Advertising and Branding: A mythical connection

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.