What is brand advertising? How do you make a brand stand out? How do
you create a brand identity? What are the best ways to engage in
"smart brand advertising”? Marketing photographers should be asking
these questions as they are helping companies to market their products
and stand out as a business. Creating a strong brand identity involves
hard work and time to think through how to effectively reach a
company’s needs. If you are marketing products, you need to have a
basic understanding of how to effectively advertise a brand.
Goals of Advertising
No matter what brand you are advertising, the basic goals remain the
same. Thinking through these goals carefully and in depth will
solidify exactly what you need to do to reach an individual business’s
needs. First and foremost, the brand’s message needs to be clear. The
message you communicate should be well thought through to be strong
and precise. Whenever your advertising doesn’t line up with the brand
message, you will create confusion for customers. Consistency and
clarity are your primary goals. Consistency should be seen especially
in areas such as fonts, color, and style.
Think about brands such as Nike and Apple. Their brands are
consistent in style and are easily identified by customers. Take Nike
in particular for instance. When a customer sees any of their
advertising, whether it is promotional pictures, a TV commercial, or
even just seeing their logo on a t-shirt, they can instantly recall
their motto, “Just Do It”. All of Nike’s brand advertising works
together to reach their company’s goals and promote their motto to
customers. The slogan “Just Do It” is catchy and easily remembered.
It also connects well with the type of customers, like serious
athletes or inspiring fitness enthusiasts, that Nike tries to attract.
The motto pushes customers and challenges them in an inspirational and
energizing way. From reaching customers in meaningful ways, to being
generally likable and easily remembered, Nike reaches their
advertising goals in effective ways.
By being a relatable and likable brand, Nike reaches another brand
advertising goal. This goal is to connect to customers. Even if your
brand is clear and consistent, if it doesn’t connect with customers,
your advertising will be pointless. Connecting with customers best
happens by offering them solutions to problems or conflicts they have
in emotional and intellectual ways. Connecting also happens when a
brand offers a solution and then meets the customers expectations.
Through continual use of a company’s products, a customer will become
attached to their brand and stay loyal. Reliability creates customer
satisfaction and commitment.
Conclusion
Whether you are advertising your own business or helping a company
advertise their business through photography services, reaching these
goals is important to obtaining success. Think through your branding
goals such as consistency, clarity, and connection. Remember that
branding messages take time to form and develop, so don’t rush through
this process. I hope this blog post helps you no matter how you are
helping to market a business.
