1) Treating brands as assets : The ongoing pressure to deliver
short-term financial results coupled with the fragmentation of media will tempt
organizations to focus on tactics and measurables and neglect the objective of
building assets.
2) Possessing a compelling vision : A brand vision needs to differentiate
itself, resonate with customers and inspire employees. It needs to be feasible
to implement, work over time in a dynamic marketplace and drive brand-building
programs. Visions that work are usually multidimensional and adaptable to different
contexts. They employ concepts such as brand personality, organizational
values, a higher purpose, and are beyond functional benefits.
3) Creating new subcategories : The only way to grow, with rare
exceptions, is to develop “must have” innovations that define new subcategories
and build barriers to inhibit competitors from gaining relevance. That requires
substantial or transformational innovation and a new ability to manage the
perceptions of a subcategory so that it wins.
4) Generating breakthrough brand building
: Exceptional ideas and
executions that break out of the clutter are necessary in order to bring the
brand vision to life. These ideas and the execution of them are more critical
than the size of your budget. “Good” is just not good enough. That means making
sure you get more ideas from more sources, and that you make sure you have the
mechanisms in place to recognize brilliance and bring those ideas to market –
quickly.
5) Achieving integrated marketing
communication (IMC).
IMC is more elusive and difficult than ever in light of the various methods you
have to choose from such as advertising, sponsorships, digital, mobile, social
media and more. These methods tend to compete with each other rather than
reinforce because the media scene and options have become so complex, so
dynamic, and because product and country silos reflect competition and
isolation rather than cooperation and communication.
6) Building a digital strategy : This arena is complex, dynamic and in
need of a different mindset. The reality is, the audience is in control here.
New capabilities, creative initiatives and new ways to work with other
marketing modalities are required. Adjust the digital marketing focus from the
offering and the brand to the customer’s sweet spot, which is to say the
activities and opinions in which they are interested or even passionate about.
Develop programs around that sweet spot in which the brand is an active
partner, such as Pampers did with Pampers Village or what Avon did with their
Walk for Breast Cancer.
7) Building your brand internally : It is hard to achieve successful
integrated marketing communications or breakthrough marketing without employees
both knowing the vision and caring about it. The brand vision that
lacks a higher purpose will find the inspiration challenge almost impossible.
8) Maintaining brand relevance : Brands face three relevance threats:
Fewer customers buying what the brand is offering, emerging reasons not-to-buy,
and loss of energy. Detecting and responding to each requires an in-depth
knowledge of the market, plus a willingness to invest and change.
9) Creating a brand-portfolio strategy
that yields synergy and clarity : Brands
need well-defined roles and visions that support those roles. Strategic brands
should be identified and resourced, and branded differentiators and energizers
should be created and managed.
10) Leveraging brand assets to enable
growth : A brand portfolio
should foster growth by enabling new offerings, extending the brand vertically
or extending the brand into another product class. The goal is to apply the
brand to new contexts where the brand both adds value and enhances itself.
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