Marketing: gathering information, making a puzzle and delivering results

As we are nearing our ninth anniversary (wow, time flies!) and having managed multidisciplinary teams, what we find really interesting when training new team members or even onboarding clients is how overwhelming the concept of marketing seems to be. Being immersed in all aspects of marketing day-in and day-out, we tend to forget this and sometimes assume that it is a well understood function for whomever decides to engage with it and us. 

Often confused as merely doing ads, managing a social media page, designing a brochure or designing visuals in general, we found that the best way to describe what we do as an agency is as follows: 

We ignite interest in brands! 

But that’s a little general, isn’t it? 

Let’s develop on that a little more. Igniting interest in brands does not only come from a social media page, a brochure or an ad. Rather it usually comes from a combination of these things and more. 

We often tell new team members that the marketing function is in part a gathering of information and in part an analysis of this information to create and deliver results. 

And once the information is gathered and it’s pieced together like a puzzle: EUREKA!  

But what information should we be gathering? 

This pretty much means anything relating to the brand. 

But where to start? Usually a brand audit is a good place to start. Here are a few questions to get you going: 

Why does the brand exist?
Who does it exist for?
What type of marketing or communication activities has it already engaged in (if any)?
What results did this yield?
Who are its main competitors?
What makes it stand out from the rest?
What is its visual style?
What is its tone of voice?
What are its short term goals?
What are its long term goals? 

That’s a pretty big pile of information (and these are only directive questions as usually an audit leads to a lot more information, where one question leads to another and multiple brackets are opened). And this information will not usually (ok, ever) end up on your desk in a very orderly pile; you will have it in the form of hand written notes, typed notes, voice recordings as well as documents & presentations shared by the client. Which means that now is the time to dissect this information, analyze it and piece it together. This is where you will have a clear helicopter view as well as a detailed view of the brand and where it stands today. And usually, this is where you will feel like you’ve gained a clear understanding of the brand’s pain points, gaps & opportunities. And more importantly, this is where you can draw a workplan and determine clear objectives and deliverables with the client. 

What does all this mean? 

The point we are trying to make to both new marketing blood and clients seeking to (further) immerse themselves in the word of marcom is that engaging any brand in a marketing functionality, whether it’s developing a brand strategy, an e-commerce presence, a social media presence or simply taking on a full marketing functionality, is the following: 

1. Launching a marcom function is a time consuming process (and burning steps is no-no)
   
2. Sharing and compiling information is key (otherwise, you’re working in the dark)
3. Determining clear objectives and deliverables is a must (because roadmaps are saviors)
4. Client and agency working in tandem is a precursor to success (while working in silos is detrimental)
5. Repeat the above: Marketing is more fastmoving than ever, so keeping information updated and reassessing strategy is the key to ongoing success

So like anything worthwhile, there isn’t a magic recipe to marketing a great brand and rarely are there quick fixes that will yield big results. It takes effort, dedication and time. Money too (but that’s another article on its own!).

Not sure what your brand needs? Are you rethinking your brand’s strategy? Do you feel your brand needs a communication uplift?
Whatever your marketing concern is, get in touch to secure your free consultancy.