A brand is much more than a single image or string of words. A brand is not tangible; it lives in the minds and hearts of your customers. A brand is all of the things they think of when they think of your company or your product.
After much careful consideration, say you’re about to invest a significant portion of your marketing budget in rolling out a branding campaign. You like the look and feel of the brand, but how can you be sure that it will resonate with your customers? Will it establish an emotional connection between brand and consumer—the key to establishing a powerhouse brand? Here are a few questions to ask yourself before taking that final step:
1. Does the brand communicate something new or different? Does your brand convey a message that will make customers say, “Hey, now that’s unique. I want to check that out.” Think about Crest Whitestrips®. Proctor and Gamble became the first to introduce an over-the counter teeth whitening product in 2001. Soon, many other competing products began turning up on store shelves, but P&G still had the advantage because it did it first.
2. Will your customers perceive value in your brand? If customers perceive brand value, they’ll become eager buyers. For example, Old Navy and Chanel both sell clothing, but their customers—and their branding efforts—are very different. Both are successful because when it comes to clothing, they know what is most important to their respective markets. They convey the affinity through branding.
3. Can you live up to the brand promise? A customer might try a product initially because of something he or she saw on television or read in the paper, but if it doesn’t do what it says it does, they’ll never buy it again. And word of mouth works both ways: You can bet they’re going to tell people about the bad experience. Brand credibility is easy to lose and next to impossible to regain. Make sure that you can live up to all of your brand statements.
4. Are you targeting your market? Mass marketing is a thing of the past. Now, it’s all about niche marketing. Niche marketing is particularly important if you are launching a branding strategy on a limited budget. Marketing specifically to your target market will give you a much bigger bang for your buck. For example, if your brand involves organic pet products, sponsoring an animal rescue program will build greater brand affinity than an ad placed in the sports section of your local newspaper.
5. Is everyone on the same page? Do the goals of the marketing and advertising correspond with the goals of public relations? Although each facet of the creative team is responsible for different parts of the branding effort, all of the pieces must match up if brand consistency is to be achieved. Advertising, marketing and public relations efforts must run parallel. They should be targeting the same markets and communicating the same messages.
Branding is a long-term investment. It will take time to build a dedicated following for your agency. However, if you are successful, your brand will become your most important business asset.
Nancy Marshall (nmarshall@marshallpr.com) is president and founder of Nancy Marshall Communications.
Carrier Branding Connection:
Liberty Mutual Agency Markets
Every public speaking class centers around this phrase: Tell them what you’re going to say, say it, and then tell them what you said. By repeating your message at every phase—from introduction to implementation to review—you reinforce it. The same axiom holds true for Liberty Mutual Agency Market’s approach to branding.
“Insurance ad spending is at an all-time high, but at the end of the day, we’re all still selling very similar products and services,” says Gary Gregg, president and CEO of Liberty Mutual Agency Markets. “Our brand is strengthened when we deliver on the promise to provide those products and services in a consistent and effective manner.”
Gregg says the company has successfully branded its regional companies by delivering on its value proposition to agents, namely providing them ease of doing business, local decision making, strong relationships and consistency in the marketplace. “Our companies have the strong backing of Liberty Mutual Group and they share in the responsibility to do the right thing for our agents and policyholders,” he says.
When it comes to its agents, Liberty Mutual participates in several co-branding initiatives, including consumer advertising, that all circle back to the consistent message of meeting and exceeding expectations.
Trusted Choice® also plays a role in the company’s branding efforts. Liberty Mutual features the Trusted Choice® logo in its advertising, on commercial and personal lines brochures and on each of the companies’ consumer Web sites.
“The Trusted Choice® Pledge of Performance is very much in synch with our companies’ commitment to help people live safer, more secure lives,” Gregg says. “Having Trusted Choice® as a national brand for our distribution system is an excellent means of highlighting the strengths of the independent agent and our commitment to our customers.”
—Jennifer Sikorski
