Author: Ilona Milostnaja
Publication date: 28.08.2023
What is brand promotion?
A brand is an image that arises in the minds of customers when they mention goods, services, or, for example, the name of a company. Actually, the brand demonstrates the uniqueness of a business or product, distinguishing it from competitors. But not every brand has its own brand. To do this, it should be recognized by as many people as possible.
For example, if a person thinks about sports sneakers, they associate them with - Nike, Adidas, or Puma. About smartphones - iPhone, Samsung or Huawei. These trademarks are fixed in the minds of the audience. Others need to promote their brands to be at the top of their minds. So, promotion is everything that forms the image and recognition and conveys the benefits of the brand to the target audience. Let's talk more about what it includes.
Goals and types of brand promotion
Brand promotion goals are related to business goals. If the brand manager wants to understand and analyze them, they should work together with the head of the company.
The main goals of brand promotion
to increase profits and
increase consumer awareness of products or services.
Another goal depends on what stage of the life cycle the brand is at.
There are four stages in this cycle: birth, growth or entry into the market, maturity, decline. In particular, each stage of the life cycle has its own promotion goals:
Goals based on life cycle
Birth
When a brand first appears, the goal of brand promotion is to create recognition and demand.
Growth
At the stage of growth, the goal is the formation of memorability. A brand has characteristics (color, symbol, phrase, music) that the audience needs to know.
Maturity
At the stage of maturity, the goals can be to increase market share, attract new customers, and create awareness. These on condition that people remember not only the name but also the visual style, specific products.
Decline
At the saturation or decline stage, it is important to maintain the brand image and build customer loyalty so that they return for repeat purchases.
Preparing for promotion
Promotion starts with market analysis, key trends, consumer, and competitor behavior. You also need to evaluate the resources of the brand, its place in the minds of the target audience, its strengths, and weaknesses. This can be done in several ways:
● Study search queries - for example, using Google Trends.
● Track brand mentions in the media - this is helped, for example, by Brand Analytics.
● Conduct surveys of the target audience.
How to develop a brand promotion strategy
The development of a brand promotion strategy consists of four elements:
● Product
What products and services the company will bring to market under the brand?
● Price
Range of prices and discounts, loyalty system.
● Communication
How the brand communicates with consumers. How to motivate the audience to buy.
● Development of sales channels
Where to sell the brand, what tools to use, and how to expand the geography.
After all, four elements of the strategy have been worked out. The brand manager draws up a calendar including events, sets the budget, applies the strategy, and then assesses its effectiveness. All this can be learned from scratch in the Brand Manager course.
Promotion channels
Promotion channels are those places, services, platforms through which the company conveys information about the brand to the consumer. The selection of channels is influenced by the target audience and available budget:
● television and radio,
● print media,
● Outdoor advertising,
● social networks,
● Exhibitions and other offline events.
Tools and methods of promotion
In promotion channels, you can talk about the brand using different tools, use them individually or in combination. Here are some popular methods:
● PR at events and in the media;
● SEO (Search Engine Optimization) — search engine optimization;
● SMM (social media marketing);
Contextual and targeted advertising;
● Content marketing;
● Chatbots, instant messengers, email newsletters;
Advertising in the media;
● Speeches by company representatives at events: press conferences, exhibitions, business breakfasts;
● Viral advertising, guerrilla marketing;
● Promotions on the street, in stores, on the websites of the company and partners;
● Product presentations at exhibitions;
● Collaborations with bloggers, stars
How to evaluate the effectiveness of promotion
The last stage of the brand promotion strategy is performance evaluation and control. The brand manager must analyze the results and formulate hypotheses on where to go next.
How to measure efficiency
Brand health tracking is a study that evaluates the health of a brand. With it, you can gauge brand awareness, loyalty, reputation, and purchase frequency.
Brand health post-advertising is assessed similarly to pre-campaigns: surveys, reviews, media monitoring (e.g., Brand Analytics), and search tracking.
Another way is to take two groups of people (one has seen the ad campaign, the other hasn't) and talk to them about the brand. The difference in responses will reflect the promotion effect. This way, it will show how the audience's perception of the company, products or services has changed.
A strategy in brand promotion is the main thing, everything starts with it. Creativity is just the tip of the iceberg. So, it is important for a brand manager to understand that the strategy can change on the fly. And the one who can quickly respond to the needs of the audience will be successful.
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