by Miriam Hara | May 26, 2023 | Agency, Branding, Communications, Marketing
In my 35-years at 3H, I’ve grown quite fond of an expression I use quite frequently in strategy sessions and yes, even in brainstorming sessions. The expression: – “we are talking to ourselves.” It’s an amusing acknowledgment of a trap we marketers often fall into. We’re so involved with our brand’s world that we sometimes forget our audience isn’t. This awareness has consistently guided my commitment to audience-centric marketing, reminding me to always consider the creative, communication, and positioning from the viewpoint of our target audience
The Impact of Self-Talk.
It creates an echo chamber, amplifying our own assumptions and drowning out the voice of our consumers. We believe that they’re as familiar with our brand as we are. The result? A communication gap. We’re talking, but not necessarily to our audience.
That’s what I refer to as the Self-Talk Syndrome. This self-talk results in a marketing echo chamber. We assume our consumers have the same brand intimacy as we do, creating a detrimental communication gap. We’re in conversation, but are our consumers truly part of it? Our clever taglines and plays on words or even how to express the need and use of our brand to consumers , so clear to us, may not resonate with those unfamiliar with our brand’s intimate details.
Remember this, our target markets, and by default, our consumers are not part of our internal dialogues. They see our brand quite differently from how we see it.
The Antidote to Self-Talk….Audience-centric Marketing!
So, what’s the solution? A perspective shift. We need to step outside our self-talk bubble and see through our consumers’ eyes. The goal isn’t brand familiarity, but effective, engaging communication.
Keep is simple. Keep it Clear.
The heart of audience-centric messaging is simplicity and clarity. It’s not about diluting our message, but making it more accessible – a counter to the complexity often bred in self-talk. Consumers care about benefits, value, and practicality – these should be the focus, not intricate product details.
Let’s Open Dialogue!
It’s also time to turn our self-talk into an open dialogue. Embrace feedback. Listening to our consumers lets us adapt our approach to align with their needs and expectations, ensuring that our self-talk doesn’t drown out their voices.
Bridge the gap.
Escaping the echo chamber of self-talk brings immense benefits. Clear, relatable messages. A bridge between brand and audience. An engaged consumer who appreciates our brand. By focusing on the audience, we foster stronger, deeper connections.
Break free from the cycle of self-talk and embrace audience-centric communication. Examine your marketing strategy. Is it a product of self-talk, or is it truly resonating with your audience?
Always keep in mind, the conversation we need to have isn’t with ourselves, but with our audience. It’s about making our brand not just known, but understood and valued. We don’t just want to talk – we want to engage, resonate, and build relationships. The most meaningful conversations are those we share with others, not the ones we have in our self-talk echo chamber. For that, let’s step out and tune into the frequency of our audience. Ready to sing along?
by Miriam Hara | Sep 30, 2014 | Branding, Latest
When is it time to tear down your brand foundation and build a new one? Maybe the question should be: Is it time to build a new brand foundation? With this challenging and opportunistic economy, the changes and turnover within a brand’s marketing team are increasingly in flux. Gone are days when brand owners would be around to nurse and cajole their brands for 5 years or more. This is a key shift in brand marketing.
Brand foundation is at the cornerstone of brand building.
It’s important to realize that just because there’s something new and exciting out there, or that you’re what’s new and exciting to the brand, it doesn’t mean that you need to make a clean sweep and tear down everything that was previously built.
Like a house, brand needs a good solid foundation to build upon. And, it doesn’t mean that once the concrete is poured, the work is done. All of us have seen good additions and facelifts to existing homes. And, all of us have also seen poor executions of the same. The difference is in the planning and the respect given to the original structure when upgrading.
Here is a list of what should be considered when assessing the need to change the brand foundation:
Change for the sake of “new” is generally costly for a brand.
Be sure that the change implemented is one that can carry the brand for more than a promotion, a cycle or a year.
Changing the playing field, but not the expectation is unfair to a brand.
Too often programs are set in place and then changed or cancelled, while the objectives originally set don’t get revisited. The result is an unfair assessment and evaluation of the current brand foundation and what it represents.
Timing is everything.
When building a brand foundation all the key elements must come together exactly when they need to come together. Brand advertising must be met with the brand product on shelf.
Allowing short term tactics to dictate your brand position is risky.
It’s a very competitive world out there. The need to get instant results shouldn’t override the need to build for the future. Price is never a brand builder on its own.
The building and growth of any brand foundation must be handled with care and due diligence. So be sure to take care of it!
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 Camille McClane | Mar 19, 2014 | Branding, Latest
Who you are and how other people see you are sometimes two completely different things. Have you ever been surprised by seeing a celebrity behave differently than you had them pegged? Their personal brand, the self they sell to the public, was convincing enough that it become more real than their genuine self.
You have your own personal brand, whether you like it or not, a way that you present yourself to the world, even unintentionally.
If you aren’t paying special attention to it then there is a good chance it’s floundering. Here are some tell-tale signs that your personal brand is in trouble.
You Don’t Network to Get Work – Networking events are a terrific way to meet new contacts and potential clients, in fact, that’s the entire point of these events. If you already know people and choose to give them the majority of your time, then you’re missing the point. If you don’t have a clear enough brand to sell and aren’t sure how to approach new people, you can rest assured you won’t learn about it by spending all your time talking to your current friends. Reach out and attach your face to a positive idea in another’s mind.
You Can’t Summarize Yourself – Quick: What is your personal brand? If you’re struggling to think of an immediate answer, you don’t have one. What is George Clooney’s brand? What is Donald Trump’s brand? Hillary Clinton? Even if you would describe these people differently than they would themselves, you almost certainly know what they’re about. They have a strong, specific personal brand. You need to know your own brand clearly if you ever expect anyone else to do the same. Find your skills, find your goals and bind them together into a plan of action centered around yourself and your public image.
You Don’t Take Care of Yourself – Nobody is suggesting that you have to live your life by other people’s standards to be found worthy. If you aren’t concerned with fashion, you don’t have to pretend in order to “take care of yourself’. Though spending any time at all each day considering your appearance is hardly the same as selling out to public opinion. If you put in little effort, it reflects the value you give to yourself, and to some degree the rest of your life, both business and pleasure. Treat yourself, and your brand, with the respect you deserve as valuable part of society.
You Aren’t Promoting Yourself Properly – Whether you’re over-eager in your self promotion, or too docile to grab any attention, you’ll be able to judge the success of your social media impact by the size of your following. Now, if you’re just starting out, you need to give it some time before you measure your success. However, if you’ve been at it for awhile and are still struggling, it might be time to revisit your self promotion strategy. Do you have your own website in your name? Do you post too much on twitter or not enough? Is your LinkedIn profile up to date or outdated? Your self-promotional efforts are your only voice to the public. If you want people to know who you are and what you can offer, it starts with communicating with them in a way they can hear.
Your Business Cards Aren’t Up To Snuff – When you make a new contact in person, they are often left with only a fading memory of who you are, a conversation you had, and a business card with your contact info. This card ought to reflect not only your personality, but also your brand. If you got a bit lazy and picked whatever was easiest or cheapest, then you’re unlikely to leave a lasting impression on the recipients. If you spend some creative time to really come up with a design that screams your brand’s name, you won’t have to rely on that fading memory of a good conversation. They’ll be able to remember exactly who you are because of the card in their hand.
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.
