- Define Your Objectives: The first step
in creating a successful promotional branding strategy is to define your
objectives. What do you want to achieve with your branding campaign? Do you
want to increase sales, build brand awareness, or both? Knowing your objectives
will help you choose the right promotional products and messaging to achieve
your goals.
A small business that sells eco-friendly household cleaning
products wants to increase brand awareness and attract more customers. Their
objective is to increase sales by 25% in the next six months through a targeted
promotional branding campaign. To achieve this objective, they define specific
goals such as increasing website traffic by 30%, gaining 500 new social media
followers, and generating 100 new leads through a giveaway campaign. Based on
their objectives and goals, they create a promotional branding strategy that
includes targeted social media advertising, influencer partnerships, and a
giveaway campaign that incentivizes followers to share their products with
friends and family. They use metrics such as website analytics, social media
engagement, and lead generation conversion rates to track their progress and
adjust their strategy as needed to ensure they meet their objectives and
achieve their goals.
- Know Your Target Audience: The next
step is to identify your target audience. Who are they? What are their
interests, needs, and pain points? Understanding your target audience is
essential in choosing the right promotional products, messaging, and channels
to reach them effectively.
A tech start-up that offers a mobile app for a
fitness tracking service wants to promote its app to new users. To do this,
they need to develop a promotional strategy that resonates with their target
audience, who are tech-savvy individuals interested in fitness and health.
After conducting market research and analysing user
data, the start-up discovers that their target audience consists mainly of young
professionals who are always on-the-go and value convenience. They also find
that their users have a strong affinity for eco-friendly products.
Based on these insights, the start-up decides to
give away custom-branded reusable water bottles as a promotional item at a
health and fitness expo that they will attend. They also develop messaging that
emphasizes the convenience and eco-friendliness of their app, which appeals to
their target audience's values. They distribute the water bottles alongside branded
flyers that provide more information about their app.
- Create a Compelling Brand Message: Your
brand message should be clear, concise, and memorable. It should communicate
the essence of your brand and resonate with your target audience. Ensure that
your brand message is consistent across all channels and promotional products.
One example of a compelling brand message that meets the criteria of being clear, concise, and memorable is Nike's slogan "Just Do It." This message embodies Nike's brand philosophy of empowering athletes to push themselves to their limits and achieve their goals.
The three-word phrase is simple and easy to
remember, yet it communicates a powerful message of action and determination.
It inspires consumers to take action and pursue their passions, regardless of
obstacles or challenges they may face.
Moreover, Nike's iconic "swoosh" logo
further reinforces this message, conveying a sense of movement and progress.
Together, these elements create a cohesive and compelling brand message that
has resonated with consumers for decades.
- Choose the Right Promotional Products:
The promotional products you choose should align with your brand message and be
relevant to your target audience. Consider the practicality, quality, and
uniqueness of the products. Choose items that are both useful and memorable to
your customers.
Red Bull's brand message is all about energy, excitement, and pushing the limits. The company's target audience is primarily young adults and extreme sports enthusiasts who are looking for a boost of energy to help them perform at their best.
To align with this brand message and target
audience, Red Bull offers branded energy drinks in various flavours and sizes.
These drinks are designed to provide a quick and convenient source of energy
for active individuals who need a boost to help them perform at their best.
In addition to their drinks, Red Bull also offers a
range of branded merchandise such as t-shirts, hats, and stickers. These
products feature the iconic Red Bull logo and are popular among the company's
target audience, helping to reinforce the brand message and create a sense of
community among Red Bull fans.
- Determine Your Distribution Channels:
Consider the best distribution channels to reach your target audience. This can
be through direct mail, email marketing, events, social media, or other online
channels. Choose channels that your target audience is most likely to use.
Amazon's target audience is broad, but they focus
on online shoppers who are looking for convenience, affordability, and a wide
range of product options. To reach this audience, Amazon utilizes various
social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, which are all
popular among online shoppers.
Moreover, Amazon also utilizes email marketing to
reach its target audience, sending targeted promotions and recommendations
based on customers' browsing and purchasing behaviours.
- Set a Budget: Determine your budget and
allocate it wisely. Consider the cost of promotional products, distribution,
and any associated marketing costs. Choose cost-effective options that offer a
high return on investment.
Airbnb's target audience is primarily travellers
who are looking for unique and authentic experiences. To reach this audience,
Airbnb utilizes user-generated content (UGC) in its marketing campaigns. This
involves showcasing photos and videos created by their users on their website
and social media channels.
By using UGC, Airbnb is able to provide an
authentic and trustworthy perspective on their listings, which helps to build
trust with their audience. Additionally, using UGC in marketing campaigns is
cost-effective as it eliminates the need to create expensive and elaborate
marketing campaigns.
For instance, Airbnb's "Live There"
campaign featured user-generated photos and videos from travellers who had
booked Airbnb listings. The campaign emphasized that by booking an Airbnb, travellers
could experience life like a local and not just as a tourist. The campaign was
a huge success, driving a 60% increase in website visits and a 25% increase in
bookings. The use of UGC in this campaign was a cost-effective option that
offered a high return on investment by providing authentic and compelling
content to their audience.
- Measure and Refine Your Strategy:
Lastly, measure the success of your promotional branding campaign and refine
your strategy as needed. Use metrics such as engagement rates, leads generated,
and sales to evaluate the effectiveness of your campaign. Make adjustments as
needed to improve your results.
Nike's "Dream Crazy" campaign, which
launched in 2018, featured an ad featuring Colin Kaepernick with the message
"Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything." The
campaign aimed to promote Nike's brand message of empowerment and encourage
consumers to take a stand on social issues.
Following the campaign's launch, Nike faced
significant backlash, with some consumers boycotting the brand and burning
their Nike products. However, the campaign was also highly successful,
generating significant buzz and driving sales.
To measure the success of the campaign and refine
their strategy, Nike conducted research to assess the impact of the campaign on
consumer attitudes and behaviours. The research found that while the campaign
was controversial, it was highly effective in resonating with their target
audience and driving sales.
Based on these findings, Nike made adjustments to
their strategy, focusing on continuing to promote their brand message of
empowerment and social justice while also seeking to minimize backlash from some
consumers. This included releasing additional campaigns featuring social
justice themes and continuing to work with socially conscious athletes and
influencers.
Overall, Nike's approach to measuring the success
of their "Dream Crazy" campaign and refining their strategy based on
the results is an excellent example of how companies can use data-driven
insights to guide their branding campaigns and adapt to changes in consumer
attitudes and behaviors.