Carson and Company

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26 Sep

Getting a Solid Brand Identity

Where do you start?

In order to build a successful branding program for a company name, or a product requires several steps. To begin, you need to make sure you have a plan in place.

Branding is more than plastering your name on ads, flyers, or on your web site. It is more than running a bunch of radio or TV spots. Yes, this will get your company noticed, but only for the period of the media schedule.

It starts within the company. It is the culture that is developed. Some people mix their branding with a company’s "mission statement", or their company philosophy. These are separate and need to remain separate. Building a brand takes time. Some company’s are impatient and cannot wait the few months it takes to gain recognition, so they spend a lot of money on various media to get the word out.

This will help jump start any branding campaign, but it is short lived. You need to have a consistent plan that is more than a one shot campaign. I could go on to explain this further, but it will only become a long blog. <a href="http://www.technorati.com/claim/uwjgsy8u4d" rel="me">Technorati Profile</a>My point in writing this is to help pr clients realize that branding should be a very important part of your business plan and should be implemented in order to compete in today’s market.

If your company needs some guidance in developing a branding campaign, please give us a call. Our free consultation can show you how to incorporate a successful branding campaign into your company.

Publicity is Everywhere Series

I’ve mentioned Multi-Tasking earlier, but now I am going to tell you that unless pr clients and their public relations agencies are aware of the craze, you might fall behind in your market.

Let’s review the latest area of multi-tasking. Ever watch a teen at a computer? If not, this is a typical teen. They are very much into the "Social Networking" scene. Just like we refer to the peer-to-peer, which is the technology that you receive an email from a business colleague or friend asking to join a "network", teens are into social networking. For example, many business people are probably involved in networks such as Plaxo, Soflow, or Linkin.

Teens have the ability to multitask while at the computer. They can be answering and speaking to someone in a "chat", while downloading music, and talking on their cell phone. This is nothing unusual to them.

Now that you know this, as a pr client, or as a marketing publicity company, you should focus on this networking of teens. Make sure that social networking is part of your business-marketing plan. Obliviously, your company, or product needs to be something that would appeal to teens. This still works with adults, when you discover their networking patterns.

Since 1995, social networks have grown from the original site of Classmates.com to a wide array of sites that add up to over 200 social networks today. Even Google launched one in 2004 called orkut. And recently in March, Yahoo made the move of its own network called Yahoo 360. So don’t think this is going to fade out next year. Just like blogging was thought to be a short-lived fad, it has grown into a major marketing tool for businesses.

Carson and Company