It seems clear (but in these times of jargon and buzz words you can never be sure) that in order for any company to get the best from their brand experience they have to, first, actually understand what a “brand experience” is. To that end, we’ll tell you…just to make sure of course.
The brandchannel.com lists “brand experience” in its directory of terms as;
“The means by which a brand is created in the mind of a stakeholder. Some experiences are controlled such as retail environments, advertising, products/services, websites, etc. Some are uncontrolled like journalistic comment and word of mouth. Strong brands arise from consistent experiences which combine to form a clear, differentiated overall brand experience.”
Put in excessively simple terms then, brand experience is how your consumer perceives your company based on the information they have received on it.
Armed with this knowledge it’s possible to see just how much power you, as a business owner or marketer, have over the brand experience. And, with this in mind, we’ll make our first statement how to get the most from your brand experience; be proactive in your presentation of the brand.
That’s right, it may seem obvious, but you should be doing all that you can to control the information disseminated about your brand.
This can range from making sure your press department are constantly aware of brand developments and keeping abreast of national news and events looking for link-ins for brand promotion opportunities, to formulating word of mouth campaigns and experiential activities to make sure the word on the street about your brand is good. Of course, you can’t control everything – but you can try!
This, in turn, brings on to our second point – you, as your brand’s “controller” can best prepare for its presentation to the public by listening. We don’t mean just sitting and waiting for people to tell you what they think either, they’re very unlikely to do that. No, we mean, actively seeking out your consumers or target audience and asking what they think…
To this end you should be making sure that your marketing plan includes a lot of feedback activity – give your consumers the chance to let you know what they think. This should really be borne in mind for all promotional and experiential plans. The more facilities you have for listening to your target audience the more chance you have of giving them a product they are truly satisfied with.
The third aspect of maximising you brand experience relates to promotion – astute brand promotion will separate you from the crowd, raise your profile and, generally, make things a lot more simple for you.
Your promotional activity should reflect the way you want your brand perceived – a seemingly simple idea that is, bizarrely, often overlooked. If you want to be seen as edgy and cool then it may be a good idea to go down the guerrilla marketing route regularly. If, on the other hand, you are aiming for an impression of quality, then installation campaigns reflecting this may be a more viable option. In all cases look at how you want your activity to be seen and how that, in turn, will reflect on your brand.
No more engaging in promotional campaigns just because they’re “cool” – how many times have we seen a brand totally unsuited to that kind of marketing attempt it nonetheless and fall flat on its metaphorical face? Promotional activity should never be targeted solely at your audience – remember that if it is to succeed it must be targeted at your brand too!
So, there you have it – the three Ps; Presentation, Perception and Promotion, essential to the best brand experience!
Now, it may seem that we’re glibly suggesting vague or broad solutions to some age-old marketing problems…but we’re not. We’re only vague because all companies are different when the minutiae of their aims and operations are studied and, whilst they may appear similar from a distance, the exact methods each will employ will be different.
What we have listed here are areas that need investigation and close attention when seeking to maximise the potential of a brand experience…we can, of course, suggest a wealth of activities specific to your brand – but that will mean you’ll have to come and talk to us, so why don’t you?