Maricopa Chamber Marketing Blog

Branding, Part I

Filed Under Branding | 

Last modified: May 31, 2007

I was reading some information on branding from Laura Lake the other day and she talked about strategies for branding and the key elements that make up branding as a function of marketing. Those key elements can be described as objectives of the brand.

Lake makes a list of objectives that a good brand will achieve include:

1. Deliver the message clearly
2. Confirms your credibility
3. Connects your target prospects emotionally
4. Motivates the buyer
5. Concrete User Loyalty

Over the next week or so, I am going to write about these objectives and how small businesses in Maricopa can utilize these objectives to make their “brand” acheive success in our marketplace.

The first objective of a brand is that it Delivers the message clearly. You never want to make your customer guess what you are selling or how it benefits them. Keep the focus on the customer and how the product or service makes their lives better. Focus on how the product or service you sell is different that what else is available in the marketplace.

Take for example McDonald’s. They have a multi-million dollar advertising and branding machine working for them. They are in constant search of the next great slogan that will connect with their consumer. Right now, they are exploiting the phrase “I’m Lovin It!”. Such a simple phrase. McDonald’s never claims to have the best food, but what they focus on is the lifestyle of their consumer. Young, hip, full of energy and life. These are the things that they want their target market to feel. They use exceptional imagery to reinforce the brand and ultimately they continue, not because they make the best hamburgers, but because they sell an idea and they make it very clear what that idea is.

In the past 20 years, no company has converted marketing into success like Nike. “Just Do It!” has become synonymous with the highest level of performance. It continues to define the Nike brand well past the normal lifespan of a slogan or tagline. Why? It delivers the message clearly. It doesn’t try to explain itself. It stands on its own because it is a cut-to-the-quick answer for athletic performance.

What message does your company want to give to your customers? Think about how much you have to think about your message. Does your brand require people to sift through layers of information before finding the benefit to them? Have you asked your customers if your message is clear? Take a moment to really identify the things that make your brand important to your consumer and try to boil it down into a simple, clear message. Once you have done that, it becomes much easier to define the strategies that will lead to success for your business.