Deepak Gehani
A brand can be any feature that distinguishes itself from others. It can be a name, design, logo, etc. Even people can be brands with their names and the deeds they are performing. For example when you hear the name Sachin Tendulkar you start thinking about cricket, Ronaldo, Messi and you can relate to football, Amitabh Bacchan and you think about movies. This is because they have become big brands with the excellence in their work.
Branding is very important when it comes to selling products and services in the market. This is because once a brand becomes famous it starts attracting customers without too much effort on advertising and promotion of the product. For a brand to become famous or to get in the minds of the consumers it needs to be properly marketed. This is where brand marketing comes into play. Brand marketing is promotion of products or services by promoting the brand as a whole.
Brand marketing is done for a longterm purpose, and the aim is to create repeat buyers. For example majority of people regularly buy Colgate toothpaste because there is a belief that it is the best product for oral care. Colgate has earned this trust by taking a unique approach for brand marketing over the years by deciding to educate their audience through starting an oral care centre which hosts a series of videos about oral hygiene, and they also share important facts about how to care for your teeth on all their advertisements, particularly their social media platforms. This brand marketing strategy has helped them to not only sell toothpaste, but to become one of the most trusted oral care brands around the globe.
Another example of successful brand marketing is of Apple which has created a fanbase of their products. They don’t just sell their product they sell a lifestyle. Their brand power is such that having an apple product gives a feeling of pride to people. Once a person starts to use an apple product the switch to another brand does not happen soon.
McDonalds is one of the top brands for fast foods across the globe. It has a massive customer base in many countries. They have achieved this by the brand marketing strategy of consistency. Their golden arches are instantly recognized everywhere and people associate the brand with feeling happy. They have achieved this by keeping their brand identity consistent since the beginning while making thoughtful and on-brand improvements. Their logo has not changed much over the years and their taglines keep promoting the message “we make you happy.” To create a market in different countries they have changed their menu according to the culture of the country, for e.g., in India they provide vegetarian products. They have a clown named Ronald McDonald as mascot; they give toys with meal known as happy meal which has made them a hit among kids.
The steps that will help in brand marketing are:
• Understanding the brand purpose as to who the target audience is? What challenges does it solve? Why will people trust you? Who are the competitors?
• Research about the target audience as to the age, marital status, where do they live, what is their daily routine? What need will the product or service serve?
• Educational background, job status etc.
• If possible, have a background story of the brand like what is it about, when was it invented, how did the idea emerge to get into the market.
• Knowledge of competitors is very important as you cannot afford to have an identical marketing strategy as that of your competitor because that will lead to repetitiveness and create confusion among people.
• Being consistent is the key meaning if you will frequently change the logo or the name then it will lead to confusion among people. Brand marketing strategy should be used for a long-term prospective.
Nowadays the interaction between brands and consumes has grown due to online interaction. Popularity of a brand can be judged by the number of followers it is having on its social media pages.
People can contact them online through DMs. Customers can share the product reviews on the websites which help future prospects in deciding whether to purchase the product or no.
Online promotion also helps many small brands to gain quick traction.
Brands need to have good customer service because if the customer is not treated well, he or she can go online and give a negative review which may escalate quickly because it can go viral which will have a negative effect on the brand. The example of good customer service is Amazon, it is a brand which has grown globally due to its online model. People across the globe buy products from Amazon since they trust the quality of products sold and its hassle-free exchange and return polices which makes it safe for the users.
Today, along with actors and sportsmen, social media influencers also play an important role in promoting the products of a particular brand by sharing their experiences.
So according to me if a brand is correctly marked then it will achieve major success and loyalty from the people, with the growth of the online world gaining traction, publicity has got easier but making mistakes can have an escalating effect as stories become viral in no time.
Deepak Gehani
MMS Div C
