Posts Tagged brand communications
Focusing on “Brand” in Marketing Communications
Posted by Mike Paffenback in Brand Identity on November 4, 2011
Following is something I wrote a while back, but thought it worth revisiting as the concept of “brand communications” gains traction in popular marketing jargon:
For years I referred to what I did for a living as “Marketing Communications.” That is, communications activities that specifically supported the marketing efforts of a client’s product or service, differing from “Corporate Communications,” which delved into internal communications, PR, financial reporting, etc.
More properly, the term I should have been using is “Brand Communications,” embracing a more encompassing recognition of the role of “brand identity,” and the role communications plays in delivering and reinforcing that identity to marketing audiences.
The brand identity is the strategic platform developed to define what the brand stands for, what its value is to customers and prospects, and the decisive differences and advantages over competitive offerings. Think of it as a distinctive set of fingerprints – brandprints — that can only be associated with your particular brand. (Do you have a formalized brand identity for each of your brands? If not, check out more details here.) At its core, this should remain constant for the individual products or services that will be marketed under the brand identity.
Now comes the brand communications part, and there’s two primary areas to consider here:
CONTENT is what you say.
It’s the messaging that comes directly out of the brand identity platform. It conveys why the product or service is better, different, of value, etc. The content should be consistently delivered and reinforced in the next part of the equation, contact.
CONTACT is what you do.
It’s the delivery of the content through your brand touchpoints — those significant and seemingly insignificant ways folks engage with the brand. It could be sales pitches, advertising, social media, trade shows, the receptionist, invoices, delivery personnel, community goodwill, sponsorships, public relations, packaging, etc. Each and every point of contact should be carefully considered, ensuring the desired content is delivered as prescribed in the brand identity.
Collectively, it’s ”Brand-Centric Communications.” But that’s too mind-numbing to say. Let’s just leave it at “Brand Communications.” Ultimately, the goal is to sell more of your “stuff,” but from a more strategically-considered brand platform. Are you there?
What Exactly is Brand Identity and Brand Communications?
Posted by Mike Paffenback in Brand Identity, Brand Image, Brand Touchpoints on October 19, 2011
A lot of ad agencies and design firms refer to “brand identity” as the tangible visual elements of a brand — logo, typography, color palette, design style – the tactile look and feel of the brand. While this isn’t entirely incorrect, it is entirely incomplete.
Perhaps a better view of brand identity is this: a strategically-crafted blueprint for how you want your brand to be perceived among your customers, prospects, influencers, vendors, employees, and other stakeholders. It includes not only the graphic identity but also many other components as noted below and on this previous Touchpointers blog post.
Components of brand identity
Brand communications is the presentation of this carefully crafted identity to your markeplaces, resulting in the formation of a brand image that drives sales. Brand communications isn’t just advertising, social media marketing, website, public relations, trade shows, etc. It’s also the more subtle ways your brand identity takes root like the professionalism of your delivery and set up personnel, the helpfulness of customer care reps, the ease of navigating your phone system, the clarity of user documentation, and many other types of brand interactions — touchpoints — that can positively or negatively reinforce the formation of your brand image. There’s more to read about brand communications here.
Brand identity is strategic; it takes time and careful consideration to develop a brand identity that differentiates and resonates. Brand communications is tactical; it takes place over time (years), working to create your brand image and drive sales. Many businesses jump into brand communications without first crafting their brand identity, which harkens the old-but-true cliche, “without a map any road will get you there.”
Sure, a great looking logo is cool. But have you crafted a complete brand identity and brand communications program? Today would be the best day to get started.
Is Traditional Advertising Dead?
Posted by Mike Paffenback in Brand Touchpoints, General on February 9, 2011
I grew up in a kinder, gentler advertising world: TV, radio, outdoor, newspaper, magazine, point-of-purchase. During that time, media options were relatively few and well-defined and the emphasis was on creatively engaging the prospect and breaking through the ad clutter. Advertising, in its purest definition, was the workhorse called on to create a favorable brand image, to generate interest in the product or service, and, ultimately, to drive more sales.
Today, the old rules of advertising haven’t just changed, they’ve been thrown out altogether as any newspaper ad salesman will tell you. The myriad of legitimate social media tools now available enable an almost one-on-one marketing relationship with prospects. Traditional media options still exist, though in much more fragmented forms which draw narrower (=targeted) audiences. Brand messaging can be much more specific to a precisely-defined audience. And, properly conveyed, those messages are organically pulled through the market with a sense of authenticity never before achieved through push forms of marketing. Creativity, once the driving force of all forms of advertising, is still imperative, as our collective minds have become more cynical and expectantly demanding (I’m talking to you, local car dealerships!). And metrics, once relegated to pre-testing and awareness/recall studies, have emerged as a new science all to themselves as marketers demand campaign performance accountability.
Today, brands aren’t built with the sledgehammer of advertising. They’re precision-crafted with the tools of brand communications: a broader, more encompassing set of brand interactions — touchpoints. Advertising, is one tool. But now, thanks largely to constantly evolving technology and a population willing to embrace that evolution, there are hundreds of other tools available, each with its own role in tapping an individual prospect on the shoulder for a chat.
Are you still using traditional advertising as your only go-to brand-building tool of choice? No matter what industry you’re in, it’s time to check out the new tools of brand communications.
Advertising is dead. Long live… Brand Communications!