By Joseph Cekauskas
Marketing Consultant & Strategist
JC Marketing Communications
A “brand” is not just a logo or product … a “brand” is the overall experience of a particular identity. This includes every aspect of the company … the product or the services identity: from practical to ethereal. A branded identity enables the identity to be totally understood by potential prospects or consumers … and equally important is that it is enabled to be managed with utmost effectiveness by the parent company.
“Brands” make it a priority to become known for offering DISTINCT experiences. Companies who fully understand good marketing strategy know that good business is all about experience—either quantifiable experiences relating to the brand’s particular products and services, or abstract experiences related to the brand. A key component to strengthening the brand is to continually adjust the terms to remain relevant to the audience. Good branding works its way into people’s lives by becoming MORE effective and ensuring, thus, that brand becomes the preferred choice.
Businesses who place significant value on “branding” set the pace, stay on the cutting edge and have the competition frantically reaching to keep up. Just remember, whatever you claim, you have to deliver on.
Ultimately, the measure of the success of the strategy is the measure of the brand’s effectiveness in the marketplace. What does this mean? In everything your business offers or does, do it with “excellence.” As I once told my mom—the secret to our success was “treating the customer better than we treat our mom’s.” That might take you aback … personally, my mom laughed quite loudly because she thoroughly understood the depth of my commitment to customers. She didn’t see it as a slight to her, but rather a commitment to excellence.
One recent branding error occurred when a very famous orange juice company—it rhymes with Americana—changed its entire packaging. There was an uproar by consumers—buyers wanted the familiarity of the visually robust, yet old-fashioned identity. In this case only, the graphics compromised the “brand” experience. That’s not always the case so please don’t let this example confuse you. Anyway, the company reverted to the familiar orange juice packaging. Whew! Problem solved. Disaster alleviated.
Research confirms that “brands” who tell the most compelling stories again and again gain, maintain and endure within the social conscious. Often times, the marketplace receives a new product or service and immediately states, “This is great, but I’m so excited … I can’t wait to see what they do next time!” That’s when you know you’re headed in the right direction. Understand, there is no “magic wand” when branding, there is “what works and what does not.”
If you need to increase market share quickly and you don’t want to play the “waiting game” for your advertising dollars to work—there is a much more effective and affordable advertising approach. If you would like to learn more about our branding methodology—specifically how JC Marketing can help you BUILD YOUR BRAND … and add profit to your bottom line—please call us today at 860.621.8866.
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