pay it off and will end up diminishing the brand.

Brands don’t happen overnight – they develop over time and through numerous interactions with your target market. Once you have invested the time to develop a brand identity for your company that’s differentiated and meaningful to consumers, hammer it into people’s heads. Be sure that your message is consistently repeated with every audience touch-point – whether it’s a campaign, social media or event, or in my case, save-the-date, centerpiece or cocktail napkin.

As for my wedding, I changed the theme to something that supports my personal brand – black and white with some vintage touches. Now it’s more sophisticated and polished – no “rustic” branches or brown in sight.