by Miriam Hara | Mar 17, 2014 | Branding, Latest
The year is 2014 and the way brand character is now defined is quite different from 5 years ago. Brand value on an emotive and creative level has always been about brand character, or as some often call it, brand persona.
In days gone by, the shaping of brand character was hugely dependent on many one way conversations. The visibility of a brand’s logo, its design, its choice of colour and the font usage was as visual as the “brand” got. Needless to say, today it’s just not the case. That’s right, gone are the good old days of building brand character. Some may look at these good old days as simple, even juvenile. With YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram, the number of visual channels has exploded.
[dt_sc_pullquote type=”pullquote3″ icon=”yes” align=”center”]The building blocks of creating a solid brand character today have significantly changed over the last few years.[/dt_sc_pullquote]
Increasingly the tone and voice are as important if not more important than the one way conversations that we often found brands in. We can all say goodbye to believing that single or traditional channels can be responsible in building a brand character.
Be careful, I am not saying that building brand awareness and launching a brand persona with the use of TV, radio or print is bad, but to only do this, would be a waste of effort and lack of efficiency. Social Media integration provides a 3D approach to brand character. This multi-channel approach is necessary to create awareness, buzz, style and therefore, brand character. But Social media isn’t the only integration that is required for a brand to reach its full potential of its persona. The development of a brand character involves a holistic approach, where external branding and internal branding meet and co-existent happily. That’s from customer service answering the phone to the handling of complaints.
The various social media channels(mentioned previously) and internal branding initiatives provide the forums for brands to articulate their true voice and tone. If a brand is portrayed as approachable and fun-loving in the a “one way” conversation, say on TV campaign or radio, then that brand needs to demonstrate it in terms of its overall strategy – in the brand tone, brand creative and brand voice.
by Hilary Smith | Feb 24, 2014 | Latest, Marketing
What comes to mind when you think of podcasting? Do you imagine a vengeful geek complaining about the newest tech gadget failing to meet his standards? Or is it a comic book nerd narrating his newest fiction novel?
Thanks to the innovative design and distribution of the iPod, what was once reserved for technical individuals with the financial means to hire an expert, podcasting has now moved on to become more mainstream. In fact, it can even play a part in a business’s marketing strategy. Using programs like Audacity and investing in a quality microphone are all you really need. The rest depends on whether you, as a voice of your brand, are able to offer value to the audience.
Image Courtesy of MCPierce.blogspot.com
How can podcasting help grow a business?
It all really comes down to how your can retain the attention of your target audience. In an ideal world, podcasts are able to create brand fanatics. A podcast is a simple way of placing ideas and expertise that will help establish a brand as an authority.The more time you can get your audience to spend with your content, the more authority you’ll have as a content marketer. This is why podcasting is often viewed as a viable content marketing strategy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s right for every business.
If you build it, they might come…
Unlike most marketing strategies, podcasting isn’t all about acquiring massive amounts of traffic or new clients. With podcasting, you are about providing your target audience with an alternative means of gaining access to your content. After all, not everyone has the time to read a blog or watch YouTube videos. Over time, it’s possible that listeners will become loyal customers. If you’re all about the numbers, then podcasting may not be the best strategy for your business.
Furthermore, offering a podcast involves much more work than simply reading a script. In order for your podcast to gain even the smallest amount of traction, it is crucial that you’re able to translate your enthusiasm and command for your niche through nothing more than a microphone.
What do you hope to get out of podcasting?
As mentioned before, if your primary goal of podcasting is to drive traffic, then this might not be the best solution for you. Instead, a brand will want to utilize podcasting as a VIP offering. Providing your subscribers with a behind-the-scenes-look at your business will do a great deal to help build those relationships you want with your customers.
While there are some who might say that podcasting can benefit every business, it really all depends on whether the format is aligned with your brand’s marketing goals. It’s true that written content will always be the bread-and-butter of a successful content strategy, but if it happens to work for your goals, creating at least occasional podcasts or audiocasts can be a simple way to generate guest content in a quick-turnaround format.
Overall, in addition to serving as great training tools, podcasts also help you reach new audiences. And in the tech-savvy world we live in today, subscribers can easily access them through their mobile device, which is good news if a business is trying to launch a new product. Additionally, depending on what kind of angle they have, podcasts also offer a higher level of customer support and may even reduce the amount of support calls.
by Miriam Hara | Feb 21, 2014 | Latest, Marketing
Canada the good. Canada the polite. Canada the humble. Well, since the last winter Olympics… a subtle change has occurred in the Canadian persona. Since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, Canada has been evolving its persona…still really nice, but a little more edgy. It took the Vancouver Winter Olympics for the world to stop and take notice that Canada does contribute a lot to the world and not only with its steady supply of Canadian comedians! Dare I call it patriotism… that word that has for many Canadians negative associations?
It wasn’t so long ago Canada was the quiet country, the large gentle giant… ever so apologetic and well… nice.
Somehow, somewhere, it has become cool to be a Canadian. It has to become hip to carry the icon Maple Leaf…so perfect for a brand signature. And it all began with hosting the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. That forum gave Canada an opportunity to present itself authentically. What most didn’t realize was that Canada would take world by surprise… and yes that includes Canadians! The only difference between us Canadians and the rest of the world is that we always knew that we didn’t live in igloos!
Canadians were astonished that we could all feel as one. This “showy” display of solidarity – where did this type of patriotism come from? This visible pride of being Canadian? All of a sudden Canadians along with the rest of the world realized that we actually do have a lot to be proud of and not because of our cool fashionable Olympic outfits.
Many Canadians felt that after the Vancouver Olympics ended, we would once again go back to being, well, quiet… That the feeling of pride and solidarity wouldn’t last. But the Vancouver Olympics was just the beginning. In between 2010 and the 2014 Winter Olympics, Canada has increasingly become a strong visual brand. The Canada brand logo is the iconic Maple Leaf (can you get a more single iconic brand visual?), and has become coveted by all.
In Europe and through Asia, a Maple Leaf on backpacks, luggage tags, hats, t-shirts and pins have for the most part guaranteed a friendly smile, a warm reception. Canada now has admittedly a cool factor – something we even acknowledge amongst ourselves… quite unapologetic, I might add.
Today we watch our Olympic Athletes in Sochi and we have awesome brand awareness (oops… country awareness). Canadians more then ever have become vocal… we have become proud without losing our sense of being Canadian. Case in point, Canadian speed skater Gilmore Junio gave up his Winter Olympic spot to his more experienced teammate Denny Morrison in the men’s 1,000-meter race. This was an act of kindness that ended with Morrison winning a silver medal in the event. Listen to the amazing interviews from all of our Canadian athletes. We are winter. Humble. Grateful. Confident. Authentic. We are Canada. Not a bad brand character for a country, when all is said and done.
by Miriam Hara | Feb 16, 2014 | Branding, Creative, Latest
Developing creative for a brand ad, regardless of the medium, is often fraught with many obstacles. The main one being that there are so many people involved in developing brand creative…other than the creative team, at times it becomes impossible to please everyone. That very statement should give all marketing and creative professionals pause. How is it that the creative process and more importantly, creative decisions all boil down to personal preference?
As a marketing brand professional how do you really add value to the creative process?
This really should be a no-brainer as the creative brief should outline all the objectives, character, reasons to believe and tonality. However with the speed of business being what it is today, we often find the creative brief is ditched in an all out effort towards “getting the creative out”. When that happens, much of the creative decisions become based on interpretation and personal preference. While some may argue that being the brand ambassador or manager (herein brand professional) of the said brand allows them the freedom to dictate preference, I would challenge that thought.
Brand and branding is not about individual likes or dislikes. A brand’s life cycle may span over many brand professionals. That being the case, it is important that the brand’s tone, style and voice be maintained. Evolved, for sure, but consistent. More importantly, I believe that the brand professional’s main job is to make sure that the brand attributes and its physical demeanor should be maintained. While I wholeheartedly agree that success is in the details, the creative details should best be left to the creative team. The big picture, the overall impression, the quality, the benefit statements and the appearance of the brand is the responsibility of the brand professional… without question! Thus, total consideration must be given when comments directly touch on these attributes. However not all requests for changes are equal… or relevant. A good way to judge the importance of these considerations is by allocating a mark for each comment directed at “making the creative stronger”. Judgement on if the change will effect the overall delivery should constantly be a forefront of every request to change.
It’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of all that is creative. Enthusiasm is always necessary for any creative project to get off the ground… and the creative process initiated. All brand professionals are creative in their own right. However, developing creative and not hindering the creative process is also a skill set that is required to make brand creative to outstanding emotive brand creative.
by Belinda Lui | Feb 3, 2014 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Communications, Creative, Design, Latest, Marketing, Social Media
We’ve been noticing a trend recently that lends a hand to the celebrities and shows that a lot of us grew up watching. What is the purpose of using these particular stars or shows to appeal to viewers? We think it has something to do with nostalgic value. Retro advertising has been done before but ever since Oikos used the stars from Full House to market their products during the Super Bowl, we’ve seen other brands follow suit. Before we share some of these ads with you, let’s discuss why nostalgic value has any value when it comes to retro advertising:
Much like emotive advertising, retro advertising is successful because we associate certain memories and feelings with that time period in our lives. I don’t know about you, but I associate only good things with the TV shows that I grew up watching. I remember coming home from (what seemed like) a never-ending day at school, plopping myself down on the couch with a tall glass of milk, and watching after-school specials until my mother came home. That small window of alone time never went unappreciated. It was an adolescent’s time to reflect on the lessons being taught through these programs. So, when a legacy brand uses a legacy show to simulate certain emotive associations — it’s actually quite a brilliant strategy; especially if that brand is formerly associated with negative feelings.
Retro Advertising at its finest:
This is Delta’s ’80s-themed safety video: a fun and light-hearted take on a video that so many of us choose to ignore before taking off on a flight. Bet you won’t be able to ignore it now!
This is some of the cast from Full House appearing on Jimmy Fallon — this may not be directly advertising a product or service, but it was the top trending viral video on Facebook on January 20, 2014.
What examples of retro advertising can you share with us?
