Knowing the message approach you want your company to utilize is a critical first step in developing a successful marketing campaign. A solid communications plan may also help your brand position itself for scalability and significant victories.
“One of the fundamental differences between Fortune 500 companies and Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is the clarity of marketing messages and the importance placed on strategic marketing using brand storytelling,” according to Spellbrand - a well-known brand identity industry professional firm.
A Weak Brand Message Can Cost More Than Money
Here is some food for thought: Think about any cause, product, or service you have heard of, but don’t truly understand – any one at all. What are the chances that you will buy that product if you don’t know what it does or how well it does its job? How likely are you to donate money to a cause if you don’t understand what they do?
Without a strong brand message, you‘ll need to spend more on advertising, web tools, and other marketing and operations materials every time you try to raise money or initiate an action –because your target audiences don’t understand you.
A Powerful Brand Reaches Across Media
Once your company has created a solid messaging plan to reflect your brand, it will serve as the foundation for all of your communications, whether online or offline. This implies that everything you create – from your website to brochures and handouts, social media, direct mail, and billboards – will have a consistent message that reinforces itself every time it is viewed. This implies that not only will your message be more successful across all media, but the media will be less expensive to produce as a result of your well established base.
What Can You Do?
How much of each benefit above experienced by different businesses will vary, but all originate from the same place – better understanding of why they exist, whom they help, and how their actions benefit the communities in which they operate. When you use all of that to create a powerful, tactically-astute Brand Identity and Messaging Strategy, it strengthens every aspect of your organization.
Whether you turn to an outside branding agency to craft your messages or choose to try it internally, the overriding question to be asked throughout the process is, “What one clear thought will accurately explain to a total stranger what we are genuinely about?” To help get to the root of this question, start with fundamentals, including:
- - Do a SWOT Analysis to support a roadmap for determining who you are as an organization.
- - Review recent surveys and studies to learn what audience perceptions of you are most and least accurate.
- - Survey your staff and volunteers to learn what they think your mission / purpose is. Collect and review testimonials about your organization and REALLY READ THEM as feedback about your success helping others.
- - Analyze the branding of competitors to see what they are doing and what you do better than them.
- - Apply all learning to plans for future programs.
Of course, how you turn this research into creative, effective, and memorable Brand Identity materials is a whole other step, but one that’s well worth taking.
#eatPOPcorn is a full-service advertising agency that aims to build brands through creative stories. Call us today to schedule a consultation and discover how we can assist you in building your business.