The Art of Branding
How to get noticed in the crowded market is the question. Especially in today’s markets which are not just physically spread across a location but they are spread over the wired world across the globe. Today one competes not only with traditional next door competitor but someone is sitting diagonally across the world. The perfect example would be our Indian local mobile manufacturers Micromax giving run for its money to a lot of lower-end mobile manufacturers. It’s true in reverse too. Many of us today use WordPress an American firm to meet out content management requirements. Such is the business world, which is intense and the competition can come from any location in any currency.
Further, it doesn’t end just there as getting noticed and remaining in the customer’s mind is of equal importance. In fact, that is a question all businesses need to handle right at the strategy level. Right advertising hence has become of monumental importance.
There is another aspect as to why a company should have an advertising strategy right at the outset. There is a phenomenon called “Me Too.” When a product as niche as Apple iPhone, the competition is always around lurking around. There are always “me too” companies which base their business model by what the market leader is doing. It is hence critical that when one intends to launch a business, service or product an adequate thought is given to the advertising aspect. Business must allocate a proper advertising budget when they formulate the strategy to take the product to the market.
An important aspect of the business is to be able to establish a brand image for the product. Branding is often confused with marketing, and though the two are complementary in nature, the brand image is far bigger than the marketing effort.
The brand image is about creating communication of an organization’s value system. Things like trustworthy, reliable, etc. are the value the brand needs to associate itself. The brand message gets carried to the potential consumer with the help of advertising.
A company’s brand strategy works in tandem with the advertising policy.
As the advertising is the medium that carries the brand message in subtle tones to the public as a whole. For e.g. when an advertisement shows endorsement by a celebrity or a sport’s start, the idea is to associate the personality of the celebrity to the brand. For e.g. anything that is advertised with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, it has a subtle message of beauty and grace. Anything that is associated with Virat Kohli has a character value of dynamism and youth.
The reason companies want to ensure they establish a brand is to ensure there is a continued business that product creates with help its established image. The existing customers tend to influence new potential clients and branding plays an immense role in such expansion. To get the right brand image, one needs to work with an agency that has a team with substantial industry and advertising experience behind it. Branding matters and only experienced advertisers can help you establish the brand you desire.
