Branding…Why?

I recently read an article written by Pattie Simone (President of Write-Communications and Market-Advantage.com and also founder of WomenCentric.net) which was listed on Women Entrepeneur.com.
It was titled Branding Matters. Here’s Why

The article is fantastic even though is an old one! Pattie gives a well-rounded approach to Branding. Click the title above or here to read the article in full.

I particularly like her main points:

  • Consistency in your look and message
  • Living your brand 24/7. Focusing on what makes you fabulous
  • Patience. Establishing brand recognition and an avid fan base may take years of combined advance prep work and visibility in the market

Branding is a solid way to ensure that your product or service is creating a presence within your market. Yes, it can take time but careful allocation of funds and time can create you a multi faceted approach which is working away in the background while being visible in the foreground for your business.

A Branding plan can be simple but effective…contact me if you’d like some help!

Enjoy!

Kathy Smail

Working on a Wire…

It’s been a busy week. I’ve started a new project which I’m enjoying (mind you I’m only 3 days in!)

I heard from a client recently who asked how to ensure that their advertising $ are spent in the right place to bring in the most return.

There’s a fine line to tread when deciding about advertising. You need to decide what type of advertising you need; a ‘call to action’ or ‘branding’.

A ‘call to action’ is advertising that has requires an immediate response from clients or customers and generally has an end date. It could be in the form of a sale of nominated products or services or value added offers if redeemed in a certain period. A ‘call to action’ approach is easily quantifiable as it is soon obvious if sales have increased.

Branding is a longer term approach to advertising. A branding program requires a determination of the business’ particular offer; a point of difference (sometimes called a POD) that separates your business from the competition. Branding is the approach that you need to ensure that you are clearly visible and memorable to your clients or customers in your chosen field.

Developing a branding program can strategically place the business in its correct place therefore creating more opportunities for additional sales.

Of course a branding campaign can be supported by periodic ‘call to action’ advertising.

Contact me to develop a targeted Advertising Campaign for your business!

Enjoy!

 

Brand Blunders

Recently Naomi Simson of Red Balloon tweeted about an article called ’10 Worst Brand Blunders of 2010′ Click here for the full article.

As my clients know, I’m passionate about Branding. It can make or break your business.

Geoffrey James of bnet.com lists his top 10 Brand Blunders and the lessons…here they are:

Blunder #10: GM Dumps the Chevy Nickname
Lesson learned: A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds

Blunder #9: Dell’s Internal Meltdowns
Lesson learned: No brand, however lustrous, can long survive a lousy product

Blunder #8: Oprah’s New Logo
Lesson learned: When hiring a graphic designer, hire the one who isn’t color-blind

Blunder #7: Politicians Hiring Strippers
Lesson learned: Don’t choose a strategy that conflicts with your stated values

Blunder #6: Primark’s Padded Bikinis for Kids
Lesson learned: If you’re in retail, hire buyers who aren’t complete idiots

Blunder #5: The GAP Logo Yank-Back
Lesson learned: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  Then don’t fix it again

Blunder #4: Johnson & Johnson’s tainted medicine
Lesson learned: Don’t poison children, no matter how good it looks on the bottom line

Blunder #3: Toyota goes into Denial
Lesson learned: Don’t inhale your own smoke

Blunder #2: BP does Damage Control
Lesson learned: If your CEO is a jackass, keep him away from the press

….and just in case we needed proof that even when you are one of the biggest ‘organisational machines’ in the world, ignoring customers needs can be a flawed strategy…

Blunder #1: Obama loses his Luster
Lesson learned: Don’t solve problems that the customer doesn’t think are important…especially when the customer is freaking about something entirely different.

Enjoy!

K

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