by Miriam Hara | Oct 29, 2024 | Content, Marketing, Social Media
What is Curiographics?
Curiographics refers to the segmentation of audiences based the curiousity-driven content they engage with, rather than their demographic or psychographic characteristics. This term recognizes that in the age of social media, curiousity transcends generational boundaries, and audience behaviour is now driven by the subjects or topics that pique their interest.
Not Just Another Buzz Word
I can see you the rolling of the eyes. Here’s yet a new word that business and marketers, specifically can spool out at a drop whenever and where ever possible. But all kidding aside. There is a reason for new terminology. Words like metrosexual, influencer marketing, user generated content, sustainability and omnichannel, (to name only a few!) are in our vernacular because there was a shift and enough momentum around that shift to merit a term.
I believe curiographics is such a word. As with the blending of gender identification, the proliferation of so much diversity, it is impossible to think of any audience based on generations (Boomers, X, Y, Z) alone. That’s too rigid for our increasing social world.
The social landscape has exploded thanks to technology. With it, the blending of interests, content and information has created audience contextual niches. With this in mind, targeting must be viewed through a more holistic lens in order to capture its entire market, without leaving any generation out of the mix.
Curiographics Transcends Generations
Whether it’s Gen Z or Baby Boomers, Curiographics recognizes that shared curiousity (interests) across generations create more relevant audience clusters than demographic lines alone. Rather than just understanding the why behind audience actions (psychographics), Curiographics digs into the what—what topics are sparking curiousity. What engages them most? And how that reflects their deeper preferences. Brands can leverage Curiographics by crafting campaigns around specific interests that attract their ideal audience, no matter the demographic group. It helps brands understand where they need to be in the conversation to reach their most engaged audiences.
As the landscape of audience segmentation continues to evolve, so must we. Curiographics emerges as a cutting-edge approach that redefines how brands understand and target their audiences. It focuses on the topics and interests that drive engagement across generations.
Assessing Content in Context:
We’ve all heard the saying Content is King! With Curiographics, however, the perspective of content as a topic is way too limiting and confining. Content needs to be viewed as a catalyst or a town crier, gathering the masses to come and hear what your brand has to offer.
Audience Segmentation by Interests:
Curiographics focuses on grouping individuals by the topics they are curious about; lifestyle themes, entertainment preferences, educational content, and more. It goes beyond traditional methods that rely on age, location, or behavioural patterns and what topics would interest them. It’s driven by what captures their curiosity It has to be the other way around…that’s how you open up a brand’s potential!
Content Type as a Driver of Engagement:
The format of the content, whether video, written posts, or podcasts, becomes secondary to the actual topic. For example, whether it’s food, wellness, or technology, audiences connect with the subject matter, and their curiousity ultimately defines their engagement.
Flexible Targeting for Social Media:
Social media’s algorithmic nature favours content that appeals to specific topics, allowing Curiographics to help brands dynamically target groups based on what’s currently resonating with their interests.
As brands continue to navigate the ever-evolving marketing landscape, embracing Curiographics offers a fresh and innovative way to connect with audiences on a deeper level, proving that in today’s world, it’s the topics that define the targets.
What are your thoughts on this Curiographicss approach? I would love to hear them. Let’s Chat!
by Miriam Hara | Oct 15, 2024 | Branding, Business Success, Marketing
Is brand potential an elusive goal?
How do you know, as a marketer, if the brand you’ve been entrusted with has truly achieved its full potential? It goes beyond just success or meeting KPIs like market share, sales growth, or market penetration.
It’s natural that we are up close and personal with the brand
If you’re a solid brand manager, you likely know your brand inside and out. It almost becomes an extension of who you are! On the flip side, maybe you’re too close to see the bigger picture. The goals and objectives you’ve set may not actually be at the pinnacle of what’s possible. In other words, maybe your brand has yet to achieve its true potential, and there’s still more to reach.
As marketers, we celebrate milestones—like incremental increases in market share (yes!) or stronger market penetration, because they translate into healthy, profitable outcomes. But what if, instead of celebrating, we should be reflecting on what the brand hasn’t achieved?
Is your brand leaving its true brand potential on the table. This is really the true definition of missed opportunity.
Pushing the envelope
Even though you’ve experienced successful outcomes from your brand initiatives, maybe there’s still more on the table. Maybe your brand hasn’t fully reached what it could, even if what you’ve accomplished is already impressive.
So how do you know when your brand has truly reached its full potential? What measures can you put in place to ensure you’re pushing the limits and maximizing every opportunity? Here are a few takeaways to keep in mind when your brand initiatives seem successful:
- Don’t rely on the past. The market is present. Every day brings change. Past accomplishments are best viewed in a rear view mirror. Look to the future and always reassess.
- Stay uncomfortable. If you’re comfortable with your brand’s growth, it’s time to disrupt that. Challenge what you believe is possible. Unlocking a brand’s potential means never coasting.
- Playing it safe is risky. Dare to create strategies that shake up the norm. Be unpredictable. Just because something hasn’t been done before, doesn’t mean it’s wrong. And if it has been done, maybe now is the right time to make it right! Make sure your initiatives grab attention, make noise and stand out.
- Be ambitious for your brand. Reach and strive to attain the outer limits of what’s considered an acceptable objective. No ambitious goals…means you are being complacent. And that is never good for a brand or for business.
- Use the 3-year-old conversation approach: Always ask questions. Continually assess. If campaigns or initiatives were successful, ask why?
Remember, success doesn’t always mean you’ve reached maximum achievement or full brand potential. Striving for more is how you unlock a greater brand potential!
by Miriam Hara | Oct 8, 2024 | Branding, Business Success
So You’re a Market Leader
As a brand manager, it’s easy to become comfortable when your brand is riding high on a wave of loyalty with the market share and sales to prove it. But here’s the truth: brand loyalty isn’t a given and it isn’t easily earned either. Sometimes based on market conditions, being the market leader doesn’t always translate into true brand loyalty. Regardless, it’s certainly not something that remains static.
Brand loyalty doesn’t come about simply because your brand is out there – and I would go even further to say – if you’re the only one out there.
A brand loyal customer base is the result of constant nurturing, respect, and—most importantly—consistent evolution. Your customers may love you today, but if you don’t continue to invest in that relationship, tomorrow’s landscape could look very different.
Why Complacency is the Enemy of Loyalty
I have always maintained that brand is a living organism. It must evolve and grow. When a brand reaches a certain level of success, there’s a temptation to pull back, thinking the hard work is over. However, like brand, brand loyalty is a living, breathing thing. It needs attention, care, and—yes—respect.
Consumers want to feel valued, and part of that value comes from knowing the brand they’re committed to is committed to them… and is in constant improving and growing mode.
Ignoring the need for continuous investment and evolution sends the wrong message to your consumer base: “We’ve done enough.” Even if you are a brand staple, there are ways for your brand to become more than that. Consumers need to know that you’ve got their back… that your mission is always to serve up things that make their lives, easier, better, warmer, happier and effortless.
And if that’s not enough of an incentive to keep investing and growing, remember that no market is foolproof, you can count on market dynamics shifting, and competitors are always ready to pounce, when they see an opening to just nudge it and take a little bite out of your loyal following.
Loyalty is More Than a Transaction—It’s Validation
I’ve mentioned it before, even if your brand is a market leader, it’s not enough to simply assume that dominance guarantees loyalty. Consumers want to feel validated in their choice of brand, especially when they’ve been loyal for years. It’s about recognizing their support and providing them with reassurance that they’ve made the right decision. This means brand managers needs to continuously invest in their brand to maintain a constant relationship with their customer base.
The Investment That Keeps Giving
Consistent investment, whether in marketing, customer experience, or product innovation, is key to maintaining your brand’s place in the hearts and minds of your customers. This investment can take many forms. It can be through new product innovations or offerings, exclusive offers other than rebates or coupons. The investment must reinforce the values that drew consumers to your brand in the first place. It can take the form of usage tips, how to, DIY or entering in a fun contest, information that is authentic and true to the brand persona.
Your consumers are your best brand ambassadors, but they need to be reassured that their advocacy is well-placed.
By continuing to engage with your audience and offering them these reminders, you’re not just thanking them—you’re reinforcing the connection and giving them reasons to keep choosing you.
Showing Respect is Powerful
Staying relevant by evolving is one of the most powerful ways for a brand to show respect. It demonstrates to brand loyalists that their loyalty is being recognized and isn’t being taken for granted. Whether it’s adapting your messaging, launching new products, or updating your brand identity to better reflect today’s cultural landscape, keeping things fresh demonstrates to your customers that you’re in it for the long haul—just like they are.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to this. When a brand understands the ongoing relationship it needs to have with its consumer base, it doesn’t just keep them—it keeps growing alongside them.
by Miriam Hara | Jul 30, 2024 | Advertising, Agency, Management
Nostalgia for the Mad Man Era
It’s hard not to be nostalgic about what was once the ‘life of a creative’ in a marketing agency. We were the epitome of cool. Dress-down Fridays? Every day was a casual masterpiece of quirky tees, ripped jeans, and comfy sneakers. Flexible hours meant strolling into the office with a coffee at 10 AM or working from the cozy confines of home whenever inspiration struck. (Never mind the 24 hours days working on pitches and presentation!). And yes, the corporate world envied us. Afterall… “Those creatives have it all!”, while secretly admitting that they didn’t understand the first thing about creative world (or brain) at all!
The COVID Shift
But then came the year of the great equalizer: COVID-19. Suddenly, the perks that set us creatives apart has become quite the norm. Remote work was no longer a privilege but a necessity/ Our once-coveted flexible hours were now standard practice across industries. And let’s not forget about the dress code.The corporate world swapped suits for sweats, and our secret society of the daily casual Fridays lost its exclusivity.
Remember Drafting Tables?
There once was a time, not too long ago, that concepts and designs that were developed by advertising agencies were not only revered. They were viewed as the work as work of arts. Corporate clients were in awe on how we, creatives could conjure up brand magic – with our pens, papers, markers, airbrushing and typesetting. The brand stories we weaved and visuals we conceived left clients in wonder-struck. Atlas, all things change. As the digital revolution marched on, computers and AI joined the fray, the coveted talent of creativity seemed accessible to anyone with a decent laptop and an internet connection. Gone was the drafting table…and with it the corporate awe of the creative mind.
A New Reality
So today in the ‘life of a creative’, at least a creative at 3H starts not with a leisurely coffee run, but with a Zoom call. If we’re home, I would like to say we’re often still in our pyjamas, but no… we definitely dress casual…as our clients do on the other side of the laptop. Much to my chagrin, our brainstorms during COVID, had become virtual – and although our whiteboards are digital. Post-COVID, we do brainstorm, occupying the same physical space! The banter of the office, the shared lament of tweaking a design to death and of course, the shared ah-ha moments—that still happens! (YES!)
The Creative Struggle
Amidst all of these changes and shifts, the core of what we, and the “life of a creative’ remains unchanged. We still chase the thrill of the perfect idea, the rush of a campaign coming together, the satisfaction of a client’s wonderment. Yes, we navigate the challenges of remote work, balancing our creative impulses with the ever-present hum of distractions. The digital revolution, to be honest, gave us creatives amazing tools offering design advantages that really are awesome! The perks may have become common, but the true nature of creativity—the spark that ignites great ideas, the passion that drives us to push boundaries—that remains uniquely ours.
We accept that we may no longer be the exclusive keepers of flexible hours and casual dress codes. However as creatives, we continue to thrive, finding the creative in each brand mandate… and truly loving the journey of finding that one creative nugget.
We’d love to do just that for your brand. Let’s chat to see how we can bring your vision and your brand to life.
by Miriam Hara | Jul 18, 2024 | Branding, Marketing
Set the Bar High
When you’re in the business of creating brands the bar needs to be set high.That doesn’t mean that the brand should be high end. Creating a brand from the ground up is essentially comprised of many different “conscious marketing” decisions that are made. Those decisions are made regardless of the value of the brand…or rather the perceptual value of the brand. Whether you’re branding an economy line of products or an exclusive prestige line of products, a set of decisions need to be taken. We’ve all heard the saying it’s good enough. But is it really?
When adding in a layer of branding, good enough is never good enough. It just doesn’t cut it.
Those Not So Little Marketing Decisions
So what are these marketing decisions that need to happen. Well the first one, is identifying the market opportunity. Is there an opportunity to create a brand? Is there a need? We won’t get into whether it’s lucrative in this article. The premise today is to provide the context of creating brands, the decisions that make them a brand, and why every little nuance matters.
Next, key decisions need to be made about the brand identity and its core representation.This is no easy task and should be taken seriously. This includes what the brand’s mission, vision, values, and unique selling proposition are (USP). This takes us to the very next important decision; how and who do we define as our core target market? Who are the ideal customers? What are their demographics? At this stage, all types of decisions need to be made. Who are they? Where do they live? What do they do? What are their psychographics, needs, and preferences? Where to they go? To provide context, an economy line of household products might target budget-conscious families, while a prestige skincare line might target affluent, health-conscious consumers.
How Does Your Brand Walk the Talk?
This process involves creating essential brand identity assets, such as a brand position and key messaging, and then integrating all these decisions to develop a cohesive brand persona. What is your brand’s tone, style and social voice? And let’s not forget the brand logo and colours.
None of these elements when creating brands should be taken lightly or at face value. In today’s speed of business, and in the world of social communications last only for a nano second. It’s easy not to consider the implications of ‘just doing it’. To take leaps instead of steps, it’s easy to say it’s good enough. I’m here to implore you not to!
By meticulously making each of these decisions, you will ensure that your brand is not just good enough, but exceptional; and that’s how you resonate deeply with your target audience and stand the test of time.
