Marketing

By Elizabeth Boineau

Earlier this month, I was asked to present to the local group of the American Marketing Association. The packed room was full of bright, talented marketing minds and made for a great audience.

The core of the presentation was about the formidable branding lessons I was fortunate to learn while working for big global PR agencies for seven years. It was a time when everyone in the communications profession seemed to be turning heavily to branding, which is an essential start to any successful marketing program, but oft overlooked and misunderstood.

Jumping tactically into a marketing program without asking some key questions and enduring the exercise of developing a brand promise platform, positioning, core messaging and brand identity were just flat no-no’s in big agency land.

Yet I see attempts at that most every day. But I learned some valuable lessons I will share.

To start, we accept that “a brand is a name, term, symbol, design or combination of these intended to signify the goods and services of one seller to differentiate from the competition,” or so marketing master Philip Kotler aptly defines it.

But why bother to build a strong brand? Because successful brands drive loyalty and repeat business; they allow for higher margins; they are more credible; they mandate clarity in internal focus and external communication; and customers use brands to drive a purchase decision.

Successful brands begin with strategy, which means you understand and respond to the customer’s needs and wants. When you answer customer needs, they develop a preference for you and repeatedly choose you, if you live up to the brand promise. Ergo, competitive advantage that gains market share and allows you to charge a premium for your product or service.

In this competitive world we occupy, can you afford not to build your brand?

So let’s move to the all-important brand promise, which sums up the core organization purpose and distinction. What do you offer, what sets you apart and what makes you the best choice? What attributes describe your brand personality, and what values define your brand character?

This exercise takes input from top management and some analysis of your competitors, those you wish to emulate, those you wish to eclipse and those you do not want to be like.

It also takes knowing your customer and what turns them on. Can you offer them something of value that makes their life better, simpler, richer, healthier and happier?

When you articulate all of that succinctly in a few short, potent sentences, you have the central brand promise/positioning statement done, which serves as the platform for your message. Back those up with stats, facts and proof, and you are starting to sound credible—the ultimate aim.

Now add this powerful positioning and the supporting messages to the visual depiction of it, i.e. the logo, whether an icon or simply type treatment that speaks the feel of your brand.

From this powerful brand promise and identity platform, the look, feel and sound of your brand starts to flow, and you can then infuse that into all the communications paths/channels/vehicles you tap to tell your story and build the brand.

Next, determine how you will best get the message out to your internal and external audiences.

Tap the tried and true tricks of the trade: media relations, on-line communications, direct marketing, advertising, community relations, special events and promotions.

Handouts of the positioning and messaging document, employee meetings and tangible and intangible rewards for being a solid brand ambassador are examples.

Trust me that after almost seven years of immersion in this approach with big-name clients from many and varied industries, it does work and can turn the resources you put toward your marketing efforts into an investment rather than an expense.

Elizabeth L. Boineau runs E. Boineau & Co., a Charleston-based strategic marketing communications and public relations firm. E-mail her at eboineau@eboineauandoco.com.

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