Preparing for a New Economy with Brand Advertising

At a time when most companies are reducing marketing budgets and discounting the value of brand advertising to instead focus on immediate retail ads that result in short-term, meager profits, a few key leaders are making strides by expanding their brand marketing to ensure they are ready to dominate the new economy. Their strategy is to wait out the current recession and use the lull in activity to re-position their brands – making sure that when the economy bounces back, their companies are at the forefront in brand awareness, image, and positioning. FedEx, General Electric, and IBM are a few of the major players in this new resurgence for brand advertising, with Walmart, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever now planning to follow suit.

When money gets tight, marketing budgets are the first thing to get cut because it is the hardest thing to justify; however, CMOs are now realizing that past efforts have only resulted in short-term results. Brand advertising positions the company for long-term growth, which may be a better strategy for companies struggling in today’s economy. As SAP Global Chief Marketing Officer Marty Homlish explained, “At times of uncertainty, companies need to reassure the market that they are stable, reliable and have a long-term vision.”

Values and Trust Don't Go Out of Style

Every day we hear how companies are falling apart due to the economic situation. However, there are also companies out there that are able to succeed and grow in these bad times. How do they do it? A big factor comes down to the company values.

It’s about the principles and values that companies have always used to run their business. The most successful companies are the ones who have established a foundation of trust and from there were able to build a strong brand and reputation.

What can companies do to ensure their brand and reputation stays strong during an economic downturn?

Define your values to serve as a guideline to help employees to stay on track. Determine what the company stands for and communicate this to everyone in the organization and how they can play an important role. Examples of strong corporate values are: treat people fairly, be honest, give back to the community, strive for excellence and hire talented people.
After defining your values – execute your values. Companies should be consistent in the way they treat employees and interact with their customers regardless of external pressures. Consistency is what is going to build trust.

No business is immune from the effects of the economy, however it can still exceed with a strong brand and reputation that consistency performs their competitors in good times and bad.

Begin by asking yourself…
What values do your company believe in?
What values is the company weak in, and should probably adopt in the future?
How are you going to adopt these values throughout the company? Are you really committed to adopting them? Who will be in charge of adopting them?

Content is still king

Digital media, social media, online marketing, websites, emails, blogs, twitter, forums, facebook. One thing that is constant in all of these is content. So many people worry about scene or heard online but do not give any thought to what they want to say or present. Before anything is decided; it is important to come up with a strategy, then define what you want to communicate, then determine the delivery mechanism, then the follow up. The easy part is jumping into social media, the hard part is making it work. This is where content is king. No only is it important in communicating a clear message, but in also using it to convey a position or differentiation. It is key to driving a targeted audience to a belief or action. All content should lead to a position or to an actionable item. So yes, online is the wave of the future but the written word is still critical to success.

Prepare Yourself Before Launching the Attack

Many times we get asked what is the best way to get the message out. After some more conversation about what the message and positioning is, we always go back to who is the target audience. While many companies understand that to effectively communicate their message they need to understand who their target is, they don’t really understand how to segment their target audience. Segmentation can come in many forms; age, geography, attitudes, perceptions, needs, costs, value, etc. What is important is to provide the right information to the right people to advance the purchasing decision. By understanding what each potential customer’s status is will enable the agency to produce targeted materials to engage with on their level. With new technology and multiple media channels, it has become easier to reach a larger audience, what hasn’t changed is the need to disseminate all the information out there to provide the right information to the right people.

Customer Loyalty In Today's Economy

Everyone knows that the two ways to increase sales are to (1) obtain new customers, and (2) tap into the existing customer base. As the recession continues, companies are cutting advertising and marketing budgets to solicit new customers; and thus, are relying on loyalty from their existing customer base to provide needed sales and revenue. The problems arising from this strategy are that customer loyalty cannot be depended on in this economy when everyone's decisions are made almost entirely on financial factors - not necessarily on quality and relationships. In addition, overall sales volumes are declining, and studies have shown that there is greater potential ROI from soliciting new customers as opposed to striving for higher purchase frequency from existing customers. The previous adage "This is the way it's always been done" has diminished in the current economy and everything is up for grabs - so instead of relying on existing customers to help "make it through," keep in mind that targeted marketing efforts to obtain new clients may be a better investment in the long-run.

Why is branding still so important?

I can only answer that question with a question, when was the last time you bought something with no name or identification on it? Of course branding is still important. People still associate certain emotions, feelings and thoughts when they hear a particular name or see an ad or view a logo. In today’s world of millions of messages being put in front of you on your cell phone, in the newspapers, on the web, on TV, on a daily basis; it does make one wonder what is so important with branding. Most people would say to cut through the clutter. I would say it is some of that but more. To differentiate. To make yourself known. To offer solutions. To connect with prospects. To make people aware of the benefits of your product or service you offer. As an ad agency, we are constantly asked how to do this and is it necessary. Yes we do this and yes it is necessary. Whether you are launching a new product, entering a new market, expanding your market reach, changing the name of your company, expanding your services, merging companies or just have something new to say to your intended audience, branding is key to positioning and communicating this information. Keep on Branding.

Advertising Agencies Must Evolve and Embrace the Digital Age

Like so many other ad agencies, we are struggling with what to do with social and digital media. Not so much how to use it, or the benefits it offers, or how to apply it, but more importantly what it does in terms of affecting the total marketing mix. I think most ad agencies are stuck in the land of the integrated marketing communications model. This model has been around for the last twenty years and has been greatly effective and influential in adjusting behaviors and attitudes of consumers. This model basically subscribes to the idea that the brand messaging and positioning should reach its target audience in a consistent manner utilizing different media (direct marketing, advertising, publicity, selling, promotion and online). This model is heavy on push marketing where the information is controlled by the sender and delivered in multiple ways to the recipient. Fast forward to 2009. Today we have more choices than we know what to do with. This proliferation of information has turned the emphasis on what the consumer wants and what is he/she asking for. No longer can companies expect target audiences to respond in a predictable fashion without first engaging their intended audience and finding out what they want and how they want to be communicated with. This is where the choices and options for connecting with potential customers have exploded. Now people are going to websites, forums, news sources, independent blogs, or other online sources to research and find out about products, services and companies. Consumers are now coming to their own conclusions without any input from the companies that offer the products and services. This is where advertising agencies need to understand not only who the target audiences are, but where they are online and where are they getting their information from. This not only takes into account the tools that are used but how and when to use them. This means constantly evaluating new technologies and understanding how your potential customers are getting information and providing it in a way that is useful and practical to them.