Your brand is a living thing.
If you aren’t promoting your business, then you’re not giving it the best chance of success.
Building a solid brand identity is the crucial foundation for a thriving business. Unorthodox analogy— It’s more than a foundation; it’s your house, and marketing is actively inviting people around for a BBQ where you will sell them all your burgers (meat or alternative).
You might be anti-social and not want a bunch of strangers at your house for a BBQ, but in business, most people are looking for more sales, so in this instance, we’re inviting lots of people to a large, nonstop BBQ at your house. So get the spare cutlery out immediately!
Shout it louder
The art of effective communication. If you’re NOT looking to waste your time, effort, and money, then your marketing efforts should be underpinned by strategy. Strategy is a healthy mix of creative and logical thinking; it’s simple but not easy.
We need to clarify our message—what do we need people to do and why will they care? What is it about our product or service that makes it worth Company X or Bernard spending money on it. Messaging generally has two routes:
Outcome based:
‘Save [TIME/MONEY/STRESS] with our [PRODUCT/SERVICE].’
‘Our [THING] will fix your [PROBLEM].’
e.g. ‘Pay your [loan] back more easily with our [market-leading rates].’
Live news:
‘We are now open on Tuesday evenings.’
‘Tickets go on sale on Monday.’
‘We have new items on the menu.’
“Nobody reads advertising. People read what interests them, and sometimes it’s an ad.”
Howard Luck Gossage | Gossage, Freeman & Partners, San Francisco, 1950s
Placement
The second phase of the strategy. Strong messaging isn’t enough—getting your brand out there and on point is also about getting the right channel placement. There is no point in designing for a placement that won’t be seen by the audience that needs your service.
Working out where those people will be looking and when, and how you can pique their interest, is vital to achieving success.
Paid advertising | Google ads, social, 3rd party banners, digital screen displays
Print | Mail drops, Out of Home advertising (OOH), flyers, posters, brochures, stationery and business cards
Online | Websites, blogs, social media presence
Events | Pop-up stands, PR stunts, handouts, experiences, exhibitions
Video | Animations, interview lead, coverage and storytelling
Good design is getting your message seen and understood. Great design is making it a memorable experience.
Marketing is not an exact science. It’s a bit of guesswork, and anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar. Nobody can guarantee ROI or exact results—see any significant company that has closed.
However, we can employ sturdy, educated guessing based on experience (both yours of your industry/customer and mine of marketing/sales) and the psychology of predicting human behaviours, specifically behaviours of your ideal customer profile (ICP).
Bring that together with a strong dash of creative, out-the-box thinking to generate interest and intrigue.
Hint: that’s why you hire professionals.
