I'm the Strategy Director at the Creative Business Company. Subscribe for marketing guides, insights and deep dives.
How to create brand marketing that sells
Hey - it's Ian
What’s stopping your brand marketing from driving real sales and revenue?
Too much focus on your product, or your purpose.
Here’s three mistakes marketers make that stop brand campaigns from selling.
Estimated read time: 1 minute & 58 seconds
1. Bland messages
Most purpose and product campaigns fail for the same reasons - their messages are generic.
Purpose campaigns are generic because they are too high on the benefit ladder (e.g. the purpose of every telco and transportation company is ‘connecting people’).
Product campaigns are generic because they are too low on the benefit ladder (e.g. cheaper, faster, simpler).
Solution
Instead of focusing on your why (purpose) or your what (product), your brand campaigns should articulate the unique value your brand can deliver - which is often a company’s how.
Example
Avis - We try harder
Hertz was the largest car rental company in America, so Avis framed a service play that positioned them as the scrappy underdog that everyone could relate to
2. Lacking relevance
Most purpose campaigns overshoot the market because they focus on messages unrelated to the drivers of purchase in the category - (e.g. a toilet paper brand talking about world peace).
At the same time, most product focused campaigns undershoot the total addressable market because they speak in jargon that's only relevant to buyers in the category. (e.g. our ‘new 6400 x 4500 pixel density monitor’ ...yawn)
Solution
The most successful brand campaigns speak to both current and future customers with a simple and contagious story about the company.
Example
Braniff Airlines - The end of the plain plane
All the major airlines were boring, so Braniff Airlines decided to position itself as the fun way to fly
3. No emotional response
Most purpose campaigns are guilty of evoking a single type of emotion (tugs on heartstrings) which is often the wrong emotion of the category.
However, most product focused campaigns are overly rational and evoke no emotion at all.
Solution
The most successful brand campaigns use a broad palette of emotions (outrage, humour, wit, intelligence, etc.) that are relevant to the pains and gains in the category.
Example
T-Mobile: The Uncarrier
T-Mobile didn't have the network coverage or speed to compete against market leaders; they decided to tear up the rules and channel customer frustrations
How to create brand marketing that sells
It’s very hard to create brand marketing that sells using campaigns that focus exclusively on your company’s purpose or product - you need to use brand positioning to find your hidden advantage, and express it in a interesting, memorable way.
Want to learn how to do it? Check out our new whitepaper today.
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How challengers can position for growthUsing positioning to unlock the power of brand marketing, and create brand campaigns that sell.
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Whenever you’re ready, here are 4 ways we can help you:
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Thanks for reading, Ian Barnard __ |
Ian Barnard
I'm the Strategy Director at the Creative Business Company. Subscribe for marketing guides, insights and deep dives.
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