It is time for your brand to get emotional.

Consumers are emotional creatures. Their decision to buy one brand over another is more visceral than cerebral. They want to feel like they are making purchasing decisions that align with and better their lives.

So exactly why is it that so many brands are barraging consumer’s minds with gobs of feature/benefits messaging? Why not simply entice me with one primary reason to buy that simplifies my decision?

These questions surfaced recently when I researched pet food brands and realized that the vast majority have a lot to say but fail to appeal to that which makes us human – our emotions. It’s frustrating that big brand packaging is riddled with strategic messaging and positioning tactics. It’s a buckshot approach to branding that makes products less distinct, overly complicated and ultimately less understandable to consumers.

(psst: It appears that pet food brand managers are more concerned with what category the retail buyer considers them in ¾ as opposed to “the single unique reason why I’ll just have to buy it for my dog.”)

Position your brand to resonate with a single correlating emotion. It’s about aligning your brand with what your target demographic WANTS to feel or ASPIRES to be. Brand to a single aspiration to feel better, healthier, safer, sexier, tougher, cleaner, smoother, happier, thinner, richer, smarter or faster.

If you tell a brand’s story that captures your consumer’s feelings, you’ll naturally stand out on the shelf as the right fit for them. It’s the emotional ROI a brand promises the consumer before they buy.

It’s vital to introduce this story with the brand’s Why-to-Buy statement (WTB) – a single clear, concise and memorable statement that your consumer can read on your packaging when standing in the middle of the store aisle up to six feet away.

How you tell this story to the consumer is often referred to as the “big idea”.

The idea must first be capable of cutting through the noise of competing brands and capture the attention of time-challenged consumers. It must also resonate enough to convince them to try your brand’s new promise of value rather than buy their known and preferred brand, which is often sitting right next to your brand on the shelf.

Out of 17 brands I reviewed at this show, only 5 brands use strategy that capitalizes on these best-practice brand principles.

Eat, Sleep, Breath, Tweet.
A study last year found that the average young American spends nearly every waking hour online. Whether they are on their computer, iPad, smart phone, TV, gaming system, or other device, they are constantly connected.

Many parents might panic at the idea of pale, bleary-eyed kids sitting in the dark brainwashed by media when they hear this statistic… but the older crowd is no less accustomed to having internet access whenever we want it. Who hasn’t–at some point–pulled out their tablet PC on a bus ride to catch up on the news, checked in through a location-aware app at their favorite restaurant, or (gasp) taken their phone with them into the bathroom?

Dr. Michael Rich, a pediatrician at Children’s Hospital Boston who directs the Center on Media and Child Health, said there is no need for concern. Constant access to media is unavoidable, and is “like the air they breathe, the water they drink and the food they eat.” Basically, if you are a parent: get over it… And if you have a brand: make sure everything you do to market your brand has a way to interact for these constantly-connected consumers!

Even the most traditional media can become interactive. For example, billboards have turned into an interactive game for McDonald’s. As a promotion in Stockholm, the fast food chain has created a product-themed arcade game on a massive digital billboard. Passersby can go to a website (http://picknplay.se/) from their phone to connect directly to the billboard and play the game live projected for everyone in the area to see. If they beat the 30-second challenge, their phone automatically is sent a digital coupon for a free McDonald’s treat.

Packaging has turned into a social media success for the SpecialK cereal box. They are using the entire real-estate on the back of their package for a “What will you gain when you lose?” interactive promotion. Consumers write a word in the branded word bubble design on the back of each box, take a picture of themselves with that word and upload it to the brand’s Facebook page.

Even a local letterpress studio I recently visited is using their 19th century printing machine to print a QR code pointed to their website on takeaways for customers who leave the store. Ironic? Perhaps. Effective? Definitely.

It’s time to connect.
More and more brands are finding creative ways to make their printed materials transcend their traditional confines. How can you transform your offline media into an opportunity for more interaction?

The way a person’s eye trails through a layout can be the key to comprehension and retention of the message your company is trying to relay. And when done correctly, it will lead your viewer to follow through on the call-to-action and take the next step with your company or product. Here are five best practices to ensure the information in your print advertising, brochure, sales sheet, tradeshow booth, retail packaging, point-of-purchase display, website and other layouts are being viewed in the most effective way.

1. Determine the order you want information delivered before creating the layout.
Before your information is placed in a layout, put it in order. What is the first thing you want people to notice? If the information is for a magazine ad, it might be the headline. If it’s for a package, it could be the product name and logo. For a promotional landing page, you may want a call-to-action to be the first thing noticed. Number your content and keep in mind the order as it is designed into a layout. A great self-test you can do once the information has been placed in the design is the blink test.

Close your eyes… now open them on your layout… what’s the very first thing that you look at? Is it the information marked #1 on your list of hierarchy? If not, assess the design to remedy this. The remaining four practices provide ideas to help you troubleshoot.

2. Use fonts wisely.
The bigger a font, the more prominent it will be. True. A bold font will stand out in a crowd. Yes. San-serif typefaces are eye-catching, while serif typefaces tend to be easier to read in paragraph form. Proven. Putting words in ALL-CAPS, italics and underlines shouts they are important. Of course. However, using all of these treatments in the same layout will lead to chaos. A sophisticated layout uses only one or two of these methods to indicate “important: read this” through type style. Adding too many different type treatments in one layout is as effective as highlighting every single line in a textbook when studying for a test.

3. Use icons and color for quick-read summary information.
Some information can stand alone. This type of “CliffsNote” information can be designed for quick reference and easy reading. Bullets are the stand-by method, but go a step beyond this and you’ve got an even more successful way to showcase this information through the use of icons. Creating universal symbols for each bullet point will attract the eye in the same way, hooking the viewer visually first and engaging them to then read the related content. The icons give the viewer an idea of what they’ll be reading about before they get too involved. In your information order, icons are most effective for items that are the second or third piece on the list. Use of color for icons can move them forward or back in that rank. For example, a complimentary color that blends in with the rest of the layout will not place as much emphasis as bright contrasting colors.

4. A classy and updated call-out can be just as effective as a bright orange star burst.
Call-outs often bring to mind some sort of infomercial graphic or clearance sticker in neon colors. These design elements are commonly referred to as “violators” because they invade the space of a layout with a totally unrelated style. There is often still a need for this kind of information prominence when you want your audience to “Call Today” or see a “New Product”, but you can be just as effective at getting attention without sacrificing design. For example, in a layout with many straight lines and 90-degree angles, a call-out can stand out through the use of a more organic shape and curved lines.

5. Keep important information “above the fold.”
We are all familiar with the top news story being placed in the top half of the front page of a newspaper. That’s the story that will catch your attention when sitting in a stack or in a news bin. The same practice is successful for other media as well. For example, websites have a “fold” that is generally considered to be about 760 pixels down the browser window. This is the length the average website viewer has their monitor settings at to see a web page without scrolling. Items near the top of your order should reside here, while lower priority items might require scrolling.

If the information in your branded materials does not follow these best practices, you are not getting the most out of your content. Contact us to see how we can control the eye and the understanding of your customers.

How many times have you stood in line at a store waiting to check out, grabbed the small item on a nearby shelf and made an unplanned purchase? Point-of-purchase (POP) is defined as a place where sales are made; the point at which a customer decides to purchase or pass over a product. What are the components of a design that make your point-of-purchase design stop the customer and encourage them to purchase?

Take the road less traveled.
Your point-of-purchase design should stop people in their tracks; make a statement. If all the competition goes with red boxes, take the road less traveled and go with blue. You want to use a design that is going to let you stand out and be set apart from the competition; don’t blend in with the group, stand out in front. Ask yourself, “What is going to make them see my product first?”

STOP.
We face visual cues in our lives everyday. Have you ever wondered about the design of the stop sign? The stop sign was created as an octagonal shape so it was easily distinguishable from other traffic signs that were all of similar shapes and sizes and so it could be identified even from behind. Designers (or more likely roadway engineers in this case) knew that this sign carried an important message to be conveyed. The only way for it to succeed in doing so was to be visually compelling and stand out amongst all the other signs on the road, hence the 8 sides and the bright red color. Can you think of another sign that looks the same?

Apply the STOP concept to your design.
Although that stop sign is certainly not trying to sell a product, it succeeds in the area of stopping the eye visually, which is the effect your point-of-purchase design needs to have. Make it POP. Think outside the box, perhaps literally in this sense. Products don’t need to be unappealingly stacked upon one another in a plain box with just your brand identity logo displayed, or do they?

Be true to your brand.
The first step is to know your brand and to know the competition around you. If your brand identity and overall brand presence is very clean and sophisticated, I would suggest avoiding the neon flashing lights, backed by hoards of bells and whistles. Sometimes clean simple design is all it takes to stand out from competitive point-of-purchase designs around you that are crammed and cluttered with information and other elements.

Start your own trend.
If your brand happens to be a little more energetic and bold, have some fun with your point-of-purchase design. Consider materials outside the norm and colors that will stand out that will make people think, “HEY, I’ve just got to see what this is”. Take a look at what your competition is doing and, perhaps, go one step in the other direction, or more importantly, one step above and make yourself stand out. Start a new trend instead of following the current one.

Want your point-of-purchase design to POP and STOP customers in their tracks? Give us a call and let’s make some stop signs together.

Recently I attended the special event of my sister getting married. As maid of honor I had the duty of making a toast at the wedding, which, unfortunately for me, is a nerve racking instance of public speaking. Should I be funny? What can I say to make people laugh? Should I be sentimental? What is it that is going to move people to tears? What can I say that is going to appeal to all the individuals at the ceremony? Should I speak to just my sister? Should I share inside family stories or provide some broader insight as to how I see their future playing out or offer up some unsolicited advice, as if I am the expert on their marriage?

In the weeks before the wedding, I realized preparing this speech is similar to the job I do everyday here at MicroArts. Working with varying brands, I am continually asking a range of questions. What can I create in my designs to draw in the target consumer? What colors and shapes should I use for a consumer package design that is going to make a customer pick it up off the shelf? What keywords can I use to search engine optimize a website that will drive customers to the site? What elements should be included in a banner advertising campaign to make a user click through?

Start at the end.
Essentially it’s best to start with the end in mind. Many of the questions we ask ourselves within design and development mirror the kinds of questions that we face everyday in the world outside of where we work. Both outcomes result in some sort of answer or conclusion, but often it is the path you took to get to that answer that is most important. Understanding which answer best reflects the needs of the target audience you are trying to reach is a key component of the design process. Which brings us to:

One Simple Rule: Consider your target audience.
They are your number one priority. Who are you trying to reach? Why do you want to reach them? And what do you want them do once you reach them? Asking these questions allows you to define what you want your outcome to be. For instance, if your target consumer is young children, use fonts on your consumer package design that they can relate to and are large enough for them to read. In this case, we should not use super sophisticated script fonts at a seven point size because we understand that children are drawn to things such as bright colors, large fonts, rounded edges, etc.

If you’re working on the graphical user interface (GUI) for a website where the primary target is senior citizens, you should use large buttons and fonts in your interface design that are easily recognizable. Your GUI design should be as simplistic as possible in order to be digestible for your target user, especially one who may not be computer savvy. Present information that is clear and easy to follow which keeps them interested and moving seamlessly through your site.

In the end.
In the end, whether you’re working on a consumer package, graphical user interface or simply writing a toast at a wedding, first define your audience. The most important thing we can ask ourselves when presented with a challenge is “what do we want the outcome to be?” Once you know where you want to end up, finding the best way to get there becomes one step easier. Always have a clear start and finish.

Draw them in and if you do it right, you’ll end with glasses raised in unison.

Is your retail package design flying off the shelf? Does your website design connect with your target consumers and end with conversions? If not give us a call and we’ll help you connect your company with your target consumer.

So I’m sure you’re wondering how my speech went. Let’s just say that if it was a package design … it would be sold out.

Show Off Planet-Friendly Features Without Sounding Phony.

Turning the “green” trend into green profits has been an alluring fad ever since Al Gore stood on that mechanical lift pointing at flowcharts. At that time, the shift in environmental responsibility broadened from being touted only by granola-makers to something consumers were demanding of all products they purchased. The green marketing phenomenon has proven to be more than a passing trend: BBMG recently reported that 86% of US consumers who say the words “environmentally friendly” describe them “well,” and 34% say they describe them “very well.” Additionally, Edelman reported the number one issue that consumers care about globally is protecting the environment (92% of those surveyed!).

It didn’t take long before everything from cleaning products to airlines were dipping a toe in the murky “green” water. Look on any grocery store shelf and you’ll see buzzwords such as “natural,” “eco-friendly,” “free-trade,” and “organic” float across product messaging like the cure-all snake-oil claims of generations past. This is called “greenwashing” (originally in reference to the practice of hotels trying to make higher profit by not washing towels or bedding daily and passing it off as conservation) and consumers are quickly becoming wise to these often misleading baits.

So how do you highlight the very real environmental benefits of your product or company without sounding gimmicky or insincere? Consider these three best practices:

1. Focus on your unique selling points (USP). Be specific about these points in your brand positioning strategy. Check out CockadoodleDOO, E-cloth, and Nature’s Remedy in our portfolio for examples of using specific characteristics of your brand positioning strategy to back up claims of environmental responsibility.
2. Create a graphic badge. Once you’ve honed in on the USPs of your brand strategy, create a graphic badge highlighting these USPs for quick recognition on your product packaging design. The badge we created to highlight the whole-kernel corn used to make World’s Best Cat Litter™ is instantly recognizable on the product packaging, website, brochures and other collateral. This badge is effective because it quickly communicates a brand message about whole-kernel corn that is easily understood.
3. Start a conversation. Foster a dialog through inbound marketing with your customer. Recently, Dell declared they wanted to build the “greenest PC on earth”. The company launched IdeaStorm as a platform to solicit “direct feedback from, [its] customers, suppliers and stakeholders” on how to do just that. Shell and General Motors have incorporated similar inbound marketing tactics which have lead to increased visibility on connected social media and blogs. These consumer and expert voices add increased legitimacy to any “green” claims. Our own success at this is being proven through the Social Media Marketing and Blogosphere Engagement efforts for World’s Best Cat Litter™ and the Greenopolis community for Waste Management.

If you can achieve this trustworthy image of a green company through highlighting your environmentally friendly USPs, official badges, and real (honest) unstructured branding communications, you will be well on your way to joining the ranks of Tom’s of Maine, Stoneyfield Farm, and Patagonia.

Interested in crafting your green brand strategy without running into the “greenwashing” trap? Give MicroArts a call.

It was just a few years ago when the latest trend in the retail packaging industry was the transformation from English-only text to bilingual content. In 2005, Lowe’s, and many other retail stores, required Spanish translations on all packaging designs and in-store marketing materials. During this shift, our team at MicroArts Creative Agency, a packaging design agency, was in the midst of launching new consumer packaging designs for Cockadoodle DOO Organic lawn and garden products. In the process, we made the switch from English-only packaging designs to bilingual packaging designs while also updating store signage, shelf-talkers and point-of-purchase displays.

Change is good. At least it was great packaging design experience for us.

Today, the latest trend in the marketplace is green packaging. Everywhere you look, consumers and companies are seeking out and producing more products that are environmentally friendly—from lawn and garden products to cleaning products to clothing to cars and everything in between.

Peter, the principal brand director here at MicroArts, mentioned an early example of this trend in a branding blog post last October. The blog post was about a new environmentally friendly packaging concept, a “plant-able” package. He touched on a company who’s product packaging was 100% recyclable and biodegradable. The example was an egg carton filled with seeds that, when planted, would grow trees.

The Big Boxes Weigh in on Green Packaging
Although this trend has been growing for quite some time, it is now becoming a must-have versus a good-to-have. Just last week, Walmart announced a new initiative; developing a Sustainability Index that rates suppliers on multiple levels of sustainability from its manufacturing, its products and—ultimately—its packaging. As the trend grows, retailers are requiring stricter policies on the companies they partner with. It is expected that during the next few years, as sustainability becomes a Big Box requirement, packaging will need to be as environmentally friendly as possible.

Is your consumer packaging design and structure ready for Walmart’s Sustainability Index? The time is now to start thinking of ways to enhance your packaging sustainability. Some companies are already doing this. At lunch the other day, I noticed a bag of Sun Chips on the table with a violator on the front of the package that said, “RENEWABLE MATERIALS make up 33% of this package.” As I flipped over the bag, I noticed that an entire back panel was dedicated to sustainability. Sun Chips states on the package that, although 33% of the current bag is made from renewable materials, the company’s goal is to have a completely compostable bag by 2010.

Interested in retail packaging design that meets Walmart’s Sustainability Index? Call a consumer packaging design agency.

It’s common knowledge that when a brand extension strategy is not sound, it can drastically weaken your brand’s equity when it’s overexploited. “New Coke” and the new Red Bull Cola come to mind as “Classic” cases. Pun intended.

So when does it make sense anyhow?

WHEN the same product formula is dispensed or packaged in different sizes for the purpose of ease of use. Today, I changed the Arm & Hammer® deodorizer “stick-on puck” because it told me it was time to do so (versus the open box of baking soda). Then quickly made a sandwich, squeezed Miracle Whip on one slice of bread and a couple slices of KRAFT American Singles® from the family pack size on the other and snagged a GoGurt® on my way out the door. Earlier, I noticed my 4-year old son pumping Crest® toothpaste on his toothbrush. Later, I drank a 16oz Red Bull, started zinging and quickly realized this brand extension was aimed at a younger demographic. Yet, still all logical extensions—taking the original product formula and dispensing it in sizes that target and appeal to new market demographic — or, taking the original formula and dispensing it in an “easier to use” applicator.

WHEN the new innovation leverages the existing brand difference, and by extending the brand it further demonstrates your commitment and leadership in this overarching category. Heinz® owns the Tomato Ketchup market and launched mustard and relish eons ago, but just this weekend, I enjoyed Heinz Hot Relish on my hot dog. The World’s strongest Gorilla Glue leveraged its known equity to create the World’s strongest tape. 3M’s duct tape brand managers need to get unstuck, and quickly.

WHEN extending the brand positions it for consumption/adoption by appealing to a new customer with the existing market. Although I valued finding the brand with the “Kills germs that cause bad breath®” promise, I never used Listerine {original flavor}—until they launched the Cool Mint.

WHEN you can cost effectively leverage your current Internet marketing and marketing communications investments to promote and educate your new brand extension. How many times have you seen advertising that says, “Now available in _________.”? In my experience it costs 3 times more to launch a new brand versus launching a new brand extension.

WHEN you have negotiation muscle with your existing distribution channel—or this channel is already excited about the sell-through performance of the current brand. In both scenarios, the channel is more apt to “create” shelf space and allocate to your new brand extension.

In sum, when the brand extension is strategically positioned, targeting a new consumer preference and driven by the “Big 3″:

• The product’s technology
• The original formula
• An arena of domain expertise

… then the odds for a successful consumer adoption are greater than launching a new brand.

Now, what if …

… your brand extension strategy is leveraging a philosophical belief system that delivers a specific emotional benefit? “You’re In Good Hands With Allstate®” comes to mind. In these cases, the brand extension strategy is not as clear-cut, simply because marketing’s philosophical manifestation of this belief is often different than that of the product development team. Which probably differs from the CEO’s vision. Which is certainly not what the sales team sells. Your brand team must lead your internal teams to collectively determine the attributes, personality, purpose and soul-extended meaning as well as long-term vision, potential and ultimate value of the next brand extension.

A recent example of a philosophical brand extension is by Holley Performance Products. Since the beginning of automobile production, they’ve been producing high performance automotive products, mostly engine modification technologies, including a carburetor for Henry Ford’s Model T. Today, one of the company’s popular brands is Nitrous Oxide Systems (NOS), which gives a high performance boost in a muscle car’s horsepower.

It is also the inspiration for a successful brand extension. This NOS brand is well known by young males throughout the US for delivering a high performance boost in horsepower. In fact, Holley licensed their BRAND and assets to Fuze Beverage® company and they launched NOS Energy Drink. A logical brand extension since this widely known core benefit [a high performance boost] is leveraged into the energy drink’s brand position and is valued by the primary consumer of energy drinks in America … by young males. I imagine they launched this drink at a major NASCAR event as well via sponsorship and street teams.

Kudos to Fuze for affiliating with a high performance brand in a different, unrelated industry and knowing they needed to launch an entirely new brand to enter the energy drink market category as opposed to extending their Fuze brand. I suspect Fuze Beverage® company went to Holley to pitch this brand extension strategy and licensing agreement as opposed to vice-versa.

I’m sure they were handsomely rewarded for this decision. In 2007, NOS Energy Drink® and Fuze Beverage® company was acquired by Coca-Cola®.

I love this brand extension and execution — it is lucrative and sensible. Nicely done. Considering leveraging a brand extension? Consider a brand extension specialist.

A brand. What is it?

Let’s start by defining what a brand is.

Simply put, a brand is “the idea” inside your target market’s mind about your product, company or service.

To effectively achieve this you must refine, define and focus the concept down to a simple unique value proposition that differentiates your product. More importantly, you must be near certain that the concept will move the American masses to adopt/purchase your product over a competitor’s product. You must refine and focus the brand concept into a specific idea to seed in the target client/customer’s mind.

This process of narrowing the focus of the brand into a clear, concise, tangible and differentiating concept of value is often referred to as brand strategy, others call it brand positioning but in the end it’s simply what to do, where to start.

The end goal is to reach the point in time when your product equals your intended concept of value idea inside the minds of your target market. For example, all MP3 players are iPods today. Jeep, Red Bull, Xerox, Google, Facebook, Charmin and Vlassic all started by narrowing the focus of their brand into a laser beam. Jeep is the convertible 4 wheel drive. Red Bull is the energy drink. Xerox is a copy. Google is search. Facebook is social networking. Soft tissue paper is only Charmin. Vlassic is the crisp pickle. All of these brand names equal the concept of value inside their target consumer’s minds and therefore own the market category itself.

To illustrate, here are a few of our client brands poised for this success:

Purple – Life’s Superdrink.™
Our recommended brand strategy and supporting brand position for Purple is to leverage the mass international consumption of Superfoods. Purple. Life’s Superdrink. has created a new market category within the beverage market. In the noise of energy drinks, this is differentiating and leverages a consumer trend in Superfood consumption. The brand idea of Life’s Superdrink is believable, tangible and sustainable over time because the product delivers — it actually is the healthiest drink on the planet. Now Purple = Superdrink, much like Red Bull = energy drink.

OhMiBod® – Music Vibrator®
Perhaps the hottest Apple iPod and iPhone accessory in the international market place is our client Suki LLC. Together, we coined and launched a new brand concept, a music vibrator, which is burning as hot as wildfire in 30 countries in as many months. This differentiating brand idea is recognized internationally on over 500 blogs. The brand’s promise of “Feel The Music®” emotionally supports the new market category of music vibrators, which our client now and forever will own, internationally.

DoubleCheckMD.com® Your medications. Their interactions.®
Together with our brilliant client, we harness the brand strategy of this brand concept in the brand name and brand position messaging to launch an entirely new market category within destination healthcare website brands. It is a tight and comprehensive focus on your medications and their interactions in you. With over 25% of Americans on 4 or more medications, this is a valuable market category they now own.

Natural Rocks – Cocktail Ice Cubes®
Isn’t all ice made for cocktails? That’s what we thought when we first met the founder, a very cool guy making ice cubes from spring water. But spring water is really the feature…so what is the benefit? It’s clearly a must-have ingredient for the $15 dollar single malt scotch or the perfect martini. They now own the newly formed market category of cocktail ice cubes and their year-over-year same store sales spike was too massive to utter here (you either wouldn’t believe me or you’ll think we’re bragging). The next time you see this brand in the store, try it, you’ll notice the difference .

Ledama Olikena
People are brands too. Ledama is running to be the next President of Kenya. He recently retained us as his agency of record to craft the communication strategy behind his beliefs for a healthy, happy and prosperous Kenya. Like product brands, Ledama is a brand. He is forming a highly focused idea inside the voter’s minds. True Change. Ledama is true change for Kenyan Youth; which makes up 65% of Kenya’s population.

Todi – Après Athletics Footwear
Todi Originals are what you wear to and from the locker room. It’s the footwear worn by hard charging athletes in training. The Todi brand symbolizes the spirit found deep inside aggressive souls. Our go-to-market strategy carves out a market category in the footwear market, soon to be owned by the Todi brand.

If a “brand” is an idea [a concept of value idea] that your client has about your product, company or service, then “branding” is the process of forming this idea in their minds.

The process of branding an idea inside your target market’s mind can be simplified into two primary communications types:

1. Your client’s/customer’s actual experience with your product itself
2. Your outbound marketing communications to this client/customer before, during and after the sale of the product.

The sum of these two communication types create one idea surrounding your product which ultimately defines your brand. This needs to be a planned event. The process of crafting these experiences is branding.

Review all aspects of the customer’s actual experience with your product, for example:

• The user experience of the product itself
• The tactical feel of the product
• The visual appeal of the product
• Product usage instructions
• The way your customer support phone is answered and how the call is handled
• The first impression with your product, company entrance, vehicles, sales team, etc.
• The packaging, internal and external
• Timely and helpful customer service
• Hassle free warranty
• Product performance
• The purchasing experience

Essentially it is the sum of every single customer touch point they may experience with your product, including the company, service and employees. The sum of these experiences must pay off, reinforce and deliver the focused concept of value your brand aims to “be” in your customer’s mind. At every possible touch point, consider a human’s five senses [sight, sound, smell, taste and touch] and use this as a proactive opportunity to deliver a brand message that supports your intended concept of value.

The outbound marketing communications to your client/customer before, during and after the sale of the product need to be laser focused and deliver the brand’s intended concept of value.

To deliver the intended concept of value, follow this branding process:

1. 
   
2. First craft your brand’s concept of value into two distinct clear, concise and memorable messages; the brand tagline and the brand slogan.
   • The brand tagline captures the business you’re in, your difference, and why your target market should care about your value. It provides the foundation of your communications by which all marketing programs aim to make this statement believable, tangible and valued.
   • The brand slogan typically tugs on the emotions of your market and presents itself in a punchy and memorable manner.

   Together, along with your brand name itself, this messaging combination delivers your promise of unique and superior value and positions it for intellectual consumption.
   

3. Next make your brand position believable and tangible to the consumer/client. These outbound communications are key to shortening the sales process. In the most basic form, this is the primary job of the brand story.
   • The brand story is a short readable document of 2-3 paragraphs which describes your company history; how your company arrived at its current position and the vision for your excellence. As such, it validates and makes believable (to your customer) your ability to deliver on the claims made in your brand tagline and brand slogan.

   
   

4. Next employ a weave of the key outbound communications which include:
   • Press coverage – When an editor says your brand value is true, it must be.
   • Blog coverage – The new voice of the American people is thriving and vital to establishing your brand position.
   • Social Media – The fastest way to phenomenal brand message believability is get a Facebook homerun. Step up to the plate. There are hundreds of social networks, be alive in the ones where your next evangelists are living.
   • Brand leadership advertising – Once your brand position is awarded a true statement in the blogosphere, social media and main stream press, it is vital to parrot that recognition in leadership advertising.
   • Web Video – demonstrations dovetailed with customer satisfaction testimonials are the classic manner to deliver a believable brand promise. Web video is the new delivery medium and is a must in today’s market.
   • Self Service Webcast and Webinars are today’s way to provide initial product demonstrations without the cost of sales travel and are a important step in establishing a believable and tangible value proposition.
   • Search Engine Optimization – When a customer searches your brand’s concept of value, do you come up on 1st page of Google? If so, it will go a long way towards being delivering a believable message. After all, if Google thinks your brand equals that search concept, it must be true.
   • Websites and Microsites – Craft a microsite around a specific customer demographic, or specific problem environment that your brand specifically solves. If there are 14 different customer demographics and 8 different and specific problems your brand solves, you need that many microsites to communicate your brand message in a clear, concise and memorable manner that is personally-relevant to each of these buyer demographics.
   • This list, of course, goes on… you get the idea.

Once you’ve crafted your brand position to be intellectually consumed in a clear, concise, and memorable manner that is believable, tangible and personally-relevant to each individual target buyer demographic, then you need to make your product easily buyable.

This is our proven process, one that we stand behind. If you’d like to learn more please connect with us in the blog comments, on Twitter, on Facebook, by email or phone- or, of course, keep reading this blog.