The Promo Direct Blog

The world of advertising is quite bizarre. There is absolutely no certainty what will work and what won’t. There are a number of factors that decide the fate of advertising success. Demographic preferences, consumer buying behavior and certain nuances of the target segment highly influence the overall marketing campaign. In order to understand the same PromoDirect—a leading name in the promotional industry, initiated a discussion in one of the social media channels “Which are the Best ways to recall brand in customer’s mind?”

As anticipated, we were bombarded with tons of replies from a lot of marketing geeks and some of these were business owners, and people at a very senior level including managers. Out of this survey what we have seen is some traditional outlook along with a few modern demeanors. We have taken into account all these replies and analyzed in a manner that will leave you with amazement.

• Result 1: 58% says Television/print Media will win the race

Analogy: Perhaps true! However, with the advent of internet and online marketing, the world has been witnessing a new trend of interactive marketing instead of interruptive marketing. Moreover, the ever burgeoning cost of television and other print media is less effective when compared to internet marketing because you can measure the success of the latter one. Also with the rapid change in technology can be a catalyst in making these media less effective. With the rise in VoD (Video on Demand) people are becoming more selective regarding what they want to see, thus further shrinking the bandwidth of these traditional modes of advertising.

• Result 2: 28% says it’s the promotional products that is more effective

Analogy: Cost effective, highly influential this concept is ideal for those who have started their business recently or may be in the industry for quite some time. Many large corporations also patronize the concept of elevating your brand image in the market by distributing promotional products among its customers and future prospects. The result is quite palpable in terms of higher customer satisfaction, better brand visibility and brand recall. However, the flip side is you need to know your target audience like a mother knows her child.

• Result 3: Only 5% still relies on Radio Advertising

Analogy: The number is already abysmally low and it will further shrink with short wave becoming obsolete.

• Result 4: 9% is of the opinion that billboard advertising is the best

Analogy: While this might have worked earlier but no longer any more, at least not the best. There are people who do not even look at those hoardings even if they are stuck in the traffic (We came to know about it from these survey). Moreover, this can make you spend a huge some of marketing dollars without letting you know how much ROI you have got so far.

If we want to take into consideration the above mentioned analogy, we would recommend that other than internet or online marketing it is promotional marketing that can help building trust with your target segment and this way you can clearly convey your brand message to your esteemed customers with proper visibility in the market.

After all, we all know that today’s buyers no longer buy things based on opinions but inclined more towards user experience. In that way promotional products will rule the advertising world along with online marketing.

Making your branding effort though a promotional item for kids is indubitably a far smarter way to get your audience understood your brand image. Most business houses try to tap the market by focusing on their customers which include only the adults. However, inclusion of promotional items for kids can make some exceptional and phenomenal results that can envy your peers. Things like custom caps, drawstring backpack and custom t-shirts with favorite cartoon characters imprinted on these can make the kids fall in love your brand. This eventually will involve the parents as kids will constantly use these promotional offers.

Custom caps are very popular among kids as they can use these caps wherever they go in the park or while going to school. These gifts are meant for all seasons and thus your brand will have better visibility in the market. However, in order to make kids love your brand you must design these caps in an attractive manner they would surely love.

Another most widely used promotional product for kids is drawstring backpack. These items have better usage and look very trendy around their shoulders and also nice to carry to schools. Moreover, these items have large imprint area which means you can make your business logo appear more distinctly.

With custom t-shirts for kids you can make your promotion a huge hit and this will give your brand a better market presence. Your brand can have a great market penetration through such marketing because these items are very popular offerings that can magnify your brand and multiply your customer base.

With these items your customers will be happy to receive your offerings as your gift is for their kids and will help you to stand out of the lot. This will also show how much you really think about them and their family. Thus your brand will address them in a subliminal level which will work wonders for your brand.

When it comes to branding, many marketers believe that change is the only consistent factor that keeps a brand alive and with this misconstruction they try implementing out of the box thinking, sometimes in the form of changing the logo, or may be adopting a new name because of launching of a new range of services. However, the important fact is that you don’t show your creativity just to prove that how radical you are in your business.  In case of your brand identity such creative fluctuations might be disastrous for you and your brand. Maintaining a brand consistency would only ensure your evergreen customers are always with you.

It is important for every brand to make its own identity and create an image that people can easily connect them with. That’s why repetition of activities through an identity is crucial for the success of brands. Over a period of time people associated with a particular brand will be able to connect instantly with that brand. Frequent changes in your brand identity will confuse your customers and this will result in poor branding which, soon, will get reflected in your sales volume.

Some of the important practices that have helped building brands worldwide are:

• The focal point of your brand identity and brand strategy should revolve around you customers deep insights.
• While creating brand identity keep space for accommodating future services and products that can be included under the same umbrella. This may include any possible industry changes or change in business model.
• Your brand identity should always be under a brand identity enforcer and overseer
• In case of any unavoidable situations wherein your brand needs to be repositioned then try to make the new one in a manner that it retains the same old flavor to some extent.

It would be judicious to think twice before you bring any new changes to your brand. Most of the time changes are not in the brand’s best interest. It is always advisable to think about a new product instead of thinking about changing your brand’s identity. Try to come up with a revolutionary marketing strategy if possible.

There are many masterminds who have committed some of the greatest mistakes while making a brand image of a company. Many new start ups including renowned established players in the industry also suffered from the creative thoughts which sabotaged the entire branding project. We will discuss some of those mistakes and how to keep them at the bay.

Not knowing your customers

It is quite inevitable for you to understand and know your customers like the way you know yourself. You need to know their needs and pain areas to let them know that your solution can bring a change to their lives. That’s how you create a perception about your solutions and this goes long way to build your brand.

Give it to your marketing department

We all know that organizations work in silos with multiple departments where one department is alien to the other. In such scenario giving the responsibility to one department will only add to your woes. Branding is a culture and not and not any promotion. For successful branding you need to practice it for years. It’s not a time bound activity. And most importantly every department in organization should reflect that essence in their daily activities.

Wrong partners

Branding is not a child’s play. You will not try to be experimental when you are serious about your branding. It needs planning, preparation and flawless execution. Your branding should be constructed on a sound, strategic track. It should be of concept driven with a creative angle that will accommodate customers’ tastes and emerging technologies.

Thought the silver lining is that most of the mistakes can be corrected, it takes lot of time and yes the most valuable money. Instead of learning your mistakes by the hard way it’s better to heed to your strategies.

A brand must deliver its promise. That is what guarantees its survival in the long run and the company must keep its brand alive in market memory, which otherwise is short. Your competition never sleeps. A little over-confidence, one misstep and your competition will supersede you easily. The moment that happens you are history.

There are several brands that we always thought were invincible, but eventually wrote their own epitaphs. And, the demise of several ‘big boys’ continues to make headlines…even into 2012. Take a look at who’s likely to bite the dust

Research In Motion–Blackberry

Blackberry—once the most popular smartphone in the world—was the pride of Research In Motion (RIM). But RIM has seen a steady and sharp decline in sales and earnings over the past two years. It has lost its ability to sustain operations independently. Its competition soon overtook it—Apple’s iPhone and the Google Android together brought down Blackberry’s market share to 10% in 2011. Rumors are rife now that several companies are eyeing it for a takeover, Microsoft, Amazon, and Samsung being named being amongst them.

American Airlines

The airline along with parent company AMR went bankrupt on November 29, 2011. At that time it claimed that it would restructure its costs and continue normal business operations. However, this cutting costs is exactly what might tighten the noose on the company. The grapevine has been whispering that US Airways, Delta, and private equity firm TPG are getting their bids ready for .

Kodak

The once top-notch film company is looking to either shut shop or sell—including its printing and digital photography operations and metamorphose into a patent licensing company. Kodak revenues fell from $1.756 billion to $1.462 billion last year, and lost $222 million. It then managed to get a $950 million debtor-in-possession credit facility and the company claimed it could keep itself afloat during bankruptcy. But, this seems unlikely and Kodak is certain to perish.

OWN

The queen of shows, Oprah Winfrey, was who viewers turned their televisions sets on to see, but they scarcely got to see her after The Oprah Winfrey Network entered 85 million homes in 2011. Winfrey didn’t even make an appearance until the start of 2012 and most of the program line-up failed to impress viewers. TRPs took a heavy toll and the 1 million audience at its launch crashed to a sad 300,000! Discovery Creations the partner of OWN says it does not see itself supporting a venture that is unlikely to be profitable in the long run. So it will soon be ‘bye-bye’ OWN!