Who do you think you are?
From a marketing perspective it’s an interesting question. Most businesses we speak to have an answer but it’s not always upper most in their thinking.
They will instead be more interested in what they do as a business and want to focus their sales and marketing efforts on relaying this to their audience.
There is nothing wrong with this approach.No-one is going to argue that the clear communication of a businesses’ key product and service offering is not an important part of any marcoms plan.
However, through another challenging year where customers have been forced to adapt their businesses to changing markets and conditions, here at Blaze we have been keen to remind them of the importance of thinking about who they are and how they are perceived as well as what offer they are promoting.
A recent statistic from Ehrenberg Bass Institute provides a valuable bit of marketing wisdom we have been conscious of:
“Only 5% of buyers in the average B2B category are in-market and ready to buy at any given time.”
So, when that time comes, it is crucial they know who you are and can readily bring your brand to mind.
In technical marketing speak this means you need to ensure that the mix between demand generation marketing and brand marking is tilted at least 60-40 in favour of the latter.
To take it a step further:
All the demand generation marketing you do to communicate ‘what you offer as a business’ should be deeply entrenched in your brand. People need to recognize your brand personality and associate that with something they value and trust. Then, when they are ready to buy, they will know who to choose.
The following 2 snap shots are good examples of 2021 projects we have delivered where a strong brand has pervaded the messaging.
Who fancies going to the market?
In 2021 we started to work with a large shopping centre with an indoor market. It was a big year for the retail sector with lots of ground to make up following the pandemic.
A key part of our strategy has been to remind consumers that going shopping is much more than just a way of buying things. We put the experience of shopping at the forefront of messaging, helping to position their brand at the heart of the community and as a place for kids to enjoy activities whilst their parents shop.
The strapline ‘We are Edmonton Green’ has helped convey a sense of community and togetherness and a campaign called ‘One great day’ suggested a trip to the shopping center could become a memorable day for the whole family.
Showtime
The live-events sector is another that has needed to revive itself post-pandemic.
With regular events scheduled and rescheduled on numerous occasions over the last 2 years, late Q3 and Q4 saw a mini boom in Shows, Conferences and Expos.
Businesses finally grabbed the chance of getting together in person. We had spent much of the year developing a distinctive sub-brand for the Mortgages division of a City-based Specialist Bank. And having been focused on the digital, naturally, we were eager to show this off for the first time face to face.
The challenge was that traditionally their core branding dominated their stands, but this didnt tell all of this divisions story.
So, what else could we do to project their brands story and make them ‘stand out’ from the competition?
The answer was to create a space that felt more like a smart, designer living “room” than a traditional expo stand. This tapped into their core message taht the mortgage division is a ‘smart place for your case’.
The interior positively reaffirmed that the bank felt more like home to its customers, with a friendly, approachable team and services that cann be easily accessed fom the comfort of your own home – often the reality of business people today.
Pre-event messaging invited attendees to ‘come round to our place!’ And that’s what they did with high footfall and significant onboarding of new intermediaries but just as importantly they projected their brand story to a host of other relevant targets who will consider them when the time is right.
2021 was a year where businesses came to terms with the fact that, rather than “adapting to the new normal”, we must accept that “adapting is the new normal”.
As we respond to challenges and changes ahead, and work out new strategies for 2022 and beyond, we must help our clients continue to remind our target markets who they are and what they stand for.
This will help them to recognize that you are the right partner when the time finally comes. as the old saying goes: people buy from people – so make sure your brand has a strong personality.
Want to find out more about Brand Marketing in 2022? Check out our Brand Elevation approach or Speak to a Marketing Expert now.
