The theatrics of the brand
Marketers talk a lot about ‘branding’ but what exactly makes a “good brand” and why is it so vitally important to the success of your business?
In terms of branding in the production industry, one of the first mistakes you can make is lumping your company and your brand under the same banner. Think of your company as the man behind the scenes, a stage hand working hard to ensure it’s lead, the brand, is seen in the best light possible. Take the Coca-Cola Company for example; it sits in the background producing allmanner of brands. Some, like Coke, people assosiate with the company, but others like Sprite and Fanta many don’t realise are produced by the same company.
Brands, like actors and celebrities alike, are constantly in the lime light, and constantly under scrutiny. Your brand, just like your favourite celebrity, has a repuation that must be upheld to ensure continued consumer loyalty and naturally, continued revenue. However unlike celebrities, scandals tend not to enhance a brand reputation. In the marketing world, any news is not necessarily good news. If your company, your stage hand makes a mistake, suddenly they’re out in the spotlight and the audience is booing. Your brand runs from the stage in tears while the company tries desperately to clean up the mess.
But it’s a little bit different in the service industry. When you’re selling a service, it’s more of a one man show. Your company and your brand basically merge into one. Consumers go to your company for your service because they recognise and respect the brand of the company. For example you may join the RAC over it’s competitors because the brand/company has a good reputation. One could argue that branding your service company is harder than branding a product, since not only are you relying on just your company’s brand (instead of multiple product brand such as Fanta, Coke and Sprite) but you need to ensure all colatoral are matching and branded effectively. You’ll also need to update your branding material every so often to keep fresh and attract and retain interest.
We recently came across a great article about how to brand your business which you can read by clicking here. The article talks about the importance, in simple terms, of the power of branding and the strength a brand can give your company. Definitely worth a read for new and old business owners alike!
