Re-branding – Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid

by | Jan 23, 2013 | Branding, Design, Latest, Marketing

So your business made it off the ground, you’re generating revenue, but you’ve hit a roadblock with your growth and revenue. Perhaps it’s too niche or misleading, or tied to a geographic location – what to do? Re-branding your company requires careful consideration and planning in order to achieve a successful outcome and take your business to the next level. But this also involves a lot of risks.

Be aware of all the risks of re-branding before you start the process. As a marketer I know how quickly you can get caught up in design and other issues, just don’t let it get you! Re-branding is more than changing a logo or adding bolder images. It is also about researching and understanding the consumer, analyzing changes in target markets when exploring opportunities for brand expansion and repositioning.

Yet, even when forewarned, many still make some common mistakes. Here are the top 5 mistakes to avoid:

  1. Re-branding without research
    Put money and time into researching the consumer’s perspective on the product or service. What do (don’t) they like, what attracts them etc.
  2. Wrong assumption “A brand is just a logo”
    Your brand is more that just a logo. A brand integrates all aspects of your business; everything from look,  feel, culture, tone, voice, product quality, customer care…  leading to consumer perception.
  3. Getting started without a plan
    Make sure you have a plan from start to finish. From research and analysis to setting up time frames,  to identifying metrics for assessing results (ROI).
  4. Not leveraging existing brand equity
    A company with high brand equity may not need to undergo a big transformation… or rather, shouldn’t need to go through a huge transformation. When you have a strong brand equity… tread softly and lightly. However you do it, make sure the current brand equity stays strong!
  5. Getting buy in internally prior to external.
    Getting employees to understand the reason and goal of re-branding is very important because they will have to sell it to the consumers. This is equally more important in lieu of social media. Internal branding is increasingly important as each employee is a brand ambassador. In short, if they don’t believe it, neither will the consumer.

Going through a re-branding is and can be very challenging. It’s not so much setting the goal, but reaching it successfully. Having gone through a major re-branding I can only say that walking the talk is monumentally important. The re-branding that I was involved in failed miserably on convincing internal people that the change was necessary. The bigger the company, the more time is needed to make sure everyone is informed and all understand why there needs to be a change.  If they understand, they will be able to explain it to the consumer. If you believe it, you will show it!

A successful re-branding requires a vision that inspires consumers, investors and others to see the company in a new light. We can learn from other companies who have gone through re-branding. This could be a successful re-brand or even a failure, if we learn from them we will not make the same mistake. Check out the 10 most successful re-branding campaigns ever. This article not only shows how they did it, it also let us know the lesson to be learned. Very interesting!

Reddit & Brand Marketing: Up-Vote or Down-Vote?

by | Jan 3, 2013 | Branding, Latest, Social Media

My Reddit cake day (the term used for 1 year anniversaries) is almost upon me. Having been on Reddit for almost a year, I thought I would take the opportunity to immerse myself more into Reddit – not as a community member, but as a marketer.

It’s important when trying to use social media to reach out to your target audience and see it from their perspective. Understand how and why they use that particular site, get the inside scoop right from them. So that’s what I did.  I took the idea to r/marketing and asked my fellow Redditors how they felt about their marketing efforts on the Reddit site.

It’s sad to say, but I didn’t get much love from my post. From all the comments I gathered, most, if not all my fellow marketing Redditors said “JUST DON’T DO IT!”. Reddit is a hard social site to get penetration on for your brand. The community is so different from that of Twitter, Facebook, Tumbler and Google+ that it takes a certain type of person to pull it off. Redditors are a very loyal community and  numerous times respondents of  my post stated that the number one rule is that you need to be a Redditor first and a marketer second.

My favourite quote from this post was from Modern_Caveman who said “deciding to do marketing on Reddit is a little bit like deciding to swallow swords. Unless you’re really experienced and know what you’re doing, just don’t”.

Well this doesn’t sound good, right? Not necessarily, I’ve come up with a few pointers on how to maintain a brand presence on Reddit without disturbing the force of the community.

1. AMAs: What is an AMA? The acronym stands for “ask me anything”.  This is a Q&A Redditors can participate in and ask you questions and you answer.  Many film companies have used this method for promoting up and coming movie releases by having the cast answer the AMA.  You can utilizes this by having a special guest or expert from your brand answer your fans questions.  Talk about new promotions you’ll be having or use the AMA to open up to a new contest.

Upside: It’s very simple and can be extremely successful.  Downside: You need to make sure your brand/product is appealing to the Reddit community or it will get lost in the hundreds of failed AMAs.  Researching top tending AMA topics can be very beneficial to avoid this issue.

2. Subreddit properly:  A subreddit is a subform; it’s different categories Redditors can post their content in for example: r/marketing, r/baseball, r/pics etc. For us this is important. We post a few blogs for some added showcase on marketing subreddits.  This can be key to promoting your content and there are hundreds of subreddits out there to choose from!

Upside: the subreddit you post in will likely be people with a similar interest to your brand.  Downside: some subreddits have very few subscribers, so do your research and find one that would best fit your brand or product with lots of subscribers.

3. Participate!: Reddit is like a giant pool of really neat ideas, pictures, videos, articles etc. Use this to your advantage and get interactive with the community.  Comment on topics that resonate with your brand, post in r/freebies to give users a chance to sample your product, post about a product or idea you have, buy some Reddit gold and give it to people who comment on your post and ask for advice.

Upside: You aren’t necessarily marketing on Reddit you’re delving into the community to ask for advice and helping users, which, with patience will help you and your brand out in the long run. Downside: It may take a long time for you to gain a big presents on Reddit, but keep at it and it will pay off!

Overall Reddit is a great community of people from around the world and even though they are potential buyers, clients or fans they are still Redditors and love their site.  Unlike Facebook, Twitter or Google+ there aren’t many advertisers so be respectful of that and have fun.  Reddit can be a greatest asset to you as long as you use it properly, so enjoy all the wonders that Reddit offers!

If you have any more suggestions or ideas on marketing and Reddit let me know in the comments below!

 

 

 

 

The Retail Challenge: Getting Shoppers’ Attention!

by | Dec 28, 2012 | Branding, Business Success, Latest

When we go shopping for anything from food, clothes or cars, we have a lot of choices, at times too many choices. Do we choose a brand that’s familiar to us or do we take a chance with a new one? How do we choose from all these different brands on the retail shelf… and what do they do to set themselves a part from the rest?

With the many choices we have as consumers it’s easy to be overwhelmed –  throw in the towel on our decision making process and buy the already known rather than trying something new! But even if we want to try a new product, there are so many out there, we often don’t even know where to begin. Too many of POP materials and communications at the retail level put out by brand makers talk about the feature of their product and totally forget to talk to the  benefits – in short, what’s in it for the consumer. Benefit-driven communications is the best way to speak to consumers. Is the brand more efficient?  Provide time-saving or cost-saving?

In-store retail merchandising and retail point-of-sale (POS) mechanisms are crucial to make a connection with the consumer to drive both impulse and trial sales. To capture the consumer’s wandering eye, brands and retailers need to constant create new and innovative point-of-purchase (POP) to grab attention where and when in counts the most:  in-store. Without these attention-getting on-shelf or in-store communication pieces, many consumers often overlook new products or specials and consequently buy familiar and already trusted brands.

Brand Marketers want to make sure that their brand doesn’t get lost in all the in-store option available to consumers. Here’s a quick check list to do just that:

  1. Packaging: This is the most important brand POP. It is the piece that will keep on working where ever it is: on-shelf, in-store, in the pantry, in the home. It is all about originality! The brand package needs to carry the brand character, personality and voice and more importantly speak to its benefits.
  2. POP: Using unique visual elements and colours that speak to the brand in order to draw attention  to the product provides at the retail level the necessary impact. Creating effective POP on-shelf that speaks to consumers will entice them to make the change. Using mobiles, shelf-talkers, on-shelf coupon generators, on-shelf digital messaging are only a few tactics that are available.
  3. End Aisle Displays/ Check Out Displays: Using these in-store tactics are an effective way of making brands stand out. While consumers wait in line or turn the aisle, the “one brand” shelving strategy definitely gets the desired effect. Couple this impact with the right benefit-driven message and brands will be sure to generate the much sought after  impulse purchase.
  4. Floor  Graphics and Floor Stands: An effective and creative way to drive consumers right to products on-shelf is using floor graphics leading the way! Of course colourful floor stands filled with products are also effective and provide a solid “real-estate” space, often away from the competitive products.

Effective POP helps snap consumers out of their routine. It engages them  at the most critical purchasing moment and affects behavior to drive sales. All brand marketers must be sure to get this part right. It doesn’t matter how great an advertising campaign is… if consumers don’t find the brand on the shelf, the sale is lost. After all isn’t that what it’s all about?

Podcast: Let Your Brand be Heard!

by | Dec 18, 2012 | Branding, Business Success, Social Media

I was asked the other day what a podcast was, and as much as I’m well versed in that area I went back to look up the definition and did some research so that I could better explain what a podcast is.  We can’t call it radio station on the Internet anymore as more radio programs are being launch live on the Internet.

So what is a podcast?

Podcasting, or audioblogging as it was first called, arrived on the scene in the 1980s, but became hugely popular between 2002-2008.  Even though it’s not as popular now it’s still a main source for talk audio shows. Podcasts can be a great source of knowledge if you’re looking for some blog ideas or to learn how to do something new in the world of marketing. Even still the main reason people still use this tool  is to promote their interests and hobbies with round-table discussions. This allows for a lot of open ended discussions and unbiased opinions.  This can be a great way to talk and learn about… let’s say Social Media. These Podcast discussions may provide solid strategies  on any topic from communications focus to sales focus or client servicing focus. Reaching out and speaking to people that are in the same industry to have the same interests offers a wealth of ideas from like minded people! I use it as a problem solving channel… part of the process to get around an business issue that I have a hard time seeing clear of.

For all my social media need I head over to The Social Media Examiner.  They usually have a weekly podcast that goes up!

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/category/podcast-episodes/

Regardless of what area of marketing you are in these can always be a great source of knowledge and it’s a fantastic source for content creation. In essence it’s also a content channel  that offers up a wealth of ideas for marketing content!

If you have a blog, use it to your advantage. As with any communications channel, it’s a two say street. It is an exceptional way to express your opinions and ideas about the business and  marketing arena – used effectively it is also a great tool to showcase your brand.  Use it to reach out to your followers and other members of the marketing community to help and educate them on trending topics, new marketing strategies. This adds value to your community and can springboard you to being perceived as an expert.

In marketing, it’s all about the mix. The mix of channels and the way you use those channels are important. Blogging can be great fun and a chance to put your personality into your writing, but the chance to use your actual voice; emotion and enthusiasm to get your point across can be an even better addition to your brand. So how about utilizing a Podcast instead?