Customer Friendly Branding By Thomas A. Rothstein
Customer friendly Branding
Knowing when you’re over the top!
By Thomas A. Rothstein
There are a few companies that have been so successful at branding that their products no longer require a formal an introduction. Coke, Ford, McDonald’s and NBC just to name a few have all embedded their brand names into our day to day lives.
Just the other day I was watching one of my favorite television commercials went it dawned on me that I actually have a favorite commercial. The marketing department for Gieco has been so successful in promoting their brand that I actually look forward to their commercials. There used to be a time when an announcer pleaded with his audience not to change the dial, but now commercials have become as entertaining as the primetime line up.
The marketing of your brand works best if it is customer friendly. What I mean by customer friendly centers around making sure that the marketing of your brand will not have an adverse affect on your sales. Having the money in your budget to basically do whatever you want to do, is not a guarantee that the seeds you’re planting will produce a harvest. The definition of a successful ad campaign is measured in its ability to increase sales, which is more important than the entertainment value of your ads. I have found the more money that is available to market the brand; the more difficult it becomes to stick to the core of your message.
Please take a moment and ask yourself two essential questions when deciding on the direction of your campaign.
- Will this promotion increase our sales, or am I benefiting the entire industry by launching this campaign?
- If I saturate the airways with this promotion will I build brand loyalty or create Brand Burn-Out?
There is such a thing as Brand Burn Out, if you don’t believe me then ask the annoyed viewers of the Free Credit Report.com commercials. Here was a commercial that started out with a cool little band singing about marrying your dream girl but she didn’t tell you her credit was bad. Now, it has become a really bad album that only produced one hit record. Don’t get me wrong, the company has been totally successful in establishing name recognition, but I now cringe every time I see one of their commercials.
There has to be something uniquely different about your brand, something that separates it from the pack. You have arrived at the perfect campaign only once you’re able to create something that causes potential customers to separate you from your competition in a more favorable light. Customer loyalty is not built with shock value, but even greater with a marketing campaign that presents your brand as the only option for their immediate need.
Crayola was able to do it despite the fact that there were other companies selling colorful markers. Tabasco was able to it despite the fact that there were dozens of companies selling hot sauce. Now consider the fact that Chiquita has been so successful in creating an identifiable brand that there is no longer a need to advertise the fact that they sell Bananas.
Now it’s your turn to create something special, something memorable, something that will add real value to your product or service. Your marketing strategy has to remain on a short leash so we never forget that the objective here is to influence a purchasing decision.
This article is part of a series of articles titled “Creating a powerful brand”. If you would like to receive the entire series then please email me at the address listed below and I will be happy to send you the entire series.
As you develop your brand I also want you to start thinking about protection. Image Max Personal Public Relations can provide brand development as well as marketing strategies designed to increase your sales. To learn more about our services or to receive free training on how to market and protect your brand please visit our website.
Thomas A. Rothstein
Distributed by Image Max Personal Public Relations
Image Max is an industry leader in Reputation & Brand Management. Our services are available for Personal as well as Corporate Brand Management. Image Max PPR can assist you or your organization with a full service of Brand and Crisis Management services. Please give us the opportunity to protect your Brand. http://www.imagemaxpr.com
Tanya R. James is an expert in Brand Development and provides free consultation, simply email her at trjames37@gmail.com
1-985-624-3337
