Most of us love advertising and like to see new brands being portrayed in a creative way (but not in the middle of a nail biting match) and making place in the prospect’s mind.
There’s a misconception among marketers that advertising builds the brand. It may call for brand awareness, interest and may create a buzz in the marketplace. But it’s not a sole function that builds a brand. There are various elements like Packaging, PR, Sponsorships, Events, Social cause, Social media (latest in the list; not to be missed), Customer Service etc. Building a strong brand requires careful planning and a great deal of long-term investment. At the heart of a successful brand is a great product or service, backed by creatively designed and executed marketing.
Advertising money will certainly go waste if inferior products are promoted. Whatever branding efforts you undertake, it will kill the brand. In fact the quickest way to kill the inferior product is to advertise it. More people will try the product and tell others faster that how bad it is. They are not in the isolated world. The communication platforms are enormous for the customer and it can make or break the brand.
For an effective brand-building, don’t limit the communication with just a commercial. Let there be a channel for the consumer to interact with the brand; be it Facebook, Twitter or Youtube. It will only create an opportunity to learn from the consumer and analyze the effectiveness of brand-building, awareness and satisfaction.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
The rebranding saga
Rebranding can be of two types. One is to retain the brand name and give a fresh look to the logo and corporate identity. Two is to completely change the brand name and introduce a new imagery in the minds of existing customers and prospects (This will happen mostly in case of mergers & acquisitions). In both the cases, the fundamental product offering will remain the same.
First of all, the organization should identify the need to re-brand itself. Is it absolutely necessary to change the identity of the brand? The brand, which might have captured a good place in customer’s mind for years, would be hard to change it. There should be a strong reason for changing the brand identity. Many corporates think of re-branding as changing logo, the color codes, some fresh stunning graphics/design elements followed by a TVC campaign and think it’s done. But it is way beyond the things listed here.
The whole organization should gear up for the re-branding exercise. I mean the people who serve the customers on day-to-day basis, the product that satisfy the patrons, the top management who signals the strength of the company etc. The service encounters should really satisfy (delight has become an utopian concept nowadays) the customers and make them believe that the brand has improvised its service which will eventually register the new image in their mind. The word-of-mouth of the customer will do the rest for the brand.
If the bottom line is not changed, then what’s the use of re-branding? The customer is not bothered about the color and type of your logo. It will merely be a cosmetic change without much of an impact.
First of all, the organization should identify the need to re-brand itself. Is it absolutely necessary to change the identity of the brand? The brand, which might have captured a good place in customer’s mind for years, would be hard to change it. There should be a strong reason for changing the brand identity. Many corporates think of re-branding as changing logo, the color codes, some fresh stunning graphics/design elements followed by a TVC campaign and think it’s done. But it is way beyond the things listed here.
The whole organization should gear up for the re-branding exercise. I mean the people who serve the customers on day-to-day basis, the product that satisfy the patrons, the top management who signals the strength of the company etc. The service encounters should really satisfy (delight has become an utopian concept nowadays) the customers and make them believe that the brand has improvised its service which will eventually register the new image in their mind. The word-of-mouth of the customer will do the rest for the brand.
If the bottom line is not changed, then what’s the use of re-branding? The customer is not bothered about the color and type of your logo. It will merely be a cosmetic change without much of an impact.
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