5 ways to build a better brand

5WAYS TOBUILDA BETTERBRAND

Written and published by: Justin Jones

www.kdga.net

© Copyright 2015

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any

form or by any means, electronic, mechanical or otherwise, without prior writ-

ten consent from the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in

a review. You may store the pdf on your computer and backups.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this book is based on the author’s

experience, knowledge and opinions. The author and publisher will not be

held liable for the use or misuse of the information in this book.

This book is dedicated to you. If you have made the decision

to go into business for yourself or if you love the company

you work for, you are one step away from building a better

brand. Before anyone else can see the vision, you have to

believe in your dream; it will soon become a reality.

Apple or Android? Pepsi or Coke? What makes you choose a

particular brand over the other? Theoretically, the companies

are the same. Each offer similar products or services simi-

lar to that of their competitors. But, there is something that

makes you gravitate to one over the other.

Each of those brands have created a reputation around

their companies, creating what is commonly known as

brand loyalty and it plays a bigger role in your sales than

you may think.

This book “5 Ways To Build Better Brand” is a breakdown

of how you can achieve what these brands and many others

like it have achieved.

At the end of each chapter, we will pose questions for you to

answer and think about when building your better brand.

Introduction

“ You have to decide what ‘image’ you want for your brand. Image means personality. Products, like people, have personalities and they can make or break them in the market place”.

- David Ogilvy

About The Author

As CEO and Chief Creative Officer of KDG

Advertising, Mr. Jones has a never ending

interest in design and advertising. Special-

izing in communication, brand management

and strategy, Mr. Jones lives by the quote

“Practice Safe Design, Use a Concept”.

He has worked and consulted on brands

personally for organizations such as, Coca

Cola, D.C. Government, Wesley College,

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Phi

Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

With over 11 years of brand experience, Mr.

Jones has spoken at numerous institutions

and events such as Baltimore Innovation

Week, Advertising Week DC, John Hopkins

University, Stevenson University & Howard

County Annual Student Learning Conference

ranging on topics from brand management

to advertising in the mod ern age.

Chapter 1: Understanding Your Brand and The Consumer ................................................................. 7

Exercise 1: Questions To Ask Yourself ......................................................................................................... 10

Chapter 2: Marketing & Advertising: Do I Need It and Should I Plan For It? .......................... 13


Chapter 3: Don’t Neglect Digital ....................................................................................................................... 18


Chapter 4: Social Sells .......................................................................................................................................... 23


Chapter 5: You’re Not Alone ................................................................................................................................ 28

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01Understanding Your Brand andThe Consumer

8

The importance of how real the people are behind the name of a company

and what they are doing to enrich the lives of their consumers is a growing

trend. Just because you’ve heard of a company, doesn’t mean that you un-

derstand it’s brand. After all, a brand and a logo are two different things.

Your brand is not your logo and your logo is most certainly not your brand.

A brand is defined as unique design, sign, symbol, words, or a combination of

these, employed in creating an image that identifies a product and differenti-

ates it from its competitors. Over time, this image becomes associated with

a level of credibility, quality, and satisfaction in the consumer’s mind. Thus,

brands help harried consumers in crowded and complex marketplace by

standing for certain benefits and value.

As it stands today, consumers want to trust the brands in which they shop. In

order for a company to connect and resonate with its consumer or “human-

ize the business”, it must practice two models commonly known as Brand

Transparency and Brand Authenticity. A survey conducted by Cohn & Wolfe

states: “87% of global consumers say it’s important for brands to “act with

integrity at all times”, while only 72% call innovation essential”. In order to

explain the parameters (and why it is important to your own brand), we must

first understand the definitions.

Brand Transparency is operating in such a way that it is easy for others to

see what actions are performed.

Brand Authenticity, brings the consumer back to the importance of the story

– how the brands voice resonates with “authenticity”.

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The stories that a brand has to tell in order to be authentic are simple:

1. How does the brand make the consumers life better?

2. How does the brand connect to the community and contribute to society?

3. How is the brand dedicated to the wellness of the consumer?

While a company does not need to be both transparent and authentic to

be profitable or successful, the modern consumer will tend to perceive the

lasting power of a product/service based off of the vision and mission of

the company. Some examples of companies that are both transparent and

authentic are:

• Ben and Jerry’s

• Whole Foods

• Patagonia

Companies that are authentic but not transparent:

• Apple

• Coca Cola

• Nike

To not be transparent is not a negative. “Inventor” brands need to have a

myth behind what they offer and what we are drawn to. But there can not and

will not be any positive curiosity without the authentic element. Tell

your story in a way that it connects with your audience. At the end of the

day, people aren’t going to just choose your brand because you can effec-

tively show facts and trends based on the reports of your industry. They will

choose you because of the story that you tell and how you tell it. Humans

don’t communicate with charts and data alone, no matter how well designed

they are. We communicate with stories, so why shouldn’t your company?

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Questions to askyourself

Exercise#1

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1. What is your organization’s vision and its service or product?

2. How does your brand make our consumers life better?

3. What does your organization hope to accomplish by building a better

brand? (i.e: Increased visibility? Sales? Build consumer loyalty? General

image upgrade? Other?)

4. How does the brand connect to the community and contribute to society?

Exercise #1

12

5. How is our brand dedicated to the wellness of the consumer?

6. Who is your target audience or demographic? Are they already knowledge-

able about your organization? What motivates them to use your product/

services? How so?

7. How does your audience currently perceive your organization? How, if at

all, do you want to change that perception?

8. What do I want my brand to be remembered for? Can it be authentic,

transparent or both? Why?

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02Marketing & Advertising: Why Do I Need It and Should I Plan For It?

14

Now that you have a basic understanding of Brand Transparency and Au-

thenticity and what it means to your brand, what now? How do I tell my story

to potential consumers?

It seems like a question that is easy to answer; yet correct marketing is

commonly overlooked when building and sustaining a company brand.

Whether you are just starting out or have been in business for many years, fi-

nancials are always priority number one. How can we spend the least amount

of money to receive the most profit? Do we have to spend money on adver-

tising and marketing?

The short answer to this question is yes! And, while networking events and

a strong referral system are inexpensive and necessary ways to get your

name out to the public, they cannot sustain your company alone. But, in order

to first understand why effectively marketing your company is important, we

must first understand what marketing and advertising is and is not.

Marketing is the systematic planning, implementation and control of a mix of

business activities intended to bring together buyers and sellers for the mutu-

ally advantageous exchange or transfer of products.

Advertising is the paid, public, non-personal announcement of a persuasive

message by an identified sponsor; the non-personal presentation or promo-

tion by a firm of its products to its existing and potential customers.

To distinguish between the two, think of marketing as a pie. Inside that pie

however, are slices that amount to advertising, marketing research, media

planning, public relations, product pricing, sales strategy and commu¬nity

involvement.

In order to understand the best platforms in which your efforts are best seen,

you must first understand and plan how to effectively convey your story and

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why your product is better than your consumers. This is widely referred to as

a plan of action or Marketing Plan.

A marketing plan is a comprehensive blueprint which outlines an organiza-

tion’s overall marketing efforts. An understanding behind the need of a mar-

keting plan is simple. You wouldn’t operate a new electronic device without

first reading the user manual, so why would you market your company

without first having a plan in place?

Think of a marketing plan as a guideline in which your promotional efforts

should be focused. It allows you to stay on track and gives you checkpoints

in which to follow. When creating your marketing plan, remember that this

is keeping you grounded to the authenticity of your brand. It should outline

a few topics ranging from your Executive Summary to Projections and Long

Term Goals. If you want your business to start and remain small, you must be

clear about it. If the long-term goal is to expand, you must detail the steps in

which you plan to grow your business and how you will adjust your marketing

activities to reach these goals.

It is important to note that creating and adhering to a marketing budget is

essential. While you do not need an exuberant budget to market effectively, it

is important to have realistic expectations regarding your budget. A 12-month

plan is ideal when crafting your budget. Take a look at your company’s pro-

jected or past overhead, revenue and profits then divide that by 50% to craft

your budget. If you need help in raising your budget, we recommend using

crowd-sourcing outlets such as: Kick-Starter, Go Fundme or Fundable to help

raise capital for your marketing plan.

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Exercise#2

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1. What is my yearly overhead?

2. Using the data you’ve calculated, how much should you be dedicating to

marketing initiatives yearly/monthly?

3. What marketing channels are you currently using? Why?

4. How much can you realistically dedicate to your marketing efforts?

Exercise #2

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03Don’t Neglect Digital

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In order for your business to build a successful brand, you shouldn’t be afraid

to incorporate digital advertising into your toolbox. It can be the difference

of being a brand that people know about in passing to a brand that people

trust. Advertising has evolved. It is no longer restricted to traditional media

(print, static billboards, radio and television).

Make no mistake; technology is changing quickly. It is moving in speed and

changing how brands must move to stay relevant. As a business owner, your

brand needs to be one step ahead. Modern technological advancements

have opened the door to the new era of Advertising – Digital Advertising.

Digital Advertising is the promotion of products or brands via one or more

forms of electronic media. For example, advertising mediums that might be

used as part of the digital marketing strategy of a business could include

promotional efforts made via the internet, social media, mobile phones and

electronic billboards, as well as via television and radio channels.

Digital Advertising allows brands to reach and appeal to their core audience

in a way that doesn’t feel as starch as previous outlets. Some examples of

digital advertising are:

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

• Paid Per Click (PPC) Advertising

• Content Marketing

• Mobile Marketing

• Mobile Apps

• Conversion Optimization

• Social Media Marketing

• Email Marketing

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• Affiliate Marketing

• Online Advertising

• Text Message Marketing

When digital advertising made its debut, brands and advertisers embraced

it eagerly. They understood that the consumption of media was shifting,

especially among the younger consumers. But, without forethought behind

the strategy as to how the new medium differs from earlier channels, a

disconnect began. Understanding which strategies should and should not be

explored in terms of digital marketing takes time, but is worth the exploration.

It is also important to note, your digital marketing strategy and how you plan

on maintaining and evolving your efforts should be noted in your marketing

plan. The efforts that you include in your marketing plan should evolve as

your brand does.

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Exercise#3

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1. What types of digital marketing are you currently using?

2. What are some of the digital strategies used by your competitors?

3. Are you using your digital toolbox effectively?

4. What types of digital marketing platforms could you realistically use?

Exercise #3

23

04Social Sells

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If you are still reading this, then you are serious about crafting a better brand

for your company. With that being said, if you are not willing to put your brand

presence on social media, you probably should stop reading now.

“But why would you say this?” you might ask.

Simply put, we live in the 21st century and social media is a part of everyday

culture. For your brand’s concern, social media is another outlet in which you

can speak to the audience who will benefit from your product/service without

the feeling of a “hard sell”.

Of the many social media networks at your disposal, we are going to take a

look at the big three:

Facebook is one of the biggest social networks in the world. It is a

great platform for connecting people from all over the world with your busi-

ness with over 1.39 billion active users.

Regardless of your industry, Facebook allows you to share, post, comment on

videos, photos and push important company updates and much more. Face¬-

book is also a lot more low maintenance, in terms of the posting frequency.

It won’t make a difference whether you post several updates a day or only a

few posts a week in the terms of what your fans think of you.

Facebook also allows you to create demographically targeted ads promoting

your service or products for fairly inexpensive rates.

Using 140 characters or less, Twitter is another social media plat-

form that can allow you interact with your potential and existing customers.

Using twitter updates, videos, images, retweets and quote tweets, you can

easily interact with the other 500 million worldwide users just by mentioning

25

their user names in your tweets. Because of this, twitter is not just a great

way to market your business, it is also an effective way to provide customer

support. This goes back to brand transparency and authenticity. With main-

taining an active twitter presence, customers who are also active will seek

you out to express concerns or share their praise. Twitter has also launched

targeted ad promotionals for businesses to share information.

With over 400 million users, LinkedIn could be considered the

white-pages for professionals who don’t like to cold call. LinkedIn is the

sales powerhouse for businesses in the B2B segment. Marketers today are

increasingly using LinkedIn to connect and sell. According to “The Sophis-

ti¬cated Marketers Guide To LinkedIn”, “half of all users on LinkedIn are

likely to buy from a company they engage with on the platform”. If you are a

decision maker in your company, LinkedIn should be pursued as 45% of its

members are in upper management, and the platform generates more leads

for com¬panies than Facebook, Twitter or blogs.

Social media is about building lasting relationships and generating leads

without feeling overbearing. But, just because there are a multitude of differ-

ent networks to choose from, it doesn’t mean that you should subscribe to

everyone. The first step to building a brand presence on social media is to

craft a social strategy. Familiarize yourself with all of the networks at your

dispos¬al, which ones work best for your business and which ones best re-

flect the vision, mission and authenticity of your brand.

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Exercise#4

27

1. What social media networks are you currently using? Why?

2. What was your decision in choosing those social media networks?

3. Have you thought about expanding your social media presence? If so, why/

why not?

4. At what frequency are you engaging with your intended audience(s) on

social media ?

Exercise #4

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05You’re Not Alone

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Running a business, building a brand, figuring out your next move and if it is

the right move; all stressful but necessary when starting or expanding your

company and brand. Sometimes, it might feel as if you are in a vast ocean

with only yourself and a boat with a pin hole leak in it. You might be pitching

out buckets of water, but no matter what you do, it’s still managing to flood.

Let me be the first to tell you...you are not alone. This is a common feeling,

but with a little bit of guidance and encouragement, you will be navigating the

high seas again (and dry as a bone while you do it).

We get it. Company leaders have more things to worry about than marketing

budgets, brands or social media strategies. They expect marketing to pro-

duce returns, just like any other investment. With revenue allocated to other

concerns, Do-It-Yourself marketing and advertising can get you but so far.

And, while they may be a quick and inexpensive solution to quickly get your

brand out to the public, it is only a patch in that sinking boat.

Companies like KDG Advertising are here to help you. Our Brand Architects

are here to help you on an on-going basis. Think of us as your out of office

marketing team, ready to serve your company in every facet of the marketing

process, allowing you the ability to relax and focus your time on other issues

that warrant your immediate attention.

“Business buyers don’t buy your product or service, they buy into your per-

spective and approach to their problems” – Jeff Ernst, Principal Analyst at

Forrester Research.

With the essentials in place, we hope that we have given you insight on

what makes a brand tick and some steps that you can take to build up a

better brand.

WE MAKE BRANDS BETTER | www.kdga.net | 443.539.7802 | [email protected]

5 ways to build a better brand

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