Now talking of branding, look around you;
think of what the world is going crazy about today; what comes to your mind?
Maybe AndroidTM, BlackBerry
etc. Do you try to visualize their logos?
I bet you didn’t think of CD’s, Music Box. Did SAMSUNG Galaxy S3 or Google Nexus tablet device or Techno D3,
all on Android platform, come to your mind? Did you think cheap or expensive?
This exercise
illustrates the concept of branding. BlackBerry and Android have created words
that drive our perceptions when it comes to their brands. Even a phone that can’t
sell more than $67 (#10,000) is operating on Android OS. If we have a new
company established, two to three individuals start the company. When
Hewlett-Packard® was six months old, what did people associate with their name?
Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard — the people and their qualities were the brand.
Now that HP® has grown up, what's the most important asset in their company?
The name Hewlett-Packard. If everyone at HP disappeared overnight and you and I
had a bunch of capital and could start a new company with the name HP and its
brand marks, don't you think we would surely make it? Of course we would,
because the HP brand holds so much of the company’s value.
HOW DOES A
GOOD BRANDING HAPPEN?
From a
business view point, branding in market place entails convincing potential
customers that you have a more superb product than your competitor- the world
of competition!
An
effective branding program is designed to differentiate your garri production
from others even if others much alike! A successful branding program is based
on singularity. It creates a consumer perception that there is no product or
service on the market quite like yours.
NINE
BRANDING PRINCIPLE
In a book written
by Greg Stine, he identified nine fundamental qualities of a good branding which
he called his favorites:
1. Keep
It Simple: one big idea is best. Don’t say too much. You’re proud of it and
you don’t want to leave anything unsaid. However, the reality is that if you
say too much, no one will listen. Just a simple phrase can get them crazy!
2. Mass-produced
word of mouth (PR) builds brands. Never think advertising alone can build
your brand. “The birth of a brand is achieved with publicity, not advertising.”
Dot coms don’t always sell with advertisement; it’s a fact. If it’s newsworthy,
you can create interest at least Amazon made it with this back in 2001
while others were dying.
3.
Focused brands are more powerful than diffused brands. One of the goals of
a powerful branding program is to create a memorable concept. And to stay in
people’s minds, you must first get inside. This requires focused, sharp and
to-the-point branding. How do you do this? Define your brand. Be focused and be
different.
4. Somehow,
some way, you have to be different. Greg Stine wrote, “Many years ago I was
in the printing business and purchasing ink was a matter of course. As is the
case with many products, as far as I could tell, ink was ink. None seemed
particularly better than any other ink and for the most part, price was the deciding
factor. Gans Ink, however, found a way to be different.
When
packaging their ink to be shipped to customers, among their products and packing
peanuts, they would include a handful or so of Tootsie Roll chocolate candies. One
might ask, “What do Tootsie Rolls have to do with ink?” Well, to borrow a quote
from my group of sales guys, “Nothing,” but that really doesn’t matter. When a
Gans Ink package was delivered, the entire shop would come to a halt and search
through those Styrofoam peanuts and ink tins to find the small treats. The
sweets made people happy, and that happiness was directly linked in their minds
to the Gans Ink brand. Talk about effective marketing!” Differentiation is the
key.
5. The
first brand in a category has a huge advantage. What makes a company or
product a market leader? Surprisingly, it’s not the quality of the product or
the size of the marketing budget. Most often, it’s about being the first one on
the scene. Not simply first on the market, but first in our minds. Why do we
have more MTN users than every other network? Ohh! You are number 11. Since you
aren’t in the first place and you don’t have a clear shot at second, there’s
another option: make a new sub-category and become No. 1 in that category.
In the broad category of bottled or canned drinks, Coke is a carbonated cola
drink.
6. Avoid
Sub-brands at All Cost. “The easiest way to destroy a brand is to put
its name on everything.” One of the most common mistakes made by marketing
professionals is relying too much on sub-brands as a means for introducing new
products or services. Often referred to as line extensions, this marketing strategy
not only usually fails to create a market for the new product or service, but
the parent brand also suffers as a result. Avoid it!
7. Quality
is important, but not as important as the perception of quality. “We don’t
need marketing! This product is pure quality and will sell itself!” Every day,
buyers like you and I make judgments about quality. But how much of our
assessment is due to the actual quality of the item? Not much, I’m afraid. It’s
not all about quality, but the perception of quality that really counts.
If It’s Well Branded, It Must Be More Valuable!
8. Be
consistent and patient. Building a strong brand takes time. You’ve got to
know your brand and what benefits your products or services provide in order to
consistently present that message to the marketplace. Often, with personnel change
comes a change in vision. These new ideas can ruin a good brand. Do you have a
corporate style guide? Are your brand qualities written down? In order to stay
on target and present a consistent image in the marketplace, you must
institutionalize your brand within the organization. Otherwise, when you have change
in personnel, invariably your brand will change. People want to make their mark
and, no matter how talented they are, the brand focus and image will change. And
with branding, most of the time change is not good. Consistency and focus
are the keys to long-term success.
9. Put
your brand definition in writing, otherwise you'll get off course. Despite
changes in marketing directors, personnel or ad agencies, your brand must stay
constant. Every modification will weaken your position in the consumer’s mind. So
the question is: throughout the many upheavals of a company’s lifecycle, how do
you keep your brand on target? The answer is simple: write it down and use it.some
people might think that brand definition is the same thing as your vision and
statement, it is very different from these,even much more better.
People who
applied these principles have positively differentiated themselves from the
rest of the competition. They’ve made use of branding is creating that
individual niche in the consumer’s psyche and owning it. More than just
marketing, branding is the entire effect that creates a memorable identity.
IT’S NOW YOUR
TURN TO CREATE INDENTITY; CONTACT THE BRAND EXPERT!
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