Brand Power

You don’t search for something on the net anymore – you google it. If you cut your thumb, you don’t ask for a plaster but a band-aid. In the UK, they don’t vacuum clean, they Hoover.

These are just some examples of how prolific brands can become when marketed in the right way.

In some cases, so successful have companies been at marketing their brands that the tag lines used in their advertisements are now quoted in everyday life.

MasterCard’s ‘priceless’ campaign and Telstra’s ‘not happy Jan’ catchphrases have both made their way into the Australian cultural vernacular.

Brands like Microsoft and Yahoo are known to spend more than 20% of their annual revenue on advertising their brand, which is hardly surprising given the nature of their markets is highly competitive and extremely fast paced.

In a blink and you’ll miss it online environment, companies cannot afford to be behind the eight ball when it comes to their brand.

The life insurance industry faces a much tougher marketing battle, because brand is irrelevant unless people see value in the service being provided.

Despite the heartache caused when unforeseen circumstances occur that have not been insured against, CoreData’s research shows that people would much sooner insure their home or car than their own life.

To have your say on insurance company brands and for a chance to win one of five 16GB Wi-Fi + 3G iPads worth $799 each, click on the link below to participate in our What’s in a Name survey:

http://www.coredata.com.au/surveys/index.php?sid=44574〈=en

Personal brands are likewise an important part of any company’s bid to become the best in its field and knowing your personality type and how this may influence your behavioural tendencies is a critical step in developing a brand called you.

A strong brand understands its comparative advantage, as well as any weaknesses that might need to be addressed.

However while personal brands are important, nothing is more important than the brand of the business itself – and the foundation of a successful brand is its name.

The name of the brand should ideally complement the values and culture of the company. For example, Huggies works as a brand name because of the positive images the word conjures up for mothers.

Brand identity comprises a number of areas:

Pricing – higher prices signify higher quality or value, while lower prices imply lesser value

Distribution – scarcity implies exclusivity, so the more limited the access to a product, the more exclusive it is perceived to be. It’s the reason bars clubs create multiple ‘tiers’, only allowing VIPs into the roof top bar, for example. The attraction is built on the fact that access is exclusive.

Quality - a brand counts for nothing if the product itself is below par. Customer satisfaction relies on the product or service being purchased being of high quality.

Presence – Apple’s products are launched with such fanfare that they are guaranteed eyeballs; the whole world was watching as Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad. Media attention and a high profile market presence is a fool-proof way of boosting sales.

Awareness – You might have the best product in the world, but that counts for nothing if people aren’t aware of it. The greater the awareness, the higher the chances of strong sales.

Reputation – Something that’s hard to earn and even harder to hold onto it. But a strong reputation can lead to word-of-mouth marketing and increase business.

Image – It’s important to pay close attention to your image to ensure consumer perceptions of your brand are aligned with the image you want to portray.

Benefits – The post-GFC wants to know not only how much does it cost, but what can it do for me? The perceived benefits of the product or service should always outweigh the perceived negatives.

Positioning – What makes your company unique? If you’re going to stamp out the competition, you need to be clear about what makes you different and better than your competitors.

Preference – Brand preference is linked to brand loyalty, and is a behaviour which sees consumers predisposed to choosing your brand over others.

Share of market – It’s not possible to grow your business without a successful brand and marketing campaign.

Customer commitment – Contact and communication is closely linked to commitment and loyalty. Those clients that are bonded to you are the most likely to continue using your product or service in future.

The cost of getting your brand identity right? Priceless.