by Miriam Hara | Mar 29, 2014 | Branding, Latest
Brand value is based upon the sum of all its parts. Those parts are: a brand name, its marketing, the relationship the brand has with its target base, its intent and its history. Additionally, to a large degree brand value or brand equity is based on its level of endurance. A brand’s stamina and staying power are as important as its ability to stay true to its original intention.
In short, brand value is tied to its originality.
At the risk of sounding a tad too “mature”, I remember when marketing meant not only advertising the benefits of a brand, but communicating those benefits to the consumer in an original way. This allowed the brand to own its entire messaging, from the logo to the colour and tone used and of course, the imagery.
Today, I feel that some creative has become lazy – reaching for the low hanging fruit. This may be the result of less time and lower budgets, however the drawbacks to brand value by creating “me too” creative are significant.
Brand creative should be a significant contributor to brand value. Here are a few tips to flexing creative to become more original for your brand creative:
1. Start your brainstorming session with a brief. It should outline what the objectives are, who the competition is and what they have done in the market place.
2. Don’t build your creative around a royalty free stock image. It’s important that you completely own your visual identity. Have you ever seen an ad for a technology brand with the exact photo as an ad for an insurance service provider? It’s quite alarming. Today, many print ads and digital creative ads are based on the use of stock imagery – ugh!
3. Go for substance, not flash, unless you can achieve both without alienating your target group. The use of flash and pop up mechanisms on websites intrude rather than captivate attention.
4. Always be clever with the creative for your concept and your approach to copy and headlines. Often headlines are too tactile and lack playfulness and originality.
If the strategy is on point and implemented properly, creative will add considerably to brand value. Brand creative should be based on brand persona. And brand persona should be based on a unique set of characteristics that give it… well a personality. How else will a brand resonate with its consumers? It needs to be attractive and speak to consumers in a way that forms a true connection.
In today’s environment, the brand persona has taken on an even more prominent role. There is another dimension to develop brand personality: its voice and tone. Like every person is an original, to be a successful brand and create brand value, originality is essential.
by Miriam Hara | Mar 22, 2014 | Latest, Marketing
Brand marketing, figuratively speaking, has always been about placing a “stake in the sand”.
Literally, this means determining a stance composed of strategy, a slew of tactics and the commitment to stay the course. However in today’s workplace and at today’s speed of business, maintaining a commitment to stay the course is more complex and difficult than it has been in the past. Adding to this is the very real fact that marketing people also change positions frequently – typically staying in a role 2 years or less. This often adds challenges for the brand and its direction. In my years of working with brand marketers, I have seen many make pitfall errors.
1) Don’t jump to conclusions:
Take the time to know the brand and understand the basis for the strategy being employed. Too often with new marketers coming on board, the want (or need) to make “their personal mark” takes precedence over the strategy in place for the brand.
2) Step aside:
The building of a brand is not about your likes and dislikes. Even if you are part of the target market profile, the mere fact that you’re a marketer, distinguishes you from the target market of the brand. It’s not about how you feel or whether you personally like the direction – it’s about the brand. Let’s face it, a brand’s life cycle may span over the course of many brand professionals. It is important that the brand’s character, consistency of tone, style and voice be maintained – evolved but consistent.
3) Don’t sweat the small stuff:
Brand marketing relies on the marketing professional’s ability to make sure that the brand attributes and physical demeanor are maintained. I agree with the notion that the “creative” is the fun part (that’s why I’m in advertising!). Although just because one is in marketing, doesn’t make them creative (sorry). Changing the creative is often the low hanging fruit. In other words, the quickest and easiest way for anyone to leave their mark is by making small visual changes that are “visible” to everyone. However this is often superficial. The bigger issues surrounding a brand take time to assimilate and change. The elements that make up the “brand being”, are those that are often, not seen instantly. Prioritize for what adds value.
Ultimately, I have found that patience is a good thing when brand marketing and brand making is at stake. The temptation to change direction too quickly can be strong; however, it often leaves the brand jumping around, trying on new approaches and never able to build on its own momentum. Instead, the brand is left yearning for what could be.
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 Felicitas Ritter | Feb 26, 2014 | Agency, Latest
Are you a believer in the necessity of a true blue in-house corporate marketing team, or do you prefer working with easy-going agency types? How different do you think is the kind of creative developed by the people who sit closest to the source, versus those looking in from the outside? And is there a benefit to collaboration? Having experienced working for both sides, it is my opinion that it is always best to mix things up.
There are definite benefits to having marketing experts on-site: in-depth product knowledge and understanding of corporate brands; access to merchandising teams and approving authority; ability to facilitate quick turnaround… and when you’re really under pressure to meet a deadline, you can just stand behind your writer or designer and direct… but please don’t. No one appreciates that and I promise you, it won’t make the process go any faster!
Corporate marketers from experience and proximity know better what senior management is looking for and what is most likely to be rubber-stamped. And there is no doubt that the trend toward in-house resources is growing, mainly because of the need for cost saving. But there are ways to maintain brand integrity and still get interesting, strategic creative without sacrificing the whole budget. And sometimes it really does take input from key creative people from elsewhere to be able to steer a company in a better direction.
Outside agencies naturally come armed with a broader perspective on current trends
simply from having worked with so many different types of clients, and on a wide variety of projects. They are true innovators because their jobs depend on it. If an ad agency offered their clients the same cookie-cutter ideas they certainly wouldn’t be in business for long.
Ultimately, understanding first what the strengths are of the in-house marketers, and then looking toward an agency to supplement whatever might be lacking, is the best way to utilize resources. For example, if you have a great strategic corporate team, but lack the production capability, than that’s what you need to look for in an agency. Marketing with a mind to bring varied experiences and skill-sets to the party allows for everyone to mix and mingle to collective advantage.
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.
