Communicating Your Brand: Back to Basics
Tips to help you unearth the best and most honest of your brand
There’s an array of information online, in libraries, in conferences and seminars about branding. It’s a conversation that seems to keep going and going, sometimes bringing more confusion to marketers rather than making their lives easier. Sure, we need this conversation to stay ‘in the know’, to question our strategy, to enhance our communication efforts and to basically not become dinosaurs in our own industry.
But the thing is, in the midst of all the lectures, the articles, the industry jargon, we tend to forget the essentials. When it comes to branding, what we as marketers need to remember is that no two brands are the same; even if the product or service are similar, there’s always a distinction, whether it’s in the brand story, the customer experience, the look and feel, etc.
What does this mean? Well, to truly bring out the best of your brand, there’s a core element you need to master: Stay genuine! Remember, consumers are savvier than ever and can detect a fake right away.
Here are some tips to help you unearth the best and most honest of your brand:
- 1) Remember what your brand is about and what makes it unique (it’s not a car, it’s a comfortable ride, it’s a not a chocolate bar, it’s a moment of bliss, it’s not a bag of potato chips, it’s a roaring crunch, it’s not a desk, it’s your inspiration center, etc.)
- 2) Extract your story, no matter how deep you have to dig. Stories are as old as time and humanity hasn’t tired of hearing and telling them.
- 3) Consumers first! Why do they come to you and not the competition? Why do they have synergy with your brand? Remember to always address them with what makes them tick!
- 4) Step away from your brand and come back with a fresh outlook. To avoid falling in the monotone, you need to move away from your brand every once in a while for a day, maybe two (or more if you can delegate), so that you can come back with new ideas and activations.
- 5) Benchmark. Look at what competitors are doing. Look at other industry players. See where you position yourself. They will keep you on your toes!
- 6) Be yourself. No one likes a copycat. Keep the brand’s visual style and tone of voice unique and relevant.