distinctively made f4mmedia

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the first in a series of e-books dealing with the process of branding and market presence, this will particularly look at the whole process for small and start-up businesses

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Page 1: Distinctively made   f4mmedia
Page 2: Distinctively made   f4mmedia

introduction .......................................................3

then and now .....................................................5

more than just a motto .......................................6

the process .........................................................9

www.f4mmedia.co.ukfacebookpinterestwordpress blogyoutubelinkedinabout.me

Page 3: Distinctively made   f4mmedia

It is a truism to say that the business world has changed massively over the past 30 years. Every business has had to stock of the changes that have taken place. In the case of marketing old basic forms of marketing, although they still have their place, their function, do not have the same importance or the same function as they had decades ago. Our faith is far less in the value of newspa-per and magazine adverts – it is, however, placed in online and other forms of digital marketing.

In the matter of branding it is no different. It is certainly true that the notion of a brand in years past was basically the idea of a logo, a brand name, perhaps a token slogan. In these days it is far more. I introduced the ideas of modern branding as being a question of dimensions – all four, the physical ones and time – see my blog article

the dimensions of a brand

For a little on the history and the basics of brands and branding see:

A brand is the identity of a specific product, service, or business. A brand can take many forms, including a name, sign, symbol, color combination or slogan. The word brand began simply as a way to tell one person's cattle from another by means of a hot iron stamp. A legally protected brand name is called a trademark. The word brand has continued to evolve to encompass identity - it affects the personality of a product, company or service.A concept brand is a brand that is associated with an abstract concept, like breast cancer awareness or environmentalism, rather than a specific product, service, or business. A commodity brand is a brand associated with a commodity. Got milk? is an example of a commodity brand.In the automotive industry, brands were originally called marques, and marque is still often used as a synonym for brand in reference to motor vehicles.

Page 4: Distinctively made   f4mmedia

“Brand is the personality that identifies a product, service or company (name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or combination of them) and how it relates to key constitu-encies: Customers, Staff, Partners, Investors etc.Some people distinguish the psychological aspect, brand associations like thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, experiences, beliefs, attitudes, and so on that become linked to the brand, of a brand from the experiential aspect.The experiential aspect consists of the sum of all points of contact with the brand and is known as the brand ex-perience. The psychological aspect, sometimes referred to as the brand image, is a symbolic construct created within the minds of people, consisting of all the informa-tion and expectations associated with a product, service or the company(ies) providing them.wikipedia

For a variety of basics on branding take a look at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brand_managementhttp://www.bizhelp24.com/marketing/what-is-branding.htmlhttp://www.designcouncil.org.uk/Documents/Documents/Publications/Power_of_branding.pdfhttp://www.esrc.ac.uk/funding-and-guidance/tools-and-resources/impact-toolkit/tools/branding/index.aspx

Page 5: Distinctively made   f4mmedia

Branding has gone beyond a few pieces of design, a strapline or tagline, a slogan, the name and perhaps the basic but important elements of associated advertising and word of mouth. The business world is a lot more involved than that of the days of papers, magazines, posters, radio and then TV. Media come at us every moment of the day. Because of that deluge we are so much more choosey about what we look at, what we engage with and so we have to be more inventive, more varied in our overall marketing activity. As a consequence of all of this the very idea of branding has been extended by the very nature of the market itself and, of course, all of those present within it.

Far from just being an image or a name burnt or etched into a product branding has a whole new set of concepts and practices woven in. We now have notions of brand awareness, brand parity, brand identity, brand image and many more.

marketo.comAs the graphic above shows, we do things a little differently now. Our current attitude to branding is the same.

Page 6: Distinctively made   f4mmedia

The branding of the 21st century is a case of an ongoing relationship, something which develops as an interaction between company and market, between company and customer. Successful branding now takes serious note of everything catch-ing the eye, ear and general attention of those within the fullness of the mar-ketplace. It also takes note of time, that it moves on, sometimes at a real pace. A marque or a brand name was simply that at one time. It was a title, perhaps something burned into an object linking it directly to those who made it. Sometimes there was a hint of a description, a motto now what we would call a tagline or a stra-pline, following on from the world of enter-tainment. It is no longer simply image and name, but includes everything that can be associated, on many occasions turning the entirety of a brand into an ongoing story. In other words it is just that - a story de-veloping over time alongside its physical presence, depth, width, height – here you can continue the metaphor for yourselves.

Thus, the product or service has and continues to have a particu-lar image. It is designed. It has an appearance. This visual form includes not only the design of the product, everything surround-ing it, its own direct décor and that of the places where it is pre-sented, and everything visual associated with it. For success in terms of branding this image or design has to have a place, it has to have associations placing it within the mainstream or another clearly recognised stream of current life (even if it harks back to the past, a revival), or places itself outside of all making it its own stream or icon.

Page 7: Distinctively made   f4mmedia

Similarly in terms of the message or messages associated with it. The language and imagery of anything attached to our item has to help to continue to paint the picture re-quired and to help in telling the story as a whole. Hence, the language has to have a general pitch helping to fill out what is – a pitch, in effect. ‘Message’ comes in vari-ous forms – brand name, motto, tags, taglines, straplines, and beyond into all that is descriptive or used in the continuing pitch. The language has to have a particular vocabulary with its own social and cultural associations in the same way as the visual element.

The other senses have to be treated as well. The con-tinued proliferation of music in association with the marketplace means that use can but does not have to be made of it. We all associate certain pieces of music with things that we buy or consume. A voice, a sound, these can all add to or even subtract from the branding process. Yes, branding is a process! It can also involve something which evolves for all of the senses.

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http://www.andrewsabatier.com/theory/02-models/anatomy_of_a_brand_identity.html

In times past the average business had no chance of TV, film, video or anything of the sort. Now, with our access to the web and to computers each is easily reachable. It has been said many times that given cur-rent technology it is all too often the case that we skip through the adverts on TV. At the same time we are quite happy to put up with them on youtube. Indeed, we often search them out and are happy enough to watch the video associated with websites. Moving image speaks volumes by being able to tell more of a story. It is thus a major element of the modern branding process.

Page 9: Distinctively made   f4mmedia

Branding is a process. Branding is also an effect of a pro-cess. Branding should be an aim of the marketing process. Marketing is more than the simple tasks – what is being sold, where it is being sold, for how much, when it is available. It is a whole process of engagement with your market. In a simi-lar way branding and marketing come together …You set the scene.You give it a décor.You place it and give it suitable associations.You add an appropriate design, a form, an image.You add a name, a message and a background text.You give it depth, substance, to go with a height or promi-nence, a breadth, all giving it a visibility.The other relevant senses are also treated – a voice, a mu-sic, even feel and aroma.Everything is displayed in suitable places and at suitable times, all given a proper schedule, and given the proper platforms.In all what you aim to achieve is a recognisable presence.To achieve this takes effort and imagination, but it begins with thought and discussion.

Page 10: Distinctively made   f4mmedia

contact us08432895485

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Get in touch if you have any ques-tions or would like a general chat about any of the issues mentioned or discussed in any of our e-books. We are more than happy to offer a free initial consultation.

check out the website and our other online presencewww.f4mmedia.co.uk (a new website is being created as we speak)feel free to e-mail [email protected]

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