In today’s competitive consumer market, it’s important to remember that the strongest brands will continue to attract new customers while retaining a loyal following, ultimately increasing sales. A recently compiled report by Interbrand Design Forum shows businesses that aggressively stuck with their core branding strategy saw their brand value rise — even in a down economy.
As the Brandweek article by Elaine Wong details, a focus on branding pays off where it really counts to most clients: at the cash register! Find out which brands above had the highest brand values at:
Walmart, Target, Best Buy named most valuable brands
BBR has over 12 years of experience in corporate branding, marketing and advertising strategy, and creative implementation. Our multi-disciplinary team of strategists and creatives continually strives to build strong branding relationships between our clients and their consumers, always with the goal to increase sales and profits. For the complete picture of who BBR is and what we do, visit us at www.bbrcreative.com or contact Cherie Hebert at chebert@bbrcreative.com
Think about how you interact with people of differing personality types. An outspoken, gregarious person can easily work the room and quickly engage you. Think about that ray of sunshine in your life, bubbling over with energy and dynamism. He or she may invigorate you and inspire you to look at things differently — at least for the moment. Consider the quiet ones; they can be mysteriously intriguing.
You act differently to every person you encounter. You do this because you are reacting to his or her personality.
News flash. The interactions and reactions we experience with one another parallel those we have with businesses and products. Brand personalities attract customers with like values, attitudes and qualities. Furthermore, strong brand personalities attract loyal customers because they have a clear understanding of who they are as a business personality. Because of this, they are able to strategically align their business to reach the right customer mix — a loyal customer mix that keeps coming back for more. To put it simply, a brand personality is the psychological or human aspect of a company that can have a profound sociological impact on customers’ buying behavior. (more…)
Is your brand position aligned with the value you provide to the marketplace?
What value does your company offer the marketplace? Do you provide a unique product, that no one else offers? Do you provide a quality service faster than your competitor? Do you have a greater selection in your niche than anyone in your market? In essence, every business is selling value of one kind or another.
Our selection of a brand is led by our perception of value. For example, you may select one airline over another due to low fares (“It saves me money”), the convenience of airport location (“Saves me time”), a variety of flight options (“I have options”) or carriers with first class accommodations and perks (“Provides me with more comfort”).
If I were to conduct a test and ask you to name the best shoe store in your market, the best exterminator in your market, the best burger in your market or the best printer in town, I am sure you could easily name them. And for each, you would have a good reason to cite these businesses. You believe in the brand either through personal experience with the product and/or service, an opinion developed through reputation and word of mouth or through positive exposure to the brand through marketing and public relations.
How do these companies build this kind of equity in their brands? They consistently deliver what they profess to deliver — that’s how. Their promises to the marketplace and the value they offer are consistent. They are consistent. They have crafted a position in the mind of the consumer. And I can guarantee, they didn’t do it by happenstance. They were deliberate in determining their position. Then they built their business around aligning all of their business practices to support the position.
Even small businesses do it. Take, for example, Crazy Charlie’s, a retail shoe store in Lafayette, La. I am sure at some point during the inception of the business, the owner thought, “I’d like to have a shoe store with the largest selection of shoes that the area has to offer. I’d like to include and offer name brand and designer shoes at a lower price than any other competitor.” (more…)
