SHARPENING YOUR BRAND
A recession is the perfect laboratory in which to polish your brand and make it really stand out. Kevin Kevany has advice from the brand marketing experts.
We went to local branding experts to ask them what can be done in these tumultuous times by SME brand custodians to limit the damage, exploit (if thatโs possible) the opportunities the new dynamic presents and emerge relatively unscathed. Since itโs branding weโre talking about here, there are going to be winners and losers. Thatโs what itโs all about, after all. Jill Brinsdon, brand strategist from brand communications company, Radiation, didnโt mince her words. โDonโt be scared of standing out from the crowd. In 2009 you should be far more scared of blending in! The most dangerous thing a brand can be in 2009 is bland. โA mistake we see many businesses make is to position their product or service with values or promises that really should be implicit and that all their key competitors share โ for example, a top end food product saying โitโs about high qualityโ. โSo it should be! And so are your competitors. So why should I choose you over them again?โ To stand out, Brinsdon reckons a brand has to represent something beyond itself; it has to be imbued with a unique and memorable attitude that tickles the fancy of the customer in some way. It must comfort them, entertain or charm or inspire them. โBrands are like people really; we remember the interesting engaging ones, not the wallpaper.โ Mark Di Somma from โThe key point about any powerful and long-standing brand is that it must continue to evolve,โ he says. โItโs very tempting to believe that once you have an established brand, you can simply leave it to do its work and just manage its usage. However, brands evolve within the context of a marketplace, and markets are always changing โ both in terms of preference and expectation โ because they are made up of consumers who want to continue to be stimulated.โ So the motivation to stand out is not dependent on the economy. Itโs a necessity of competition. And thatโs why itโs so important for SME owner/managers to always be thinking about what the competition is doing and how they are going to stand apart from them. โWhen you think about brand development in those terms, a recession is just another reason โ a reminder in fact โ to continually adapt your brand to ensure it remains competitive. Many of the brand failures we are seeing right now, I believe, were already in train before the recession started. What the financial crisis has done is simply speed up the decay process.โ Stick to the basics Lynell Tuffery, a senior associate at A J Park, the intellectual property solicitors, warns that in times of a recession the temptation is to cut all budgets. โThe marketing budget, including any costs associated with brand protection and investment, is usually the first expense to be cut. But investment in your brand during economic downturn, including developing new branding and marketing strategies, will strengthen your brand, improve customer loyalty, and increase your long-term profit margins. โDespite the drop in brand values, investment in your brand will provide your organisation with long-term financial benefits โ if you simply stick to the basics. โBut recognise customers are not always rational during straightened times. So you need to find out what is driving your customers in the current environment? What continues to motivate them to buy your products? Researching their needs and finding out how they now identify with your products is important. Tuffery also believes changed circumstances, including the financial, health awareness and a general โgreeningโ trend, require additional proactive responses. โOpportunities may exist for product-line extensions. These opportunities can foster your brandโs development and improve profits. A great example of using extensions to evolve a brand is McDonaldsโ โhealthier choicesโ value menu. McDonalds identified a group of customers and targeted that group with a unique marketing campaign. It has now reported a 14 percent growth in profit worldwide at a time when some businesses are struggling to preserve market share.โ Audacity Groupโs Di Somma agrees itโs vital to keep attuning your brand, and therefore the business model which supports that brand โ rather than discounts it โ to your consumersโ confidence levels. โIn harder times, that may well mean changing your price point to reflect what people believe they can afford (the key word here is โbelieveโ), but you need to make changes to the business to ensure that the arrangement is viable, otherwise you are simply discounting your way to bankruptcy.โ He points to the very current โrise and rise of house-brands in supermarkets and retail storesโ. โThe rise of house brands is a classic example of thinking outside the box and rewriting the rules, so everyone benefits. The key to growth is continuing change, which means successfully reading the economy and making changes that address the shifting priorities of consumers. โBig stores like Walmart and Target have recognised they can deliver what people want in a financial crisis, at a price that is still profitable, if they offer house-brand versions of the goods shoppers formerly bought from other manufacturers. โSo, instead of just stocking everyone elseโs bread or coffee, for example, stores are now offering their own brands. And they have packaged these brands to look attractive and priced them to feel sensible.โ Donโt compete on price Is it coincidental that Walmart has moved to the top of the brand poll normally dominated by retail products rather than stores?
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Di Somma again: โBy developing house-brands which give consumers access to quality products at good prices, these stores are also strengthening their own brands. They have evolved the very nature of the house-brand, from a no-frills item to a viable alternative for cost-conscious shoppers; improved those brands into loyalty-leaders; and given consumers the confidence to โsplash outโ on the other brands they still have in-store, as a treat. โBut resist any temptation to compete on price. Customers who buy when prices are low will not buy when prices return to normal levels. Look after the customers you have and look for ways to encourage these customers to continue buying from you,โ says Di Somma. โAnd keep contact with your customers. During economic downturns, customers do not stop buying. Instead, customers are more selective. As others cut their marketing spend, you can grab a larger share by being constant. Be creative by exploring alternate and cost-effective opportunities to communicate with your customers,โ he says. When it comes to extending your brand presence, online is the way to go, according to Mark Allison, Australasian territory manager for WebTrends. โWith more Kiwis spending more time online than ever before, there has never been a better time to understand the value of online advertising to reach out to customers and potential customers. โTraditional advertising is expensive, hard to measure and can be targeted at a very broad spectrum of consumers. By comparison, online advertising [branding] gives you a way to connect with niche groups of people in a targeted and measurable way, for a significantly lower investment.โ And once engaged, the effects can be immediate. Customers can click through to a website from the advertisement and immediately begin shopping or gathering additional information. โTheir actions arenโt delayed by time or distance, because they can act upon their interest straight away โ offering a better chance of conversion,โ says Allison. Brand protection John Hackett, a senior partner at A J Park, is well-known for his use of case studies to make a point โ in this case on brand protection. His message is succinct and appropriate; always be sure you have your brand fully protected โ whatever the circumstances. Take the example of the sale of Rolls Royce. โWhen the giant Volkswagen beat the smaller BMW company (which had previously secured the acquisition of Rolls Royce) in what was effectively a โrun-off auctionโ, they were ill-prepared and hadnโt done their homework, while parting with US$795-million. โThat lack of attention to detail cost them the trademarks, which were subsequently bought by BMW from Rolls-Royce PLC (aircraft), which had acquired them back in 1973 (in a corporate restructure), for a mere US$65 million dollars. โToday, the โRolls Royceโ factory, which was one of the few assets Volkswagen gained, makes Bentley cars for them, while BMW happily churns out vehicles with the trademarked Rolls-Royce grill and the famed โSpirit of Ecstasyโ bonnet icon โ all under the Rolls-Royce brand, at less than a tenth of the cost. โBe warned, trademarks and brands are seldom, if ever, just part of the deal. And, never assume that because you have registered the company name, you automatically own all the other rights. โA trade mark registration makes enforcing your rights much easier. It puts a fence around your brand name, or logo, and acts as a deterrent to others thinking of adopting a similar mark. It also provides you with a strong basis to take action if a competitor adopts a brand that is the same as, or similar, to yours for the same, or a similar, product. โCreating a strong brand from the outset means it will become one of your most valuable business assets,โ says Hackett. Live your brand The final word belongs to Radiationโs Jill Brinsdon: โItโs important that your brand values and personality come from the truth of who you are and what youโre selling. It has to be sustainable and you have to be able to โlive itโ every day โ not just via your packaging or logo but via your behaviour, your staff, your environment, your website, everything. โEvery single interaction with your brand should be consistent, and remind the consumer why they should be loyal to you. If you canโt sustain it every day in every way, no amount of promotional money will make the consumer believe you or buy into you for long. Your brand will fizzle out โ guaranteed. โIn tough times, itโs even more important to protect, nourish and exemplify your brand and your points of difference, says Brinsdon. โOur research consistently tells us the consumer gravitates towards the familiar, the authentic and the trustworthy in times of uncertainty.โ Kevin Kevany is an Auckland-based freelance writer. Email kevwrite@xtra.co.nz This article can also be accessed on the NZBusiness website: www.nzbusiness.co.nz
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