McVey Marketing Inc. is pleased to announce that it has been retained by Olympic Property Group, a division of Pope Resources based in Poulsbo, Wash. Olympic Property Group has hired the firm to help position and advance the historic mill town of Port Gamble. The firm is conducting environmental scanning, researching and contacting potential partners, and providing strategic marketing counsel.

Olympic Property Group manages nearly 3,000 acres of residential and commercial developments, all within 50 miles of the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area. OPG currently has numerous projects in process ranging from a 320-acre mixed-use development in Gig Harbor, Wash., to the Port Gamble town site, a registered National Historic District.

Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., has hired McVey Marketing for another consulting engagement. The firm will provide Concordia College with services in the areas of strategic marketing counsel, competitive analysis and integrated marketing planning.

Concordia is a vibrant learning community in the Fargo-Moorhead area offering 78 majors and enrolling more than 2,800 students. The firm previously worked with Concordia in the areas of media training and counsel.

McVey Marketing Inc. recently expanded its partnerships with the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University in west central Minnesota by providing media training to approximately 40 staff members. The firm has previously worked with Saint Ben's and Saint John's in the area of strategic media relations planning.

The College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University enroll nearly 4,000 students and offer more than 60 areas of study and 40 majors. The institutions feature a student-to-faculty ratio of 13-to-1 and have earned national recognition as "best buys" by Barron's and the Fiske Guide to Colleges.

HOW TO BUILD STRONG BRANDS
You don't need an enormous advertising budget, the best facilities, or the most famous celebrity spokesperson to have a strong brand. Rather, organizations with strong brands have at their center one key element: They have a deep understanding of what they stand for, and they execute against that knowledge in everything they do. Here are a few secrets to building strong brands based on 20 years in the field:

*Know Who You Are, and Say It
Many organizations believe they know what their brand promise is, but when their employees try to communicate it, the result is many different and vague versions. When your brand promise is so ingrained that your employees can clearly communicate it, as well as use it as a beacon for guiding decisions, then you have what it takes to build a strong brand.

*Have Courage to Be Different
The most successful brands are those that have found a way to differentiate themselves. Being different from your competitors is the foundation of a successful brand promise, and it protects your organization against competition. Find your key point of market difference, protect it and nurture it, and you will be well on your way to having a strong brand with enviable brand loyalty.

*Focus and Limit Your Message
Many organizations work diligently to develop a focused brand promise, only to go hog wild when it comes to communicating their message. You don't have to say it all at once. Think of a piece of pie: There's a reason why you eat the small, pointed part first. Feed your customers the same way -- small bites that persuade them to eat more.

*Build It Every Way, Every Day
Remember that you build, or destroy, your brand through everything you do. Audit your operations -- from how your employees answer the phone, to the content and appearance of your web site, to the signs out front. Are they building your brand promise, or tearing it down?