| |
| |
|
WebsiteAlways |
|
Build Brand Identity Through Product Branding
Building a product into a brand leader is not easy, but I truly believe that you can improve your branding impression if you follow these 2 rules; Passion & Consistency as well as the 4P's of Branding that I have developed, PRODUCT - PLACEMENT - PROMOTION - PEOPLE. These 4 P's will enable you to check the way your brand is interpreted. Each of these very distinct headings has an impact on your brand, and the brand in turn will affect each of these areas. For those of you who have gone through Marketing 101, you will see that the only difference between the 4P's of Marketing and my 4P's of Branding, are People, and people affect the brand more than any other area. Product Imagine this scenario, it's lunchtime, you have decided, after working in your office all morning, that you would like to have an orange for dessert. You drive to the local supermarket, go to the fruit department, and find that there are only 2 oranges left, they both look the same until you pick them up. That's when you notice that one of them has Sunkist stamped on it. Which one will you buy? Well if you are like 99.999% of the country, you will by the Sunkist orange. Why? Because over the years, Sunkist has promised you an orange that not only looks good, tastes good, but is also good value for money. Now comes the kicker, you see, there is very good chance that you would probably still buy the Sunkist brand, even if you had to pay a penny or so more for it. That is what building a brand leader is all about. At the moment of truth, if all things are equal then there is a good chance that the "brand" will be the purchase choice, and even command a premium price for the product. Placement Next is Placement. In my brand concept overview I have listed Distribution, Location, Stores, Transportation and Plant. Now these are generic headings, and you may well be able to add more that are pertinent to your specific industry. I want you to imagine that all of these areas are like a full-page advertisement for your company. They should all have the communications message that is consistent with the rest of the campaign approach you are now working on. I know that this is somewhat unusual, but every single piece of communication affects the end user or consumer in some way shape or form. You see it really is the logo on the truck, but it's also the logo on the driver's shirt, the cleanliness of the truck and the way in which the delivery person interacts with the customer. They should act the way you want them to, the way you want your brand to be enacted. This should all be scripted, leaving nothing to chance or choice! They are your brand image. Promotion Promotion is the area that we think of most when discussing brand and brand impression. Promotion covers the vast area of communication. From the very essence of the brand to it's image, Advertising, Sales Promotion, Direct Mail, Internet advertising, Public Relations, Marketing, Sales Force, and Point of Sale. There are so many different elements, that it would take a whole series of articles to even get started. However, I would strongly recommend that you remember what I said at the beginning, "Consistency" should be pervasive throughout all of the components. Sometimes you don't have to have a great design as long as you are consistent with the creative and the message. People As I mentioned earlier, People are the one area that makes my 4P's of Branding different from the 4P's of Marketing. People are involved in every step of the production of your product or service, and people are the Brand. Your employees, Dealers or Distributors, End Users, Vendors, Friends and honestly the Rest of the World. Every employee represents the brand, the people in the Accounting Department, Shipping, Research, Legal, Shop Floor, Marketing, and on throughout the company. It's not just the Sales Department! Think about this - your accounting department calls someone in your clients accounting department on a regular basis. Maybe it's to chase money, to clear up a billed consignment that perhaps got lost. But this is also a chance for your accounting person to get a little closer and find out how your company is doing with them, the customer. This is a great opportunity to get inside information. How are we doing? Why do you think our competition is getting the lion share of the business? How can we do a better job for your company? And many other questions that you would like answered, I would go so far as to try to get these two people together, give them the opportunity to get closer, go out to lunch on you. It will pay back dividends in the long run. There are many more opportunities to make your brand grow, make sure you follow the golden rules, passion, consistency of message and multiple quality impressions, and your brand will be on it's way to becoming a brand leader. To measure how strong your brand is copy and paste: (http://brandidentityguru.com/bightml/brandmasterpiece.html). Then click "Take the brand strength test". This is a short survey that measures the strength of any company's brand. It's a great tool to see where you are today. Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru (http://www.brandidentityguru.com), a leading brand consulting and market research firm located in Easton, Massachusetts, USA, near Boston. Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation. Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations. Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Simon (America's largest shopping mall manager) and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies. Scott White is a very enthusiastic speaker and has the gift of being able to explain the principles of branding in a compelling and entertaining manner so that people at all levels can understand.
MORE RESOURCES:
Branding - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Choosing the Right Color Palette Color is a highly personal experience - everyone has favorite colors, and other colors that they absolutely don't like. So, how do you determine which colors that will work for your business identity, and that will send the right message to?We have developed several methods and approaches for determining successful color palettes. Branding Your Radio or TV Campaign With A Musical Identity (aka Audo Logo, aka Jingle) You don't think twice about a business card and letterhead logo for the visual aspect of your campaign, why not an audio logo to brand your broadcast campaign?With the magic of music you can capture the personality of your business, create an emotional connection to your target audience and get recall & branding recognition (in some instances with people tapping their feet and singing your company name) even when you are not on the air.The majority of advertisers use the free production services that radio and TV stations offer to save money. Personal Branding: Characteristics of a Strong Personal Brand How many times have you been at a networking function and been lost for words when asked "what do you do"?We all have. But do you see this as a threat or an opportunity?Developing a Personal Branding Statement or PBS can be a powerful way to help market yourself to prospects, clients or potential employers. Into The Limelight To stand out in a cluttered world, become a recognized expertThere are millions of small businesses vying for our attention. Yet, because the marketplace is more discriminating and skeptical, it's hard to get noticed. Brand Identity and the CEO This week I spent a few hours with a highly successful CEO discussing his brand identity questions and concerns. "What do the most successful brand initiatives have in common?" he asked. Brand Identity - Corporate Identity and Brand Value Companies work hard building the strength of their brands - it is critical to the ongoing brand management process to have meaningful and actionable data-driven measures of these efforts.Building a brand, cultivating its strengths, pruning its weaknesses, and making it more valuable to its owners is the bottom line job of marketing. Acquire, Then Rebrand Acquiring another corporation usually means that the acquiring company's name will be the name of the newly merged entity. There is one factor that can change that -- one that is stronger than anything else. What is an Artists Statement & How Often Should It Be Updated? An artist's statement is a statement of ideas and thoughts that describe your philosophy, vision, and passion towards your artistic creations.Ponder over the following questions prior to writing your artist's statement:Is your work whimsical, thought provoking, or edgy?Does it portray a series of stories?Whom or what has influenced you the most?How is your work meaningful to you?How do you begin to write your artists statement? You could begin by writing a quote that has inspired you and your work, or you could create a strong sentence that summarizes your philosophy about your life and how art has changed your views on life in general. Hiring the Right Graphic Designer for Your Small Business Every small business needs it, but not many have it. I am not talking about cash flow, clients or even your product or services to sell. Planning Ahead With Your Designer: Tips For Design Consistency With Your Logo And Brand Elements While we recommend that you contract with the same designer or design team while creating your brand identity materials as possible, we know that this scenario is not always possible.Whenever you work with a designer other than the original who created your logo, stationery and marketing materials, we suggest a few practices that will prove invaluable for ensuring a consistent look and feel across all of your marketing communications. Don't Get Caught In the Trap: The BIG Difference Between Personal and Business Branding When you're all alone in the privacy of your home office, surrounded by your computer, your phone and your business idea, have you ever asked yourself, "Where's the line between me in my business and the business in me"?With hundreds of thousands of home-based businesses starting every year, and few ever flourishing, the topic of branding has become hot, hot, hot. And thanks to experts touting the need for a personal brand in sole proprietor businesses the confusion is growing. Why Branding? Having a concise, clear image that you project to your clients and customers is important in today's market. More and more people are leaving the job market and creating their own business, whether by choice or necessity, so the competition continues to expand. Business Case Study Automotive Detailing Franchise Company How do automotive detailing companies start? What makes them work and how do they grow? How do they choose which services they will offer? This is an interesting case study about a test market of a franchise company in the cleaning business and how they went about setting up Auto Detailing Shops. It maybe of interest to your business study and research; I am familiar with this story because it is one of the companies that I founded. Too Dull? Too Sharp? You work hard getting the right cover message and words for your brochure. Now, you want to give it a look, an image. Brand Awareness - Brand Identity About once a month a few of us at the office get together during lunch for what has become known as a SWAP meeting. We share thoughts, stories and sometimes play Pictionary. Logo Design - Branding - Brand Identity Guru Do you have any idea how important your company logo is? Well you should. It appears on everything from your corporate identity system, brochures to your website, reaching customers, prospects, vendors and the press. How Brand as an Intellectual Property has Led to Corporate Globalisation? IntroductionGlobalisation is referred to as a set of profound material changes that have an impact on relations between societies in the past few decades. The identifiable features of these material changes are witnessed in the development and growth of web, satellite transmission, fibre-optic technology, broadband operations, transnational corporations and the emergence of World Trade Organisation. Business Image One of the most important things in a business is a clean image. I started a small business when I was twelve years old and built it up in a very large small business and then franchised the business. The Very Basics of Design Design is a very subjective thing, therefore, if you ask me how to come up with a first class design for your marketing collateral or publishing mediums, it would be very unfair for me or anyone else to tell you what is a good design and what is a bad design. But there are certain elements and principles that we should look for in a design to determine whether the design and layout of the material will be able to carry the message across effectively to the readers and your potential market. The Positioning of Success Many businesses of today are often driven to compete striclty on price, quality, and features of their products and services. Companies who prosper over the long term don't simply offer the best deals, the best quality, or the most impressive bells and whistles.
|
| Interesting articles | Home | site map | Link |
| © 2006 |
